Running away to the circus

No, not that kind of circus. I mean Circus cyaneus, the Hen Harrier.

Sitting in the window seat looking over the fields and out to sea I see a huge brown raptor flying towards Einar. It looks like a chunky owl until I see the characteristic white rump and long tail. With a wingspan of over a metre, massive fingers of feathers on its wings and a huge head, it’s heading towards our garden. It’s a full grown female, with eyes and ears only for small birds and mammals. I run outside shouting for the family to come and watch as it hunts along the side of our field and then it is gone, disappearing over the brow of the hill.

Awe inspiring.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Hen_Harrier

From Bill Oddie’s How to Watch Wildlife – Orkney’s famous and very rare hen harriers.

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