WHEN HARRY MET MARSHA
Marsh; (noun) a wet, boggy environment.
Harry; (verb) to annoy or pester.
Marsh Harrier; (noun) a large bird of prey that lives in a wet, boggy environment and annoys or pesters small creatures to death.
That last definition may be my own but it's fairly accurate and I'm pleased enough with it. Let's try again, only this time let's make things a bit more personal.
Marsha; from Mars, the god of war. So Marsha means a warrior woman and all of the female Marsh Harriers I've seen have certainly been able to look after themselves.
Harry; Ruler of the home. This is most definitely not the case in my experience. In every pair of Marsh Harriers I've ever been lucky enough to see together, it's definitely the female who rules the roost. If there are chicks involved, she won't let him anywhere near the nest until he's brought her a gift of food.
Regular readers will know that I love the names that people have given to bird species and how they came to be. I'm a great fan language and how it evolves with the people who regularly use and misuse it. Like most birds, local people (wherever local might be to them) have given the Marsh Harrier a slew of colourful and descriptive names over the centuries. Some examples are Moor Buzzard, Marsh Hawk, Duck Hawk and even Bog Gled (glider of the bogland). Even the Latin name, Circus Aeruginosus, describes the bird, being loosely translated as 'brassy coloured and hunting in a circular manner'. Please, Latin speakers, don't tell me that my translation isn't 100% accurate, it's close enough for me. I'm not planning on visiting Latinland any time soon.
Most of these names are descriptive in some way or other. To use the ones in the previous paragraph as examples, Marsh Harriers are indeed roughly the size of a Buzzard. The do hunt ducks over marsh and moorland and they can definitely be seen gliding over boggy areas. But brassy coloured? Well only half of all of them meet that description. Fact fans, this difference of appearance between males and females of the same species is called sexual dimorphism, and Marsh Harriers are great examples of it.
The male is a striking bird in flight, with that brass-coloured body, paler wings and very distinct black wing-tip 'fingers'. His mate, the Lady Marsha, is just as impressive but very different. Like many birds of prey, she's larger than her mate, and she's a dark grey pretty much all over apart from her distinctive and highly visible cream crown, as befits such an impressive bird. They are both glorious to see in flight, especially if you see them doing the much-celebrated food pass. He'll shriek to announce his arrival then fly high over the nest with a tasty morsel clasped tight in his talons. His mate will fly up underneath him and when she's close enough he'll drop the food down to her. She'll then flip over and for a magical moment hang in the air on her back, wings outstretched as she pucks the offering from the sky before spinning back into her normal flight position and taking the meal back to the nest. It's a wonderful thing to see as they seal the bond of their relationship. You could say it's the Harrier equivalent of bringing home a takeaway dinner to your loved one.
There used to be an ancient weather saying by the good folk of Wiltshire. Apparently, if you saw large numbers of Marsh Harriers congregating together in your fields then it was a sure sign of oncoming sustained rain. Note, 'large numbers'. That was a long time ago. Nowadays we get excited if we see a single bird. Their population numbers have fallen a long way but thankfully, due to the work of the RSPB and other like-minded individuals and organisations, the twin threats of habitat loss and pesticide use (especially the now banned DDT) have been identified and at least partly countered. It turns out that all they need to set up home is a particular kind of healthy reedbed . The printing on the back of my shirt and other RSPB-branded clothing (who says we volunteers don't get anything in return for our time?) says “Let's Give Nature A Home”, and that's just what we've done. As someone once nearly said, If you plant it, they will come.
Marsh Harriers are seen as a conservation victory in that their numbers have increased from a low of just a single pair breeding in Britain in 1973 to around 600 pairs here now, mostly in wetlands close to the east and west coasts of England. 600 pairs is a great improvement though it is still not close to matching the population of yesteryear but it's heading in the right direction, and much of that numerical improvement is down to the planting of reedbeds, directly funded by RSPB memberships. If you are a member, a heartfelt thank you. If not, then maybe it's something to consider? The resurgence of the Marsh Harrier is just one example of how just a few well organised and funded changes can have a very real effect on helping our native wildlife.
So where can you see these impressive creatures? You know the answer already, surely. Marsh Harriers now live and successfully breed at my local RSPB reserve, Old Moor in the Dearne Valley. They can usually be seen at any time of the year but especially now, their breeding season. Look for them over the rear of the reserve. They'll be the ones harrying the other birds over the marsh.
Volunteer Shaun welcomes visitors to RSPB Old Moor. He also writes a weekly blog about life at the reserve titled, "View From the Shed". He usually wears a big hat.