... and no sign of the neighbours ( one of two hardline grouse shooting estates that border the reserve ) over the fence ... they are not usually very visible unless there has been a harrier around , in which case the top of a 'keeper's head and a protruding shotgun barrel can often be seen ...
A week later and it was a different world ... the sun shone ... although the wind was still in winter mode ...
... the Merlins were active with the female perched on a post , awaiting the various attentions of the male ...
... the views always distant ...
... perhaps unsurprisingly , this year there is no funding for the additional Hen Harrier workers during the breeding season ... after all breeding productivity has resulted in only a single offspring since my first season twelve years ago ... that offspring had a short life that ended on a nearby grouse shooting estate in his first year ...
Then yesterday , another week on and my walk up from the valley was enlivened by five singing Willow Warblers ... then a little higher up a Ring Ouzel alarmed ... there were five feeding on the turf and then flying nervously into the birch trees ...
... flighty though these new arrivals were , it was a nice opportunity to watch the little group together before they disperse to various gills to breed ...
... then heading on and up ... the sound of calling Golden Plover wafted by ...
... this bird was keeping just behind the ridge ... but just broke the skyline ...
... then further on and a pair moved tentatively in a heather cut ...
... Red Grouse displayed all day , a single male Stonechat was a welcome sight ... and a single Swallow flew over me as it winged its way northward ...
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