Welwick Return....What A Day!......Saturday 17th Ddecember 2016.

With the superb juvenile Pallid Harrier continuing its stay at Welwick Marsh,i decided to go and have another visit to this cracking site and hopefully get some more views of this beauty,the following is what i recorded during my visit.
 I carried on with my usual routine and arrived before dawn,so i could get into position on the floodbank,as i had done on previous visits.
 After getting plenty of layers on and the pack up together i was there and in position as i waited for it to get light.
 A quick scan of the marsh and there it was,the Pallid Harrier perched on top of a wooden post not too far from the floodbank.I watched this stunning bird as it preened,a quick wing stretch and that was that and it was off hunting.
 Not long afterwards,i watched a Short-eared Owl and a cracking Hen Harrier as they both hunted the same area as the Pallid,giving great scope views.
 I then heard,the distinct sound of Whooper Swans and i turned round to see a flock of 5 birds as they flew onto the Humber and then were lost to view....what a start!.
 As more birders arrived i decided to walk along the floodbank towards Skeffling,this proved a good move as at least 1 Water Pipit was seen bathing in the bank top puddles along with at least 10 Rock Pipits and further on a flurry of activity saw 23 White-fronted Geese fly west in two flocks of 20 and 3,2 Short-eared Owls hunting,a Drake Eider on the Humber and the first flock of a total 145 Pink-footed Geese observed through the day in flocks of 7,28,35 and 75 all passing west up the Humber following the White-fronts.
 Some prolonged scanning from here saw the Pallid being seen again and incredibly in the air together with a Hen Harrier and a male Marsh Harrier as a Peregrine dive bombed them all causing havoc amongst them,the Pallid then disappeared again.
 After meeting up with Steve Mulligan we had a good chat and then decided to head over to the floodbank overlooking the fields towards Patrington Haven.Just as we were approaching the bankside,three geese flew in and landed and i was sure they were Bean Geese.A quick scan from the bank confirmed my suspicions as the 3 Bean Geese loafed and fed in the winter wheat field between Welwick and Patrington Haven,what a great bonus and my fifth goose species for the day.
 We decided to stay here as it was a pretty good vantage point with the light behind us and we saw more excellent sightings which included 2 Hen Harriers together,one of which i was sure was a young male,3 Short-eared Owls hunting now and the Peregrine from earlier which had now caught some prey.
 The Bean Geese were unfortunately flushed by a passing helicopter and flew off towards Skeffling.
 As time wore on a quick phone call from Garry Taylor alerted us to the Pallid Harrier being seen perched up,so we all headed off in the direction of skeffling.It was seen briefly perched up before flying past us all and across the marsh.It was noticeable that it had a very full crop and it flew around for about five minutes before dropping into the marsh to roost.What a brilliant end to a fantastic visit today,proving this area to be very productive and with the added attraction of the Pallid,making for a great days birding!.
 What an amazing day today and i can't wait to visit again.

Sunrise Over The Humber Estuary.

Pink-footed Geese,Passing West.

White-fronted Geese,Passing Overhead.

Tundra Bean Geese.

Tundra Bean Geese,Overhead.

Impressive Skies At Welwick This Afternoon.