Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Lockdown Diary: Saturday 8.8.20


I had a stroll down the ‘central drove’ of the Nene Washes RSPB reserve, a little little east of Peterborough, this afternoon. All the breeding waders (Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Snipe and Redshank) have already departed, as have passerines such as Sky Lark and Meadow Pipit. So, it was a bit of a quiet walk.


Highlights included a juvenile Hobby catching dragonflies, several Yellow Wagtails hanging out with the various cattle herds, a couple of Greenshanks and a Green Sandpiper. I also saw quite a few Marsh Harriers and one of the best things I saw was an adult male Marsh Harrier carrying some food (mammal or young bird) in its left foot. As it flew over, two squeaking juveniles came up to meet it, and when they were reasonably close, the male dropped his gift and it fell about 10 feet to be caught by the lucky juvenile underneath him, who rolled 180° to snatch it in its talons.

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