Birthday escape

For a few hours on my birthday, i managed to get out to Meare heath, part of Shapwick nature reserve. The recent run of cracking birds saw a pair of Pectoral sandpipers on the mud of the second lagoon. Although a long way off, i managed a couple of record shots along with the roosting Lapwing. A short visit to the Meare Heath hide produced the adult female Marsh harrier.

Above: You can see the sharply demarcated breast band that gives the Pectoral sandpiper its name.

Above: Dwarfed by the Lapwing behind it, it shows how small a bird it really is.

Above: The greater amount of pale creamy patches on this female Marsh Harrier point to it being an adult bird, the immatures being much darker overall.