Early morning stroll at Upton Marsh

I made an early start at Upton Marsh in the hope of finding one of the recently-present Short-eared Owls before the wind and rain arrived. In the event the weather was delightful and I came across some decent birds, but no sign of the owls.

Most interesting were the Buzzards - at least ten different individuals - and a very distant group of seven Cranes, while Chinese Water Deer were just everywhere. Three or four Marsh Harriers patrolled the tussocks, occasionally spooking large roosts of gulls. Once the wind began to rise it was time to head home: maybe I'll have another bash next week...