Boxing Hares + Birds at Elmley

We meet up with Brian at 6.30 & sit in he car trying to decide where to visit as no birds that we needed for a year tick had been reported within the distance we wanted to travel.
So after not knowing where to go we head to Elmley, as it's not to far to go for us.
As we drive down to the car park, we are the only car here & with a lot of water around we see plenty of Redshank, Teal, Wigeon, Lapwing, Skylark, plus Meadow Pipit.
 As we move down the track about 20 Hares are seen running about chasing each other at great speed, then they would stop &  stand & go into a boxing match, I have never seen this happen before other than on t.v.
We spend a good deal of time just watching this, a lovely thing to see.

With the car parked we walk down to Wellmarsh hide, not to much about,just a lot of Black-tailed Godwit,

hundreds of Dunlin, plus the normal stuff.

So we head back & we see a nice Merlin sitting on a post very close to us , but as the cameras come out it flies off, shame that. One of many Marsh Harriers seen flies quite close to us, a photo taken gives me a record shot.

We have a quick talk with some birders we bump into on a number of occasions, then we head of to Wanstead to look for a L R Plover reported for a couple of days, we walk over the flats looking in all the pools, but no luck.

So not to be beaten it's off to Hallmarsh pool at Lea valley, to look for the one that has been seen here, this is Jimmy's home patch, so he knows where to look, we find the target within a few minutes.

So another tick for the year.

A fairly quite day, but still nice to be outdoors doing what we like doing.

Marsh Harrier

Lapwing

Lapwing