I went first to the upper Corse below Castlemartin Church - if anything even more water backed up, but no ducks apart from 10 mallard and the 5 shoveler, plus 3 greylags. But there were huge numbers of lapwing swirling about - well over 1000 - and snipe, spooked by a raptor. I saw a kestrel near the sheds, but then a "new" marsh harrier - an adult female, with shoulder patches, who we haven't seen before, appeared over the far side. I managed to watch her briefly in the scope before she dropped into some reeds.
Then back to raptor central - as I was walking down the fields from Gupton Farm towards the hide, the wing-tagged marsh harrier appeared soaring over my head, at about 200 feet - he sailed across the Corse towards Kilpaison Burrows, near the road, where he joined the ringtail hen harrier (which disappeared to the north soon after). Then I had good views of him over the reedbed, only for a red kite to appear - flapping high at first, then starting to quarter the reedbed close to the marsh harrier. Then - the kite started to buzz the harrier, and this skirmish lasted several minutes. Eventually the marsh harrier went to ground in the reeds or scrub, and the red kite had the reedbed to itself - quartering the reeds and scrub just like a harrier. It then drifted off to the south, but returned and carried on hunting for a while before finally drifting off south again, towards the army range.
I managed some record shots - not great, but they at least prove this event took place. The other day Graham Brace and friends witnessed hen harrier scrapping with peregrine - this really is an amazing place for raptor watching.
