IT is unfortunate that probably one of England's most charismatic birds, the barn owl, has for the last 100 or so years, seen a constant decline in numbers.

Intensive agriculture, developments and increased road traffic have all taken their toll over the last few decades.

There is a great fear that this bird could become one of the creatures that, if we are not careful, we only ever get to see in zoos and animal parks.

This would be such a terrible thing as, in my opinion, the sight of a barn owl swooping silently across the landscape, its pale feathers making it look almost ethereal in the half-light of the dawn or dusk sky, has to be one of nature's most breath-taking spectacles.

I can remember vividly nearly every such encounter I have ever had with this bird.

It is just one of those memories that seem to just stay with you.

There are very few birds which can fill you with such a sense of awe.

Despite my outdoor lifestyle, my encounters with barn owls are very few and far between.

My first was as a teenager, watching the owl over the sand dunes of Kenfig, in south Wales.

Following this it was working here in the Wyre Forest district, when I would fairly frequently see one from the canal towpath in Kidderminster, flying over what is now Puxton Marsh nature reserve, and the Stour Vale SSSI.

But this must have been almost 10 years ago. What happened then to this creature I can only guess, but I have not seen one there for many years.

Over the last few years, this area has seen a great deal of change.

Many old factories have closed down and been demolished, and new housing estates have appeared.

I thought the days of watching barn owls swooping down the nature reserves which line the River Stour had long gone.

However, you can only guess at my joy when, only a couple of weeks ago, as the sun set behind the clouds on a thickly overcast day, I once again saw the pale plumage of a barn owl swoop almost effortlessly across Puxton Marsh and on up the Stour valley.

Since this day, more of the rangers have seen it and I have had calls from equally excited members of the public.

How long will it stay? I have no idea.

The best case scenario is that it has found a suitable recess where it can rest during the day undisturbed, and if we are lucky this bird will not be along for long.

However, it is fast approaching barn owl breeding season, and if we are really lucky, in the next few weeks they could successfully breed and we will be able to witness the first flights of what, hopefully, will be the next of many future generations of barn owls to call this area their home.