Thursday also started very grey at North Duffield Carrs. We haven't been able to visit here for at least 3 years, so there'd been quite a few changes, including a partial boardwalk from the car park, but the bridge never seems to have been completed. Along the hedgerow the best birds were 3 Bullfinches. We went to Garganey hide first where there were a lot of birds on the water, including a few Pintail and some impossible to see Whooper Swans. Some waders flew in halfway through our visits, and these were some nicely-marked Ruff, and a few Dunlin, which settled near the Lapwings. Some Golden Plovers flew over, but didn't land whilst we were watching them. From the other hide the birds were even more distant, and the highlight here was the Peregrine located by Maggie.
Immature Hen Harrier
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In the afternoon a transformation had taken place. The persistent cloud cover had been defeated by the cooler winds, which was accompanied by glorious sunshine. We didn't see a great deal from the first hide, but from Garganey hide there'd been an influx of several Golden Plover since the morning. A chap with a scope (Al) kindly pointed out a Peregrine sitting on a thin isthmus of land at the back of the area. The class were able to see its dark mask contrasted with it white underparts. Not everyone had chance to view it through the scope before it took to the air. It seems it must have noticed another raptor slowly hunting along the Derwent because it soon started dive-bombing it. The Peregrine kept up the mock attacks for at least the next 10 minutes. The views were very distant, but very entertaining. Eventually, the Peregrine seemed to tire of the sport, and the Hen harrier was spotted flying towards the hide. It settled in the reeds nearby, and 15 minutes later it took to the air again, flying even closer to the hide. Unfortunately, my camera failed to lock on to the bird, so all the accompanying pictures are of the bird as it became more distant. As it passed over the assembled waders and wildfowl they took to the air until no Lapwing, Ruff or Dunlin were present on their flat grassy patch. It was a great start to the new year for the Thursday group.
Same bird in different light conditions!
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