Great Bustard, south of the National Park

We spent most of yesterday south of the National Park, following up on a report of Pratincole species in the area. Most of the grassland is already knee hight, making some birds impossible to see. Unfortunately we didn’t connect on this occasion but we did manage to find a lone Great Bustard – standing out like a sore thumb, on a newly ploughed field. In the late afternoon we watched raptors from a local ‘watch-point’, clocking-up Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, Kestrel, Peregrine and, best of all, Eastern Imperial Eagle. We saw plenty of other good birds during the course of the day – making for our biggest day list of the trip so far, with 82.

Great Reed Warbler, plentiful, but tricky to photograph

Red-footed Falcon, female – returning to the breeding colony

Finally, a grab shot of the ‘bird of the day’ – Eastern Imperial Eagle