Eagle Owls at Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire

All images copyright Gain Lee
Did you hear about the Eagle Owls attacking dog walkers at Dunsop Bridge in Lancashire? We took two trips over, both with our good friend Tony. The first was in the afternoon of June 4th and the second on June 9th. We were lucky to see the male and female adult and all three chicks from about 150 metres on both occasions.

On the first trip we drove through the cobbled streets of Heptonstall and over the hills to Burnley, travelling in Tony's car for the remainder of the journey. We were thrilled to enjoy so much local scenery that had previously been undiscovered country for us.

The owls sat pretty still for our visit, with a few shuffles to prove they weren't just a pile of rocks. The adult male was by far the most reclusive of the family, staying in the shade for much of our visits.

Other birds greeting us were a pair of greater spotted woodpeckers, curlew, grey wagtail, pied wagtail, chaffinch, bullfinch, grey heron, oystercatcher, hen harrier (catching prey) and tawny owl.

We also had a goodnight from a tawny owl sat right next to the car window on our night drive home, which was a perfect end to our birding day. I say 'end', but the trip to Burnley ASDA and the enormous cottage pies should not be without credit.

The second visit to Dunsop Bridge was a much bigger mission. We had previously taken the telescope and all that travels with it, but now needed the picnic and blanket to support us for a whole day.

The sun beat heavy on our backs as we hauled our kit 3.25 miles to the top of the hill, but it was well worth it as we had a magnificent spread to see us through eight hours of owl watch.

We were lucky to see the female adult chase and catch a partridge.

We had hoped to see her bring it back to the chicks but, after ninety minutes of watching her rip feathers and meat, we packed up our picnic and began our descent. She was looking pretty wasted by this point anyway!

On reaching the car, Tony passed round Dandelion and Burdock, a better bottle of which we had never tasted. We were SO thirsty!

Other birds seen through the day were a bundle of fluffy ducklings, a pheasant, a particularly pudgy dipper that looked like a giant cotton wool ball, and a buzzard being seen off by curlews.

We had also enjoyed the company of a sparrowhawk flying alongside the car near Dunsop Bridge, and got a lovely picture of a meadow pipit.

We ended our adventure with fish and chips back at Tony's (and the obligatory Dandelion and Burdoch), then Astronomy Centre for our usual Saturday night with friends, discussing with Tony the merits of sunscreen.