Hen Harrier...

Had a couple of hours this afternoon at North Cave Wetlands, one junction from Howden, on the M62, in the direction of Hull. Half a dozen swallows were swooping over the water, before making their long flight south. There weren't many waders about today – just a few curlew, snipe and lapwing – but you never know what might turn up. A raptor separated itself from a flock of gulls, flying towards me with wings held in a shallow V-shape. Smaller than a buzzard, and slimmer than either a buzzard or a marsh harrier, with a more direct flight: it was a female hen harrier (pic via Creative Commons).…