Carn Gloose today

Early AM today I was in the company of Peter Tonkin and Bob Sharples near Ballawall Barrow on Carn Gloose Heath,  We were there before sunrise along with several other birders and photographers looking for the illusive Snowy Owl seen at this location the previous afternoon,  The dawn and sunrise were superb and could not be ignored so out came the mobile phone camera to record the dawn behind Carn Gloose mine stack,  Patiently waiting Photographers at sunrise And the only big bird we were to see flying this morning,  A 'Merlin' Helicopter fresh out from Coldrose,  A passing dog walker pointed out the location that the Snowy Owl  had been occupying yesterday which confirmed that we were in the right location,

As the sun rose above the hills and the light levels improved it soon became obvious that the Snowy Owl had moved on to greener pastures but as a consolation prise a fine looking female Pheasant came out from her roost point just a few feet from where the Snowy had been showing,  Following a shake-out and wing stretch it started to move up over one of the mounds allowing us better viewing while also catching the early morning sunlight,  She looked back over her shoulder at the sound of shutters firing before disappearing off down the other side to start her new day,   Perhaps not a Snowy Owl but she  'made my day ' anyway !!