Hen harrier

Up on the moors yesterday a bright and clear day , but cold to the bone. At least 7 Buzzards kicking around in the early stages of courtship. A Peregrine , 2 Kestrels ,Reed Bunting 2 Mistle Thrush , 20 Mallard and a few Carrion Crows.. At least 6 Hen Harriers into the roost but no male (1) tonight. The first bird seen was the adult female with sat tag(4) , soon followed by a juv female with very dark secondrys (5 ). Then a  ringtail hunting  on the distant hill. At 5.05 the birds started to move into roost with 2 fully winged ringtails (5 + 6) landing on the fence posts to preen , the ringtail with a tatty tail (10) was seen briefly flying over the hill . At 5.12 the female with a primary missing (7 ) came into roost and then then  smaller juv male (2). A Buzzard in the fading light caused a bit of confusion but proves how difficult it is to get an accurate number of harriers in these conditions .The numbers relate to previous post on the .8th .Jan. 2018