Eagle Owl …

… finally in decent light. What a cracking evening from 16:45 to 18:15 in an area known for these, the biggest owls in the world. When we arrived there we saw peregrine falcons mating which seemed to happen in the air with a lot of screeching. A dramatic start to the evening. Fortunately there were some local birders there who could tell us where the owls were, we’d never have seen them otherwise, the cliff was huge! We eventually located the female in the main photo. A part from scratching her ear once she did not move a muscle until 18:10 when we could hardly see her. The male (his roosting place in extra, very difficult to see) called and flew above her. She flew off to another part of the cliff, closely followed by the male, where they mated then separated after a few seconds. By then it was virtually dark and the nearly full moon crept round the corner of the cliff, shrouded in spooky clouds (extra for fun). Now I am exhausted and glad to be back home in the warmth! We were lucky, it’s raining now.