Day 365 - Massively Happy to introduce the Mightily Handsome Montagus Harrier

Today is the day. Day 365. Three-Hundred-and-Sixty-Five posts with hardly any days missed. 103,500 views so far. A dream come true. When I started this, even I didn't believe I would finish this blog. But here we are. It's weird because I can't actually write a simple diary everyday for even a week. It boggles my mind how I managed to do it. I think it was because I am very passionate about this subject. I love nature. Before I get on with today's subject, I want to stress that my blog is not finished. I probably won't post daily. What I think I'm going to try to do at least is cover each week an issue, such as getting kids connected to nature, and a species, such as what I'm doing now. My next post will be the making of the blog, so make sure to keep an eye out for that!

So, to mark this very special occasion I thought I would cover a very special bird. The one I chose was at Blacktoft Sands in East Yorkshire and was one of the most incredible moments in my life.

Pair of Montagu's Harriers ( Circus pygargus ) at Blacktoft Sands

Right from the start of my blog when I was reading up about the UK's rarest birds and I saw the Montagu's Harrier I said 'Wow, I really want to see one!' so I was thrilled when I heard there were some at Blacktoft. It is quite near to us but still around one and a half hours away. So when we got to Blacktoft we found a bench outside a hide to have our lunch. Just as we were finishing, someone came out of the hide and said 'oh, you've just missed the harrier!' So we had to sit in the hide for another 2 hours waiting for it. But it was worth it!

They were amazing to watch but they were a long way off so sadly my photos don't do this lovely bird justice but the Crossley ones show you just how magnificent this bird is.

So, here are the facts:

• Habitats they like include marshes. moors and grasslands. Blacktoft is England's largest tidal reedbed so lots of lovely marshy habitat for them.

The male flying about

• Their diet is animals that they take from hunting over areas with low vegetation.

• They are the United Kingdom's rarest breeding bird of prey. This year there were only 6 breeding pairs and I was lucky enough to see one pair.

• They don't live here all year, they only come to breed here, and the best chance you have of seeing them is in the South of England. They usually aren't found anywhere else in the UK, so this pair at Blacktoft seem to be unusual - but lucky for me.

• Now, when I say they only breed here, it's true. But that does mean they need to undergo a migration. So, I looked into this a bit more..

• Well, they seem to spend most of the rest of their time down in Africa. Specifically in Mali with what's been found by the RSPB.

• What they've been doing is satellite tagging 5 different birds (Madge, Mark, Roger, Rose and Rowan) and tracking them around the world.

Swooping around for a while before going back to hunt

• I will be following Mark, seeing as that's my Dad's name, and seeing where he's been going as they can have some pretty big adventures.

• So, he started off in London on the 24th August 2015. He managed to get across the channel to near Etreux in just 1 day and spent another day resting up. After this he did a weird circle thing over 5 days near Reims and then managed to scale France by the 3rd of September.

• He then covered all of Spain in the next day only to make it into Africa by the 6th! He carried on trekking along Western Africa slowing down eventually when he hit the border of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and on the 11th, he went slowly down to the Southern border in 10 days.

• So, you can see, they undergo huge journeys in such little amounts of time. I'm personally not surprised at all that he slowed down in Africa. 

• They live for an average of six years but the oldest one recorded was nearly eight years old, he must have flown thousands and thousands of miles!

• They are a medium sized UK bird of prey with a length of only 40 cm - 50 cm and its wingspan is around 1.1 metres, Still seems impressive to me I'm only a bit taller than they are wide!

Montagu's Harrier from the Crossley ID Guide Britain and Ireland

Here are a few links to some more information:

RSPB - Montagu's Harriers

RSPB - Tracking Montagu's Harriers

The Hawk and Owl Trust - Montagu's Harriers

Birdlife International - Montagu's Harriers

Thanks for a great year with all of the support, lots of people have been really helpful and supportive and it would need a really long blog one day to thank everybody!

I really hope you enjoyed it, but it's not over, it is never over,

Zach :-)

Day 300 - Outstanding Ospreys

Osprey (Panino haliaetus)

Hi everyone - it's DAY 300 - well that feels like quite a milestone and as ever when I hit a milestone I like to do something special. Yesterday's Tawny Owl was starting it really as that was pretty special too and today I have something else that I really like seeing. I made a special trip to the Lake District with Dad to see these lovely birds, and that was great, I got to watch them for quite a while. I was also really excited when I found out that I'd probably see some when I went to Birdfair too. You'll probably know that I'm talking about.... Ospreys!

There are three in this tree at Rutland

When I went to the Lakes I saw three Ospreys and there was a great Lake District Osprey Project. The people there told me lots about them. The Ospreys were a bit far away for my camera there. When I went to Rutland Water though they were much nearer and I saw five! Managed to get some better shots too.

So what did I find out about these wonderful birds:

They are huge - much bigger than me!

• They have a number of common names including  fish eagle, sea hawk, river hawk or fish hawk.

• Even with their latin name (Panino haliaetus) the last part translates as sea eagle. The first part refers to a mythical Greek king.

• Until I went to the Lakes I didn't realise quite how big they are, they are 60 cm long and have a 180 cm wingspan. They weigh 1600g!

There are three in this tree in the lakes too -
they were much further away, this is through a scope! 

• Their markings are lovely and they have a dark 'Highwayman's mask' around their eyes, dark brown upper parts and white underparts.

• Ospreys are probably best known for their hunting habits, as the common names suggest it hunts for fish and snatches them from lakes, or the sea, in a shallow dive. I found a great bit of film from a BBC Two programme about them - love the presenter trying to conceal their identity - guerilla bird spotting! 

• Fish are its main diet but they also may eat small mammals, reptiles etc. Generally they nest near to freshwater lakes or lochs but also will fish in the sea.

Ospreys Catching Fish - The Animal's Guide To Britain, Episode 1 Preview - BBC Two

Me in a model eyrie doing my best Osprey impression!

• They build big nests made out of sticks called eyries but they are happy to settle in artificial nest platforms. 

A real Osprey in an eyrie at Rutland! 

The fifth Rutland Osprey I saw

• Ospreys lay around 2 to 3 eggs in a clutch and incubate then for around 37 days before the chicks hatch.

A sneaky close up :-)

• The young stay in the nest next for 7-8 weeks fed by mum tearing off bits of fish flesh 

• Chicks exercise and flap their wings called helicoptering (hovering above) until ready to fledge

• They are a widely distributed bird and are found in North America, Northern Europe and Asia, also Australia

• Ospreys from the UK generally fly to West Africa, mainly Senegal or the Gambia for the winter. Young Ospreys stay there for 3 years before flying back to the UK to breed. 

• They are an Amber status bird and there are around 200 breeding pairs in the UK but it's not always been that way. 

• In the UK collectors extinguished the Osprey population completely in the early 20th century and they didn't return to the UK to breed until 1954. The first new arrivals were Scandinavian birds naturally returning.  They were guarded carefully and their eggs were protected!

• The recolonisation began in Scotland and then in 2001 they nested in the Lake District for the first time in 150 years.

• They also bred in 2001 at Rutland Water as part of a translocation programme.

• After their African holiday they return to UK late March. Pairs won't have stayed together over the winter but will often meet up again to breed and often in the same Eyrie.

• The presence of one pair will encourage others to colonise

• Generally they live for around 10 years but have been known to be up to 25 years old. The oldest ringed bird in Rutland at the moment that is known, is now 18.

If you want to find out more about these wonderful birds try these sites:

Lake District Osprey Project

Rutland Ospreys

BTO Birdfacts - Ospreys

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.