A short visit to a quiet Llangloffan Fen this morning produced a few snipe and a few winter thrushes and a bizarre-looking raptor that got us wondering for a moment! It almost reminded us of the first time we ever saw a soaring Bateleur Eagle in South Africa. However, it wasn't an exotic vagrant or an escapee, but a tail-less (well almost tail-less as it had one scruffy tail feather remaining) rather bedraggled Red Kite. It was hunting over the higher ground in the Western Cleddau valley and was not at all popular with a couple of Carrion Crows. One that kept diving at the Kite might even have been trying to dislodge the remaining tail feather!
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| Our first view suggested a tail-less (or very short tailed) raptor |
After a brief chat with Clare Ryland up at Goodwick, we went down to Fishguard lower town harbour where the very confiding drake Merganser was feeding in the rapids. We had really good close range (almost frame-filling) views when it was on the surface, but much of the time it was hunting, swimming under water against the water flow.
We went over to Dowrog at the end of the afternoon where we happened to meet up with Clive Hurford. We had not been up to the area for many years. A fine Merlin came flashing through and a Barn Owl made an appearance as it hunted in the gathering gloom, but we saw no sign of any Harriers before we left just as it was getting dark.