Some fantastic raptor action at Strumpshaw Fen!

Not a great day for a walk: at 7.00am it was cold and damp - drizzling, even - but I felt the need for a walk, so I threaded my way through the ridiculous road closures, parked and walked out to Fen Hide. On the way a decent flock (20+) of Siskins was feeding high in the canopy (so not great for photos!) while a few Bullfinches were calling along Sandy Path.

Just Brian S and Adrian in the hide, but we were soon joined by Brian T, Ben and an Australian couple on holiday. For a long while there was virtually nothing for to see, but then a pair of Stonechats appeared, followed by half a dozen Marsh Harriers. These alternately chased corvids and each other! I picked up a distant raptor over near Tower Hide: initially it looked good for a Rough-leg or something else really interesting - I'd glimpsed a very pale underneath and rump. As the bird came closer, it seemed to be merely an extraordinarily marked Common Buzzard. Ben L also gave the bird a good examination, before concurring with the I/d. With Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk also chasing around, it had been one of the Fen's 'raptor mornings'.