Tag: marsh harriers
May 16th by Ian under Bird Watching
I was out at the back of seven am on the 15/5/10, and I immediately recognised that the bird on the eyrie was the male. The crest on the female is more pronounced and browner, she arrived within five minutes landed near the nest, then after a few preens and calls she made a quick flap to the eyrie, a few calls, hopped nearer and he got off. So yet another change over, my 4th, all in the morning and this time much earlier than I saw the others! When you don’t witness this for years and see four within …
On the 17th April went along and the often Osprey domestic scene unfolded, him on a nearby branch and her on the nest. And ten minutes later ? same scene. So I moved and after much panning around with the telescope spotted a female Marsh harrier, about 3 km away, it was windy and the bird was doing that harrier “lapwing” flight and like a lot of birds can do merged into the background and disappeared. I panned around for another half an hour trying to get the male, but that was my harrier moment, gone but welcome. Also welcome …
On the 10th April the female Osprey was sitting on the nest cup, so in the last week she has laid an egg and is now incubating. I did see that the male has a left leg ring so my assumption is that the male is as last year. Buzzard was mewing above me, great spotteds were loudly “cheeping” and a lone willow warbler was singing away.
At the time of watching the male had a fish, on a fence post in sight of the nest, well eaten, when I spotted him, again the tail end. I saw him later …