A wildlife photographer in England has been playing games of hide-and-seek with local owls while on walks in the countryside
Rough-hewn dry stone walls stretch as far as the eye can see across the moorland of Park District National Park in the UK. It’s where one well-known local, who goes by the name Villager Jim, takes his daily strolls, carrying camera in hand to snap indigenous animals.
He loves taking pictures of stags, but some of his most famous shots—which he shares on the internet and which often end up going viral—are of something, or things, that many passersby would simply pass by had they not known they were there, hiding elusively amidst the piles of rocks.
Training his lens on those iconic stones, queued up for miles on end, he spots them: little hooters—owls that is—perfectly camouflaged, hiding amidst the rusticated boulders. Donning muted tones, their feathery garb blends in so well with their surroundings, even staring straight at them one would be forgiven for not spying them.
Can you spot the owls in Villager Jim’s pictures?
1.
2.
3.
Here are a few more. Can you spot the owls?
4.
5.
6.
Don’t scroll down to see the answers immediately. Chill out, sip your tea, and pour over these shots for some fun and amusement. Villager Jim has gone to all the trouble of finding and photographing the owls. All we have to do is sit back and pick them out—still impossible, you say?
The owls are Villager Jim’s “favorite part” of posting photos online, he said, “as so many people love trying to find them :)”
7.
8.
9.
“I love my job and feel like the luckiest person on earth to have turned a passion into a living,” he said. “I never realized how many people there are out there who enjoy my images and look in daily.
“I get so many messages from people who say they get through the day by enjoying my posts , which makes me feel so proud I’m helping people in a tiny way in these tough times.”
Answers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Ready for a bonus round?
Here are a few more photos, courtesy of Villager Jim, filled with pastoral drystone, lush moorland, and clandestinely hidden hooters amidst the rough-hewn masonry.But do take care! Villager Jim has gotten guile with these owl pictures. There might be more here than first meets the eye!