Birds of a very windy day!

Hello

Certainly a very windy day but mild and only a splattering of showers.

The Great Northern Diver and Scaup were still in situ at the dam end of Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, the diver favouring the Pintail Bay and the Scaup between Moulton Grange Bay and the dam. Four Goosanders and a roost of ninety-seven Great Black-backed Gulls were the pick of the birds at Stanford Reservoir.

An afternoon foray looking for Otters at Market Harborough failed to locate them but a Peregrine on St Dionysius church was relatively low down and showing well and a Little Egret on the River Welland was not at all shy. A Grey Wagtail was noted too.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was again visible at Neville's Lodge south of Finedon again this afternoon despite no doubt very windy conditions at this very open site. The Cattle Egret was again on show at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows LNR today.

Regards

Neil M

Distant images of the Hen Harrier
near Neville's Lodge on Monday
indicate that this individual was
a juvenile female. This individual
is a large, broad-winged bird with 
blackish under secondaries, pale tipped
coverts, a well-marked facial 'mask',
a pale-tipped tail and generously streaked
straw-coloured breast. On this occasion
she had clearly recently eaten as there
is a big bulge in her crop. There is more
than one bird at this site but this is the
bird that appears to be most regularly seen.
I'm sorry about the distant and cropped
images but if you click on them hopefully
you can see the salient features!

Little Egret at Market
Harborough today. Urban
birds used to seeing plenty
of people are probably the 
easiest to photograph!