A little less(er)

Tuesday 23 April 2013
and at the feeders today a Lesser Redpoll which was quite undisturbed as I sat in the garden drinking a morning coffee. It was joined by many of the usual suspects, but held pole/poll position.

 and among those usual suspects was a Woodpigeon with traditional irregular iris.

and a female Blackbird, nothing irregular there

but prize of the day had to wait till after work and a walk at Deepdale Marsh when a typically whippy winged slim Harrier flew past, although photography was difficult watching this adult male Montagu's Harrier hunting across the fields was a treat. Note the double  black bands on the secondaries in the underwing.....

and heavily cropped but showing the single black band across the secondaries in the upper wing

I received a phone call from Mark Golley today who was preparing his "this day in history round up" for the 26th April and asking for photos of the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler from Lundy in 2004. So as a snapshot in history, here it is, Britain's fourth I believe and the first ever to be accepted in the UK without calling. Found by me at the south end in horrible weather and id'd with the reassuring help of Tim Davis and Tim Jones, and later by Ian Lewington and Lars Svenson to finally nail as Eastern.

and finally on that very day, prior to the Bonelli's Warbler I had just managed another Lundy first (for me) - a male Montagu's Harrier...... history eh ?