A Morning with the Marsh Harriers

14th February 2025

My first visit to Fowlmere this year was on the 24th January and the Marsh Harriers were already on site and settling in for the breeding season, so time for another visit to see how they are getting on. We arrived at the Reed Bed Hide at 9.00am and shortly after the male appeared and showed briefly before disappearing behind the Barn Owl box bushes, not to be seen again before we departed at 1.30pm. So we don't know whether he was hunkered down in the reeds all that time or whether he had slipped out the back and left the site.

The female was far more active and carried out a few laps of the reed bed on a number of occasions.

On a couple of occasions she flew to a corner of the reed bed and hovered for an extended period. They often hover for a few seconds, but this was more than 10 seconds.

But the best part of the day was when she spotted something in the reeds and dived in after it. Here is the dive sequence.

I'll be back soon to see how they are getting on.