I hoped to get pictures when the Marsh Harrier appeared for the fourth time in a week. I was sat in my usual spot on the sea wall at Pilling when the harrier appeared from the fields at the back of the sea wall behind, just as the commotion amongst the shoreline birds caused me to look left and spot the raptor fly over the wall. All the time it flew out towards the distant tide line, heading away and then east towards Lane Ends car park where some lucky souls with ‘scopes out probably got better views than I. The best I could do I’m afraid, nearly there.
The high tides continue for a while which makes the birding irresistible even though it’s hardly the best weather for sitting on an exposed sea wall with continuing showers and strong wind. The page of my notebook reads much like yesterday’s entry. Curlew continue to pile in with at least 700 again, 185 Lapwing only as the majority stick to wet fields inland, 15 Redshank, but I don’t know where all their numbers are, 13 Grey Plover, 1 Greenshank, 3 Snipe, 2 Common Sandpiper, 30 Dunlin and 10 Ringed Plover. Further out were the usual miscellaneous wildfowl, 3 Great-crested Grebe, 7 Cormorant, 28 Shelduck, and 2 Grey Heron outnumbered again by 12 Little Egret.
A Peregrine put in a brief appearance to spook everything before heading west towards Knott End. Two Kestrels noted again today. Passerines logged today were 30 Goldfinch on a patch of thistles, 10 Linnet, 2 Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Skylark and 1 Wheatear on the wheatear rocks.
The high tides and rain this week caused some flooding in a low lying part of Hambleton village when the River Wyre burst its banks last night. Today I went to a higher part of the village to ring my last two broods of Swallows. I say the last because there are no birds on eggs at the moment, just a nest ready to fledge any moment plus the final one due to fledge in about ten days. It doesn’t seem that long ago when we looked forward to the arrival of Swallows. In total I have ringed 45 Swallow chicks from 13 broods at this site. This is an about average year only and it may be that the poor weather of the last four weeks played a part in there being no further egg laying.
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