Looduskalender

Here is a new webcam for us to watch.
It is on a Dutch Montagu's Harrier nest. Urmas has given us the link.

Thanks Urmas. There are three chicks here, all looking good.

http://www.rtvnoord.nl/index/index.asp? ... f&show=all
Click on the picture.

Thank you Jo
I am delighted beyond words to see you here.

Thankyou, macdoum. I have been absent for a while.

Montagu's Harrier - Circus pygargus
Family - Hawks, vultures and eagles (Accipitridae)
What they eat - Small birds, voles, shrews, rabbits, lizards and insects.

These are migratory birds, spending winters in Africa.

Plumage.
The Montagu's harrier is a slim, medium-sized, long-winged bird of prey. It has a long tail, is smaller than a buzzard, and has more pointed wings than the similar hen harrier. The male is grey above. In flight, it shows black wingtips and a black stripe across the inner wing. The female is dark brown. It is an extremely rare breeding bird in the UK, and its status is precarious. Each pair needs special protection. It seems increasingly to be nesting on arable farmland rather than on marshes, which seems to have been fortunate, because nests on farmland produce more chicks. It is a summer visitor, and migrates to Africa to spend the winter.

Information from http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... index.aspx

There are 4 Harrier chicks
All doing well







The smallest

Dad





The youngest and its a boy..He has three sisters

I think the chicks have fledged. Fly free chicks.

A new webcam at a Montagu's Harrier nest in the Netherlands is online since today. There were 4 eggs. First chick hatched on June 16.

Links:

• webcam
  blog

Nest protection:


Video of chick hatching:

The connection to the webcam is lost, but here's a capture of the 3rd chick hatching: