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Following a phone call from Chris Heaton I spent the afternoon up at Ruckland. A juv Red Kite showed very well and also noted 5+ Buzzards, 3 Sparrowhawks and an adult Peregrine.
CH and Dave S had reported a Pallid Harrier twice by 1pm. Finally saw a ringtail harrier at about 2pm with DS and Steve Meek over fields east of the YHA at ' Woody Top'. The bird showed briefly at distance. It certainly appeared rather bright rufous/ochrish on the underparts (a profile view). However, it did not really feel Pallid-like to me (despite the brevity of vews and bright underparts). The flight lacked the dash of Pallid, the wings too broad and rounded (I have seen a fair few Pallids but none more recent than Armenia in 1995 and India in 1998) - although that was just my initial impression.
SM then saw this bird again briefly and expressed the opinion the bird was possibly a Hen. Views had been inconclusive but it certainly appeared an interesting bird. About 3/4 hour later I found a/the bird hunting the set aside pheasant cover along the road to Farforth. The bird was down in a dip and I was hand-holding my telescope. I was looking down on the bird and focussed on the head pattern; the bird did not appear to show a Pallid-like head pattern (although a hand-held telescope on a moving raptor gave nothing but an 'impression') with no distinct 'boa'/ well demarcated collar etc. The underparts, which had an orangy wash, were not right for Pallid either (and appeared to have (limited) streaking, especially on the flanks. Again the bird looked structurally wrong too (but I was not in a position to be finger counting, it was more of an impression of a rounded hand and proportionally longer arm than would be expected for Pallid).
The bird was then refound a while later back near the original sighting by Chris Atkin (from the crossroads, on the road to Burwell just past the open gate and before a sign saying 'road liable to flooding'). This was certainly the bird I had seen a short while earlier. CA had the bird on the ground and then we both watched the bird quarter the area in poor light. It appeared to go to roost here. CA and I agreed this bird both structurally and plumage-wise was a Hen Harrier (a juv, possibly a male).
This bird certainly appeared less richly coloured than the bird in the first sighting. However, this may well have been an artefact of the light. CH's description of the structure of the bird he saw with DS earlier in the day seems at odds with what we saw later.
So, whether we saw two birds or that was merely an artefact of the light and whether or not these were different to the original sighting I do not know. However, it was certainly educational and enjoyable.
James
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