Eagle with Eyes only Matched by their Huge Appetite.

Eagle with Eyes only Matched by their Huge Appetite.

Sometimes Birds of Prey will attack large animals far in excess of their capabilities. I was shocked and surprised by some of their targets in this Youtube video. What makes them size up some of the prey is beyond me. I was also surprised to see that on some occasions the large prey was taken.

Working Between Chatteris and Manea with Raptors Above.

I cursed my bad luck for not having my camera with me, but I was at work. The day before I was coming out of the village of Manea when I saw a Red Kite flying very low over the rooftops of two houses. I could make it out so clearly and was very excited to see a Red Kite in Manea. There are plenty of Buzzards and Marsh Harriers. But this was my first Red Kite in this particular vicinity. 

I got out my mobile phone and tried to get a photo shot, but the raptor caught the wind and was too far gone and could only be made out as a tiny dot.

The today, I was about five miles out on the other side of the village close to Chatteris when I saw another Red Kite. I can't say if it was the same one, but it may have been. I checked the van mirrors and nothing was coming along the country road. Once again, I tried my mobile and again the bird caught the wind and sped off. I managed to get this shot and one can tell the Red Kite by the shape of the tail.

When I talk to the Fenlanders, they are all adamant that they never used to see this many birds of prey and it is only over recent years that these Raptors have started to come back in numbers. There have been sighting of Sea Eagles in Norfolk - the next county that has a border is only six miles from this photo location. Perhaps Sea Eagles in a year or two?

Where I Live in Fenlands, England, UK.

My wife and I took a walk over the bird hides of Manea. There is always something of interest going on along the bridal path. We crossed by the rickety old cottage and began to walk between the two rivers. There is a dyke running along the River Delph with scattered bird hides along the way. The other side of the bridal path has the River Bedford with water reeds all along the bank.

I was flapping around with the camera when I saw the Kestrel hovering about doing the normal kestrel thing. As I started taking photoshoots, she went into a dive. She had a wicked sublime majesty as the air warrior dived for her prey.

Whatever she was going for, it got away and lived to forage another day. As, of course, did the hungry Kestrel.

Dotty Dog Dotty, the Nature Hides, Dragonflies and Birds of Prey

Dotty, our lovable mongrel bitch, is a complete fruit cake when she thinks she can get out into the fields for a good long run. She knows when we are planning our visit to the bird hides and begins to start yelping and whining - fearful that she might be left behind. 

We can't say, "Calm down Dotty, you are coming too." Because that will make her even more excited. She will start to bark her head off with excitement. Our cat, Bob looks on with an expression that seems to say, "What's the big deal."

Inside the car, she knows we mean business and then the barking starts. We can't shut her up for the first few moments as dotty Dotty the excitable dog just can't contain her excitement. It takes about fifteen minutes to drive to the nature reserve and  dotty Dotty settles into a combination of heavy panting a whining.

Once there, we escort her over the bridge by the pumping station, and she is off. She zooms up the bridal path below the dyke where various bird hides look out across the fen towards the distant spires of Ely Cathedral. Carole and I walk for some time allowing dotty Dotty to get her over excitement out of her system. Eventually, she does and we select a bird hide to look out of.

Inside, Dotty settles down while we open the shutter windows to do some bird watching and talk about all sorts of things. We have coffee and a few cheese and biscuits too.

We spotted many birds of prey from Buzzards, Marsh Harriers, Kestrels and Hobbies. Also swans and Goldfinches too. Some of the snaps are below.

Marsh Harriers and Ice Cream

I was off of work today - the second day of my four days rest cycle. The weather was glorious so my wife and I decided to drive out to Hunstanton in Norfolk. My youngest son Ryan came along too as he has been staying for a couple of weeks. There were a few little traffic jams along the way, but once there we went to the little town centre in Hunstanton for coffee and pastries. Along the grass cliff top, we looked out to sea. I took the odd photo here and there.

After the coffee, we went back to the car and decided upon Wells Next the Sea. Another seaside town we wanted Ryan to see. I could not resist a minor diversion to the bird hides of Holkham Hall. I always like to see if I can get a few snaps of the Marsh Harriers.

Inside the bird hide were three men bird watching. They were very sociable and were talking of buzzards far off by a church spire where Holkham Hall Estate is - beyond a line of trees. It was quite far and on the other side of the approach road, we had travelled by car, beyond the marshland.   

I asked if anyone had seen Marsh Harriers and they replied they had not up to the present. I sat down and looked out with my camera as a Marsh Harrier suddenly flew low over the marsh. I called their attention to this and we all four eagerly looked through our various scopes.

I was clicking away with the 70 - 300mm Nikon lens. One of the bird watchers commented that the lens must be good. I had to reply that I never usually got good shots, but was able to enhance on my computer to get one or two shots of reasonable worth. and put them on my blog called Retro Brit. One man wrote it down. So I hope he gets a look at this.

I got about 60 - 70 shots of the Marsh Harrier and then bade the three bird watchers farewell. From here my wife, Carole, my son Ryan and I went to Well Next the Sea for an ice cream. There is a shop there that does a variety of flavours. We walked around the small quayside and then went back to the car and made our way home. All in all, a nice beautiful day out.

The shots were, of course, at some distance. However, there are a few images that are clear.

Marsh Harriers and Wild Rhododendrons of Norfolk.

Until I moved to the Fenland, I never paid much attention to raptors. It was only when I surveyed my new area that I began to notice all sorts of birds of prey. First it was Common Buzzards that seem to be in abundance around the Fens. I’m told they vanished to West and North Britain in the 1990s. Then they reappeared in Anglia and their population seems to rise each year.

I have seen Red Kites, Sparrow Hawks and, of course, Marsh Harriers. I saw a Red Kite hunting as it circled a field while I drove back to my work place along the A47 from Wisbech to March. It was a grand sight. And then the next day at almost the same location, I saw a Marsh Harrier fly across the road in front of my truck and out over the Fen.

It made me ponder at just how many Marsh Harriers there are too. I had never seen one until I moved to the Fens. Then upon visiting the bird hides between Manea and the town of Ely, I saw Marsh Harriers often. I thought it was something rear, but again, I was wrong. There are great numbers of them.

Today, I drove out with my wife to Wells Next to the Sea. We parked up at the Holkham Beach area, where there is a bridal path covered by trees. The woods create a barrier from the North Sea and the Marshes where these particular birds of prey love to hunt. I managed to get some shots as the raptors flew over the shrubs and grasslands hunting.

Carole's Wild Rhododendrons Woods

We also visited Sandringham where Carole loves to see the wild rhododendrons growing around the trees and woodlands. All in all, it was a very fine day.