A Bird Group visit to Castlemartin Corse this morning, led by Chris Taylor and Richard Ellis was well attended. There was hope that the marsh harriers would put on a show. Unfortunately, this wasn’t to be, although between us all we probably saw in excess of 60 snipe (whose numbers were quite low). There were also very few ducks in the marsh so perhaps that’s why the harriers weren’t around.
A couple of Cetti’s warblers were calling in one area. We noted a couple of small flocks of golden plover flying over the valleybut their numbers were well down compared with earlier winter counts.
As we were leaving the area, a flock of 50-60 or more linnets appeared over the valley, having been disturbed by a rather nice female sparrowhawk. Before setting off to hunt, she had been perched for several minutes on the edge of a sunken lane - seemingly unperturbed by our presence and allowing excellent close views. Although raptors (and birds in general) were a bit thin on the ground, it was good to see this one anyway. Thanks Chris and Richard for organising the event.
