After scraping the car,as there had been a considerable frost i made my way over the bridge and into gods own county.
I arrived just as it was beginning to get light and made my way onto the floodbank and began scanning the saltmarsh and surrounding farmland looking for the Harrier,when all of a sudden,there it was.
It was perched on a fencepost,unbelievably,right next to a young male Sparrowhawk giving cracking views through the scope,with the striking head pattern and collar being noticeable even in this first light of the day.The harrier then took off and began to hunt the saltmarsh scattering waders in all directions eventually being lost to view in the direction of Weeton.
After enjoying the Pallid i carried on scanning the marsh and Humber seeing an adult male Marsh Harrier,2 Merlin,1 of which had caught a Redshank,2 Peregrine,1 Common Buzzard and a very nice surprise in the form of 18 Eider.The Eider were seen flying close inshore to the east,heading in the direction of Sammy's Point.The flock comprised of 5 adult and 2 2nd calendar year males and 11 females.This is the largest flock of Eider i have personally seen on the Humber and great to see.
Another fantastic sight was the huge flocks of waders present and every time a raptor passed by clouds of Knot,Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin lifted off the Estuary mud,just brilliant.
I headed back to where i had originally been standing first thing,when i bumped into Mick Turton and we stood and chatted for a while,when a flock of Pipits began to fly onto the adjacent fence line to bathe in a small puddle.The flock totalled about 15 birds,with unbelievably three species!.The flock consisted of mainly Rock Pipits,but at least 3 Water Pipits and 2 Meadow Pipits where also present.It was great to study the Water Pips alongside the other species and they gave cracking views as they perched on the fence posts and barbed wire fence,the best views I have had of the species for some time.
The Pallid Harrier put in another appearance and flew along the shoreline and looked as if it was going to fly into the distance,before it u turned and flew back towards us,the distinct jizz of the bird being noticeable even at long range,with its long pointed wings and tail,looking somewhat intermediate between Montague's Harrier and Hen Harrier in build and profile.It then disappeared again,but a brief Short-eared Owl showed for a short time.
I then decided to say my goodbyes to Mick and walked back towards the car seeing a Merlin perched in one of the hedgerows and then deja-vu,the Pallid was perched in almost the same area as first thing in the morning,but this time in good light.It positively glowed in the sunlight,with rufous underparts really standing out along with the striking head pattern,collar and pale area along the wing coverts....what an absolute stonker of a bird!.
So after a very event full 5 hours and seeing 8 species of raptor and only my second sighting of Pallid Harrier and more importantly,my first in Yorkshire,i travelled home a contented boy.
 |
| Wader's Against The Early Morning Sun. |
 |
| The Eider Flock Passing By East. |
 |
| Reed Bunting. |
 |
| Reed Bunting. |
 |
| Record Shot Of The Juvenile Pallid Harrier. |
No comments:
Post a Comment