Marsh Harrier nest building

A trip along the M62 to the banks of the River Humber to photograph bitterns turned into something far more exciting when I witnessed this male march harrier nest building deep in the reedbeds. The bird spent about an hour flying in with reeds and twigs and dropping them into the reeds and then each time went straight back out for more material. I don’t know if he was nest building alone or whether the fenale was in the reeds arranging the twigs as he dropped them but I suspect not. My thoughts that he was alone came afetr he flew off and despite my waiting around for nearly two hours, he didn’t return and no female came out of the reeds. It was a fabulous experience made all the more exciting by the fact that I also photographed a bittern and bearded tits along with the harrier. However, the marsh harrier remained the star of the show.