A Couple of Hours with the Harriers

25th June 2025

Difficult to say what the harriers are up to at the moment. I was there from 9.00am to 1.00pm and during that time there was no sign of the female and only two visits from the male. Hopefully the female is on eggs, but when the male brought in food, once to the nest and once behind the bushes, on neither occasion did she leave the nest to collect the food. Here are my shots of the male.

Then just as we were about to leave, a bird of prey was seen flying towards the reserve which I immediately assumed was a harrier bringing in food. It was not until it got closer I realised the tail was too long for a harrier and therefore a kite, but instead of the characteristic forked tail, the tail was square. My thoughts immediately turned to Black Kite.

It was only when I got home and took a closer look at my photos I saw that the mantle was chestnut and therefore a Red Kite. Also the pale fringes to the wing coverts indicate that it was a juvenile.

I sent the photos to Alan Harris who agreed with my diagnosis and added that all 12 of the tail feathers were present, and the reason the tail looked square was that the outer tail feathers were still growing. He had seen a similar bird at Amwell last week. 

Thanks Alan, mystery solved!!!