Who doesn't like a grey morning with a belting easterly at the end of April? Well I do anyway. I fancied my chances, so got up early for a pre-breakfast visit to Mappleborough Green. The main scrape looks decent, with plenty of mud. It even hosted a migrant wader on passage, but it was just a Common Sandpiper. A single Little Ringed Plover was also occupying the scrape.
The other scrape has dried up completely so all I saw was a startled Roe Deer.
After breakfast I set out for Earlswood, convinced that there would be Terns. I got about 100 yards when my phone rang. Thinking it would be Lyn telling me I'd forgotten something, I pulled over.
In fact it was Mike Lane letting me know he'd just found a Marsh Harrier at Morton Bagot and he thought it had landed in the scrape field. Time for a change of plan.
I arrived in record time and hurried to where he had seen it. Mike joined me and as we started to skirt the outside of the field it got up and started quartering the bulrush pool.
I dashed off a quick record shot before it disappeared.
On reaching the footpath gate we were delighted to discover it was sitting among the bulrushes. So although I was basically looking through a hedge, it was possible to get much better views.
I'd alerted a few people, so rather than risk flushing it, I left to go and see if the flash field held anything. Maybe the Black-winged Stilts which had been at Upton Warren yesterday might have relocated?
Obviously they hadn't come here, and actually the field was pretty hopeless. Just Lapwings, and a few Mallard and geese. The Cetti's Warbler was singing in the distance.
I decided to retrace my steps and surprised the Marsh Harrier again. I suspect it was on the look out for Moorhen and Lapwing chicks. I managed one last photo before it took off and apparently disappeared.
Thirty minutes later I was left to conclude it had gone, although I didn't check the flash field again.
Other birds heard included the Garden Warbler, and new Sedge Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler. I emphasise heard because with the wind remaining strong almost everything was hunkering down, and staying out of sight.
This was the first Marsh Harrier here since 2021, hence my excitement.
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