We saw a rough-legged buzzard flying to the north of the Holywell Lake car park this morning - the 141st bird recorded from the car park in just over 3 years, and just 4 days after hen harrier was added as the 140th.
A short time later, we heard that the rough-legged buzzard that has been in the Hanson-RSPB Wetland Project area for the past couple of weeks, was still there, and being watched at the time we saw one here at Fen Drayton Lakes, confirming what two of our observers noted: the Fen Drayton Lakes bird looked different.
After that "high", we continued to watch the sky, but there were no further sightings.
Starlings began to arrive just after 4pm, but tonight wasn't one of their better performances, as the pre-roosting display flight lasted for only about 10 minutes. No-one saw any sparrowhawks: was the short display an attempt to avoid sparrowhawks catching some for supper? Did they just not enjoy the cold, northerly wind? Have they been un-nerved by all the fireworks going off in the wider area over the past couple of nights?
Nevertheless, it was a good day for bird watching - 71 species had been recorded between dawn and dusk, starting with short-eared owl and bittern for some lucky observers.