Pallid Harrier had the biggest hex on me from the British list as I missed them, dipped them and generally avoided them but their ongoing spread as a passage migrant meant this couldn't last forever and I have duly seen the wintering bird at Welwick. Through work I am in the privileged position of seeing plenty of Hen Harriers and the boyant nature and driving flight combined for a very different flight action. I arrived at Welwick this morning at 08.15 which is generally the time the bird leaves roost. It had just emerged when I got there and it showed wonderfully, chasing Redshank and floating between posts. As time moved on it wandered over a larger area and occasionally went over onto Patrington Haven. In fact I still think that viewing from the Pumphouse is the best option for close views.
Other birds of interest included a female Merlin, a couple of Peregrines, a Sparrowhawk, a male Marsh Harrier and a plethora of waders and farmland passerines. A candidate Water Pipit called and dropped into the marsh but views on the deck weren't managed.
Not the greatest selection of photos from the gloom but it was all a bit beyond the reach of my cameras in the dark... It was number 312 for Yorkshire which is starting to look respectable.
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