A marsh harrier swoops at Leighton Moss

They're following us....

Firstly thanks for your Pick O' Pants!! The Magpie is a much underated corvid. Fact O' the Fatty... did you know that the Latin name for Magpie is Pica Pica? So Pants' last post title could have added a little geeky birdy wit had he called it Pica the Pants!!
Sorry for that - not well just at the moment - the mind is bruised.
On that note went to the bosom of the family for some R&R down in Wirral and would you believe it saw a female Hen Harrier out at Burton Marshes. (They're following us around now!!)
Some pictures attached to prove to the sceptics that it was a Hen not a Marsh. On way home we went via Leighton Moss and read that the otter had been seen a couple of times. Waited excitedly to no avail but got a long distance glimpse of a red deer hind in the tall grass right across the lake.
Adding too, a picture of a coot who looks like he's auditioning for the Natalie Portman role in Black Swan. There's a female golden eye and a goldfinch too just for the hell of it.

Addicted to Hen Harriers

Seriously it is dreadful.
Today is windy, rainy, cold, dark, miserable and yet we are pawing over the map and scrolling through our collected Harrier snaps and desperate to get out again. I dreamed about them last night!! It isn't healthy but they are so compelling and stunning. According to my beautiful Christmas present from Matt and Maz (cheers guys) A hardback full colour RSPB book of British Raptors - our rare pals will be heading upland in coming weeks for breeding and so we mayn't see them again until they finish rearing their offspring (fingers crossed for that - as Forest of Bowland Grouse Moors are dangerous places for nesting hen harriers -apparently thanks in no small part to evil gamekeepers who trash nests, eggs and kill chicks)
Anyway we had a to take some of the kids to a voluntary placement yesterday afternoon and half an hour drive in the opposite direction is Barn Owl Hill/Harrier walk - that would leave us approx 20 mins up there to see what was happening - long way for 20 mins.. to hell with it!
It was windy up there and not the brightest day but we saw him hunting over the moor and watched his for 5 minutes or so. A couple of buzzards then flew over making a big noise and the harrier sloped off over the ridge.
I reckon despite our misgivings about the weather we'll be up there again today (just can't help ourselves)

Bad news drove me wild...

Talk about a bad day in the office. Yesterday I got a kick in the guts- not going in to it here. Anyways... decided to clear my head and go wild. Pants was out so I hopped in the car packed my new super lens and bethought me a safari over Barn Owl Hill and over to top of Harrier Walk.

The Barn Owl was nowhere to be seen but I hadn't expected it really. Drove over the top and stopped the car in our usual spot. I spent two hours up there clearing my head and trying to forget the hurts of life by concentrating all my thoughts on the cold wind and stunning scenary. Was about to give up when I saw the Male Hen Harrier- fired off a few shots but he was just too far away and being hassled by crows. Went for a walk down the lane to see if I could see him on the other side of the wood- nada. Walked back up the hill and thought I'll have a smoke by the gate and ...lo and behold there he was again. He was being mobbed this time by what I THINK was a buzzard (at first I thought I was seeing him with the female but she has a distinctive white rump- my pictures aren't very clear but I think this was actually a buzzard) As I've said before it's a raptor hot spot up there.

Anyway some pictures...

Friday feathered friends

Good day out again yesterday. Weather looked a bit suspect but turned out great. Saw a white stoat and experienced some frustration trying to snap him from car window- impossible to focus as he ran along the hedge and eventually disappeared down a hole. The view of him was fantastic it was just too difficult to folow his bouncy movements in between roots in and out of camera focus.

Later we saw the male harrier again and trudged up over some boggy moorland for a closer view and of course lost sight of him before the top.

Then to our enormous pleasure we saw a female Hen Harrier quartering the grassy moorland on opposite side of the lane and followed her progress all the way down the hill and then all the way back up (v. tiring trying to run back up the steep lane, bobbing our heads over the wall to check her progress) Again frustrating photographic experience as the wall was high and at one crucial point where she came close, she was just too near the top of the wall which kept picking up as the main focus leaving the bird blurred. Grrr. Still once again the pics clearly show her for what she is.

Very excited to see both male and female up there and hope that come spring we'll get some sky dancing from these beautiful birds.

Enjoy the pictures (for what they are!)