Harriet means business

After yesterday's success with the Kingfisher I decided to take myself off to the Somerset Levels today, to see what I could find.  Just at the moment, I think Kingfishers are my favourite thing to try to photograph, but birds of prey in the wild come a close second.  

The Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath reserves at Meare have a number of Marsh Harriers so the chances of seeing them are quite high.  However, the chances of getting close enough to them for a decent photo are quite small, as I know to my cost. 

Cathy was at work today, so I went on my own for the day.  It was however her last day of work as she has now officially retired so I dare say we might even have a glass of something shortly to celebrate.

Today's blip is of Harriet, the female Marsh Harrier, I just love the aggression in this diving pose.  Harry, the male is much showier, but slightly smaller bird.   Unfortunately Harry didn't come anywhere close today so I didn't manage to get a particularly good shot of him, but I am rather pleased by the shot of Harriet, and she is worth a closer look if you want to go large.

(For the avoidance of doubt I am using the terms Harry and Harriet to refer to all Marsh Harriers of a given sex and not specific individuals!)