6th August 2023
Up to three Montagu's Harriers have been seen at North and South Fambridge since the 1st August, an adult female and a couple of young birds, although over the last couple of days only the adult female has been seen. When we arrived on the sea wall it was clear from the huddle of birders that the action was nearly two miles away, east of Cuckoo Marsh so we started to walk along there. But as we approached the third hide on Bluehouse Farm the harrier was seen flying in a westerly direction towards Flat Fields, albeit very distant. It did eventually come closer and started to climb in altitude to fly to the other side of the river, so an ideal oppoprtunity for some shots.
A fantastic bird but a bit tatty due to a combination of moult and damage. Both sets of primaries are in moult but the left wing has obviously sustained some damage. The gaps in the secondaries are the result of broken feathers rather than moult, also suspicious.
However what I noticed when I was processing the photos was that the bird was carrying two rings. On the left leg was a rather tall metal ring, typical of a foreign ring, and on its right leg a yellow Darvic ring.
I have since been informed by Jack Ashton-Booth from the RSPB via Alan Harris that it has been ringed as part of the Belgium/Netherland ringing scheme.
Well, that was unexpected.
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