An early start in the Forest. It was dark as I arrived but there was the possibility of some breaks in the cloud and hopefully, today, some sunshine. Ian and I set off down the slope towards the bottom. Up on the ridge the tree called to me, how could I refuse.
Gradually the light improved and there was the sound of bird calls. Redwing and Fieldfare were hidden in several Holly Trees and you could hear them, but they only showed when the flew from the tree.
About fifteen minutes after sunrise there was a bird away to the west looking from the stream. At first I thought it was a Crow, but there was a lot of gliding and rocking, not something you see crows do. As it dropped below the sky line it showed its colour, grey with black wing tips, a male Hen Harrier but frustratingly so distant, it glided along the ridge in that typical harrier flight, glides with the body rocking back and forth as they scan the ground below. It stayed in view, but never came any closer.
We stayed where we were and continued to watch and then at around 8:30 am another harrier appeared over the ridge to the east, coming straight at us. The sun was just coming through the clouds catching the harrier with the golden sunshine.
It was a Ring tail, probably by size a female and as mentioned was watching everything around it.
|it was very gloomy still despite the sunshine coming through. In an effort to get the shutter speed up it meant a high ISO which gives the grainy appearance.
The ring tail then disappeared behind a close holly tree and we waited hoping it would appear and it did even closer.
It drifted across the slope heading for the far bank.
But then banked and came across the valley past us once more.
There have been reports of four Hen Harrier going into the roost, with at least one male. Whether the male we saw earlier was one of those remains to be seen. Typically the harriers are late from the roost and they can go off in any direction, but usually at least one will come along the stream and head west.
As it crossed the valley the low sunlight caught its wings one again.
Having crossed the valley it reached the ridge and then followed it away to the west in the golden sunshine and away from us.
This was the best Hen Harrier encounter the two of us have had for some time and it was a magical moment. Unfortunately the dull and gloomy conditions di not make it very conducive to some great shots but we can't complain.
As we were deciding what to do a Raven came across the valley calling.
We decided to walk up to Leaden Hall and over towards Ashley Hole, as we left a Fieldfare was calling from the top of the Holly Tree.
This gives some idea of the gloomy conditions we were facing, this taken as we walked up the hill.
At the Leaden Hall Plateau there were plenty of flooded areas, but surprisingly very few birds.
We set off along the ridge of Ashley Hole, scanning all the time. To say the bird life was non existent was an under statement and it wasn't until we reached Ashley Walk that we came across some Redwing. We heard Dartford Warbler in the gorse, but never saw them at all.
At least there was some sunshine and where there was shelter from the wind it was quite warm. We walked down to Black Gutter Bottom once more, the sun changing the look of the scene we had seen earlier.
Ian then picked up a female Merlin to the west of us along the valley and it flew to a tree. We decided to try and get closer and yomped through the stream, mud and heather. We picked it up again as it flew up the slope over the gorse and you could hear the alarm calls of the Dartford Warblers as it flew over. It settled in the burnt gorse, but then we lost it. We waited but it never returned so we walked back towards the stream crossing and up to the cars. This allowed a completely different view of the "The Tree".
So what to do next, we opted for Cadman's Pool to see if we could find any Brambling. There were plenty of Chaffinches and people, but there was no sign of any Brambling. We stood around watching the Chaffinch come to the seed provided, but in the end decided to move on.
Next was the Milkham Inclosure. From the car park we took the main bike track and came across this Stonechat, which takes the award for the best photograph of the day.
We walked through the inclosure, heard Crossbill, but never saw them. We came out onto Broomy Plain where the highlight was trying to work out how far we could see and what it was. We decided it was as far as Verwood and Telegraph Inclosure and possibly Martin Down. Birds were far and few between with maybe a couple of Meadow Pipit and a Redwing and a pair of shoes in the trees near the car park. This Silver Birch in the afternoon sunshine was something to photograph.
And there we left it, the Hen Harrier five and a half hours ago was the highlight and only real bird of the day.
Merry Christmas everyone
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