Before I came down to East Anglia, I had an image in my mind: marsh harriers flying over reedbeds at dusk, bathed in a golden glow. Well, it hasn’t been quite like that… until I spend a few hours at Strumpshaw Fen, an RSPB reserve near Brundall in Norfolk. The harriers drifted across the reedbeds - this way and that - and I saw the male drop food to the female in flight. A kingfisher hovered a few feet in front of me, as I sat in a hide - a blurred silhouette rather than the usual flash of blue - before diving headlong into the water. A great crested grebe carried young on her back, while her partner brought food (I’m making assumptions about gender, based on behaviour rather than plumage; male and female look alike).
At every reserve there’s been something of interest to see. This morning, at Lakenheath, another RSPB reserve, I saw a bittern in flight, hobbies hawking for insects - they catch them with their feet - and a gargany duck. There were marsh harriers too; I’ve seen them at every wetland reserve. That’s remarkable, considering they were almost extinct thirty years ago…
Lakenheath...
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