I went to Brooklands mid-afternoon which produced literally nothing after getting fed up I headed to Steepdown where I came across two Whinchats and two Whitethroats. The area felt good and looked like it held promise however I received a phone call from my dad informing me that the ringtail Harrier sp. seen at Thorney Island earlier in the day was not a Hen as suspected by the finder but instead a juvenile Pallid Harrier.
Pallid Harrier was a new bird for me in Sussex so there I was heading back to the car and driving down to Thorney Island. Luckily Paul Evans (finder) had posted a what3words reference on his posting on Sussex Birders FB page so I knew exactly where to concentrate my efforts. The bird was seen near Marker Point hunting the ditches by the sea wall, a fair walking distance. On my walk down to where the bird was seen I bumped into Ads Bowley and Michael and Dan Booker. They weren't sure of the exact area to look so I informed them to keep walking and follow me. Upon arrival I decided I'd check the small arable field near Marker Point and potentially the airfield and they would stay where the bird was seen earlier in the day so we covered more ground between us. After 10 minutes or so I had Ads, Michael and Dan waving at me as the bird it had reappeared and was hunting over the same field where it was seen earlier in the day.
We were treated to some show where it went at the Red-legged Partridges and Pheasants but didn't catch anything. After a while it perched on a fence post for c20-30mins and gave fantastic views. After it left the fence post it headed towards the arable field where I started my search and then came back along the ditch in front of us and at one point we had it c10-15m away.
A magical ending to bank holiday weekend!
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| Juvenile Pallid Harrier, Thorney Island, West Sussex |
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