Local Late-October Raptor Fest

After the flurry of ‘mega’ activity of the east coast (I missed most of them!), things went rather quiet in early October; at least, there was nothing that warranted the two-hour drive. Instead, I decided to head over to the local reserve , and this proved to be the right decision, one that then kickstarted a run of further really decent raptor encounters. The afternoon of the 12th was beautifully sunny, and I had fun trying to capture the family of Marsh Harriers as they floated over the reedbed in front of the hide. (They had clearly bred and raised three young, which I think was unusual. I certainly don’t recall Marsh Harrier being quite so ‘easy’ here.) Even better was the sudden appearance of a Peregrine Falcon, which proceeded to mob the local harriers! Common Buzzards were in attendance nearby, and to cap it all, I then noticed a male Hen Harrier drifting about over the distant heath. I did just about manage a record short, but that’s all. Two days later (14th), I returned but to the heath this time, and whilst I saw the Hen Harrier again, it proved elusive for the camera. The Peregrine reappeared, too, and this time having just caught prey (I can’t quite ascertain what it is in its talons), but I got another decent image.

Once the Peregrine had raced past, I turned my attention to the clumps of bushes. Instead of the Hen Harrier, I hit upon something else entirely: Short-eared Owl! Annoyingly, it drifted off quite rapidly, but I did manage to re-find it mobbing (or being mobbed by) crows, high above a hill. Finally, just to round things off, I found a Barn Owl hunting round the same clump of bushes I mentioned earlier – and got a record shot of this too. A week later, I headed over to the heath early, on my bike, and by chance came across the Barn Owl perched on a post. Much later on, having got a puncture and needing to walk all the way home, I had some lunch and headed back out. Now, despite falling in a bog (up to my thighs!), I had the most amazing views of the bird I did not expect…male Hen Harrier, at 3.15pm in glorious bright sunshine!

This time, despite having just a few seconds to get the shot, I managed to get some of my best images of this hard-to-capture species. Sure, I was sopping wet, but I came away with a big grin on my face! This is almost certainly my best shot ever of this species, but I frankly could have chosen any number of them to showcase. I then headed back to the heath hoping to relocate the harrier that I assumed had drifted round the back of the woodland. Despite basking in glorious sunshine for about an hour, I saw nothing in the way of harriers. Instead, though, I noticed the Barn Owl again, back where it has been this morning. With my bike (puncture mended), I was there in no time, but sadly, the owl had vanished. But the day was far from over, as the sun began to set, I cycled to the Barn on the hill and scanned from there; immediately I spotted the Short-eared Owl again! A quick dash down the hill proved fruitless, but then I spotted it again further away again the setting sun and managed some decent shots. With it drifting away, I raced back up the hill and down the other side (west), and then spent an amazing 20 minutes or so getting my best shots ever of a local Short-eared – only to spot the Barn Owl on a post in the distance!

Wow! Raptor days don’t get much better than this! Thrilled with some of my images, I gentled cycled home and waded through the 800+ RAWS I’d taken. Here is just a small selection of my favourite picks. Another brief visit on 27th produced the adult pair of Marsh Harriers, this time squabbling or fending each other off mid-flight. There was nothing else of note. Anyway, the light had been good on occasions over the past few weeks; I sensed I’d seen the last of it with these final shots. Still, looking back at what I’d seen, I’d done well with easily my best shots of local Hen Harrier and Marsh Harrier – and some pretty close seconds of owls and Peregrine.

I’d also forgotten to mention the odd Sparrowhawk here and then, the numerous Common Buzzards and the single (albeit distant) Merlin I saw one evening on the heath. Including the frequently seen commoner raptors, I thought it would be worth reeling off the full list here for the record, in order of rarity (commonest first): 1) Kestrel, 2) Buzzard, 3) Sparrowhawk, 4) Barn Owl, 5) Peregrine, 6) Merlin, 7) Marsh Harrier, 8) Hen Harrier, 9) Short-eared Owl. (10 if you include Osprey back in August!)