Montagu's Harrier at Fambridge Essex

I needed, well needed might be stretching it a bit, I wanted to add Montagu's Harrier to the old pointless Essex list and with a bit of time to myself today I picked up Jimmy and headed to South Fambridge for 7am this morning. We walked down to the pillbox and scanned flushing Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and a Greenshank along the way. We found a Buzzard sitting on a bush, a Sparrowhawk took a Woodpigeon for breakfast and a couple of Marsh Harriers hunted distantly before I picked up a very distant ring-tail. Jimmy didn't manage to see it so we walked a mile or so along the sea wall hoping it might pop up somewhere along the way but it didn't so we returned to the car and drove around to North Fambridge. 

We walked a couple of miles along the sea wall spotting more Buzzards and Marsh Harriers, another Sparrowhawk and several Kestrels before we spotted the adult female Montagu's Harrier high up with a Buzzard for company. I drifted high from south to north across the river and was lost to view in the distance above the marina. Our next sighting was as it flew low across the river in front of us and hunted the sea wall on the south side but it gave fantastic scope views. It was seen twice more before we left at 11.30am

Some of the other species seen on the visit were Corn Buntings, Skylark, Barnacle Geese, Lapwing, Blackwits, Oystercatchers and Redshank in an enjoyable morning. I headed home with the Essex list now at 275 and the year list now at 209.

I got home in time to spend the afternoon enjoying the company of two of my grandchildren.