Marsh Harrier Update 16th June

16th June 2026

It's now four weeks since my last visit to Fowlmere so time for another visit to see how the harriers are getting on. As I approached the Welcome Hut I was greeted by a Scarlet Tiger Moth on the pavement and a Small Heath nectaring on a nearby Marsh Thistle.

At the Reed Bed Hide there was a lot of activity amongst the herons. There were just three birds present, but despite the size of the mere they still had many disputes over territories.

The Cuckoos were not as evident as on my last visit, with just one or two calling fairly intermittently and no flights. Then all of a sudden one shot across the front of the hide and I managed to grab a shot.

Simon and I were just saying we were surprised there were no Hobbys on such a lovely day when one swooped low over the mere. It appeared several times over a 10-minute period, and by appearing from different directions gave the impression there were two birds present, but we never saw the two at the same time.

It was catching plenty of dragonflies and judging by their size would appear to be the newly emerged Emperors that were now patrolling the numerous ditches.

So what about the Marsh Harriers? Well on my last visit both adults were in the air a lot of the time but during the few hours I was there no food was brought in to the nest. By then the eggs should be near to hatching but apparently not yet.

However today everything was different. The male brought in food three times but each time took the food straight to the nest and left the nest immediately even when the female was not there, suggesting the young were now large enough to feed themselves. There was no sign of the female for the first hour at which point she left the nest and flew off the site to the north and had not returned when I left after four hours.

Here are some shots of the male.

Assuming the eggs hatched shortly after my last visit the young would be expected to leave the nest by the end of the month. During the first week after fledging they will only fly short hops not far from the nest but thereafter will be free-flying. I wonder how many there will be?

Good to meet Simon today and have a long chat.