20190108 Marsh Harrier roost RSPB Titchwell & NWT Cley

20190108 14 of 54 Marsh Harrier over the East Bank.

Quite a spectacle.

20190108 two ringtail Hen Harriers arrived from East and West late this evening.

Went down in Main Reedbed with over 50 Marsh.

Bittern also seen low over PRPool early evening.

Marsh Harrier

Best show so far and all watchers well pleased.

5 of a minimum of 25 birds that came in this evening.

14 birds were counted circulating and dropping over towards Church Marsh to our East. Whether these birds later arrived over the Main Reedbed and were re-counted is as yet unclear. But at one juncture just before dark there were Harriers in a holding pattern everywhere.

Marsh Harrier

Mature male arriving high and late over the roost site.

Note full crop bulge.

20180126 Marsh Harrier

5 of a roost of 22 birds NE side of Pope's Marsh.

20141217 Marsh Harrier

Circulating over Pope's Marsh

November & December 2018

This season our attention has turned to winter harrier roosts along the NN Coast. High numbers of  Marsh Harriers gathering over the main reedbed at NWT Cley have been noted early on in this winter period. A count of 21 birds on the Cley side of the East Bank and a further 6 over Popes Marsh has been achieved this month and it is hoped for a higher maximum in the harsher months of January and February. An average of 15 birds were recorded roosting in this area in 2016 including the dominant and resident pair overwintering near to their nest locations.

RSPB Titchwell has an exceptional Marsh Harrier roost developing. On the 4th of this month a maximum count of 52 birds was achieved going into Patsy's Reedbed and Church Marsh reedbed, the sky over the area being alive with birds performing a pre-roost circulation. A Raptor Roost Counting event is run here every Tuesday from 1500hrs to dark to view this spectacle and is well worth a visit. Two female Hen Harriers have joined the roost recently and make for an interesting and testing flight comparison with the Marsh Harriers before finally dropping into the reeds.
To add even more ornithological interest to this event 124 Little Egret were recorded coming to an overwinter roost in Willow Wood beside the Harrier reedbed  site. This makes for quite a surreal African scene, providing it is a clear evening and the glow of the sun is still evident in the West. Global warming at its most evident and best...?

The northern and eastern European populations of marsh Harrier are migratory, wintering from the Mediterranean south to central and southern Africa. British birds are or were partial migrants, with the majority now overwintering and numbers at winter roosts bolstered by Northern European birds. Migratory birds move south through France and Spain, on to north-west Africa and perhaps as far south as the Equator. Most of these migrants appear to be males, with many of the overwintering birds being the larger females. As recently as the mid 1990s birds began to be noted returning earlier at coastal localities such as ours in February and March. Prior to this post-breeding roosts were recorded, some in crops, but would not continue throughout the winter months. In the lean years of the 1970s with only a handful of pairs breeding in East Anglia, Marsh Harriers were rare in winter but small numbers did overwinter in the county of Norfolk mainly at the Broadland roosts. Contrast this with the now exceptionally high numbers at the same historical winter roost sites.

Roosts rarely now occur outside managed wildlife reserves, but along the coast a few remote sites are within grassy and reedy areas on salt marshes. Hen Harriers prefer these sites over reedbed locations within reserves but the salt marshes here are not protected in any form. Early morning disturbance from wildfowlers and strangely keen dog walkers being the most evident. In fact a concerning method often used to count Harriers loafing in an expanse of salt marsh is to track a dog walker way out, flushing each bird from the ground along with roosting waders and wildfowl often around a high tide. Essentially most of the marshes are private land but the protection and management of the habitat throughout the year is woefully lacking. 

20190205 Marsh Harrier
Photographed by Alan Shaw-Brown.

1st winter female, orange B7.

Ringer Phil has commented on the control:

This bird was ringed and tagged Near Belton in the east of the county on

18.07.2018 and was from a small brood of just two birds, both females.

The most striking thing about this recovery shows the total, random

dispersal of young birds away from their natal area, regardless of their

sex. Her sister was seen and photographed on the northern border between

Portugal and Spain on 07.11.2018!

20190205 Marsh Harrier
Photographed by Alan Shaw-Brown.

1st winter female, orange B7.

Note minimal buff white patches on crown and chin only.

 Overall blackish brown with a small patch in the pale crown.