Three of us Geltsdale Reserve Hen Harrier workers set off for the Humber Marshes before first light yesterday. We had harriers in mind but what we most of all hoped to see was a juvenile Pallid Harrier which had been reported intermittently at Welwick Saltmarsh since mid November 2016.
We arrived to find that the bird had been seen earlier but was not currently in view. After much searching we saw the bird flying in to roost at around 3.15 pm. It lingered only briefly before dropping into the deep vegetation of the saltmarsh but showed all its features in the late afternoon sunshine ...
... the lower breast, belly and under-wing coverts showed a lovely golden-rufous colour ... the pale neck collar contrasted with the dark neck 'boa' behind and the characteristic unmarked pale bases to the primaries showed as a pale 'boomerang' on the under-wing ...
... the upper parts were very dark with the exception of the strikingly contrasting white rump and the discreet pale areas on the upper-wing coverts ...
... the four 'fingers' were clearly visible on the rather pointed tip of the wing and the dark secondaries on the under-wing, characteristic of juvenile Hen, Montagu's and Pallid Harriers stood out more than we would normally expect to see on our very familiar Hen Harriers.
The bird had a bulging crop so had clearly foraged successfully somewhere to the west.
It was a great experience observing this bird and a welcome distraction from the recent news that the Hen Harrier fledged on the Geltsdale Reserve last summer was no longer transmitting from its satellite transmitter and was presumed dead. The area which it had been frequenting was grouse moor - the area was searched and no body was discovered. While it is tempting to assume that this is just one more in a long succession of Hen Harriers which have been killed on grouse moors it is not safe to necessarily draw that conclusion.
While searching for the Pallid Harrier there were always interesting birds around ... at least four Short-eared Owls were quartering the marsh and sometimes perching on posts ...
... they interacted aerially providing much entertainment ... a welcome distraction from the cold south easterly wind coming over the mudflats ...
... several Marsh Harriers put in appearances and Merlin, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard provided a varied supporting cast ...
... Little Egrets frequently popped up out of gullies ... there must have been at least six ... a Golden Plover flock included around two thousand birds and some good Lapwing flocks were around with Curlews flying by in smaller numbers ... a flock of around 300 Dark-bellied Brent Geese flew out onto the mudflats in typically ragged formation before returning in neat 'V' formation - I don't ever remember seeing Brents flying like that ...
... the flock included quite a good number of juvenile birds identifiable by their white-tipped wing coverts and lack of neck collars ...
