Stodmarsh

On Friday afternoon I drove up to Stodmarsh to see the harriers come to roost, reflecting thats it's some 35 years since I first went there with Phil Smith. In those days the prescence of Marsh Harriers there was an improbable fantasy, with only 2 or 3 pairs at Minsmere. In the later '70s during a visit to the Pas-de-Calais with Neil Frampton, by bicycle !,  we were so excited to see a female hunting over fields out towards Les Hemmes, wow!  Who would have believed a count of more than 34 harriers to roost to the East of the Lampen Wall on Friday, of which 3 were Hen Harriers. Best of all for me was one superb male Hen Harrier, one of my favourite birds to see. Who also would have imagined today's digital cameras, these pics were taken with my puny bridge camera, think what you could make of the photo opportunities with any of the better cameras!  These pics just covey a sense of the spectacle, but at least there was a decent sunset to picture as well. One brief Bittern sighting from the reedbed hide was a bonus, too



 

I was suprised how much water remained "open", and by the huge numbers of Teal present