After a couple of no-shows I had an amazing close encounter this morning as I walked back towards Castlemartin Church. As I neared the West-Court Farm sheds, the pallid harrier flew W past me at about 30-40m range. I enjoyed the view through bins, as it wasn’t going to be in view for long. It disappeared briefly behind the belt of trees, and I was able to fire off a couple of distant record shots as it carried on down the valley before peeling off to the left and over  the (much depleted) clump of Monterey pines. It was on a bearing that would have taken it over Gupton Farm and possibly on to the Range, where it has been observed heading before. 

I’d guess it had been hunting further up the valley in the Kingsmill-Corston Farm-Axton Hill area. It has clearly adopted a huge feeding range, perhaps going further afield as the food supply on the Corse dries up. Just 7 mallard, a few snipe, 4 lapwing, 6 coot, 2 moorhen. Teal could be heard in the inland part of the reedbed. Herring and LBB gulls and 15 greylags on West-Court Farm’s wet fields.

The upper part of the Corse can be accessed by the PROW that peels off the road to the right before Castlemartin Church, but for as long as it stays around you can run into the harrier just about anywhere in the catchment, I’d say.