Winter Raptors

Had a lie in this morning then went out for an hour before lunch but nothing seen of note.

This afternoon I decided to spend a few hours down at Pat' Haven. Had a good walk down to the estuary but again fairly quiet with just the usual fare seen. However, as I looked out over Welwick saltmarsh I spotted a cc Marsh Harrier...



Nothing else of note except several flocks of Lapwing heading south...

I then decided to continue on towards Sunk Island (a touch of route learning). Within 2 minutes I picked up a superb male Hen Harrier (P.93)...


Dis-appearing into the gloom

Thing's got even better when I picked up another larger raptor at Sunk Island perched on an Owl box...


Small-headed, long-bodied?



Red Kite! (P.94)

Just shows that great birds can be found even late on a February afternoon. If you're out there looking of course!