Wiesenweihe

Things have been looking up.  I've found a couple of local birding 'buddies' and gained access to the local e-mail-based information network.  The social and information desert that had hitherto been sapping my interest in going out, has been sated.  I had always thought I was happy being out and about with Puckle, but in the end even his illustrious company would have been insufficient to sustain me.

Map area of Schladen, Hornburg and, to the east, the Grosse Bruch.

And so it was in early May that we received intelligence of a male and female Wiesenweihe hunting over arable land 20 km north east of Goslar.  The birds were quickly located displaying and our hopes of a summer watching these, most beautiful and elegant of birds, was raised as high as they soared together in the German early summer sky.  Being so close to where I lived, I returned every day hoping to confirm a nesting site.  But the birds proved elusive and I was able to locate them only intermittently amongst the numerous Red and Black Kites, Marsh Harriers, Kestrels, Hobbys and, on one occasion, Honey Buzzard.

iPhone screen shot showing search areas west of Schladen.

First 'grab picture' of male Wiesenweihe SW of Schladen taken on 11 May 17.

First 'grab picture' of female Wiesenweihe SW of Schladen taken on 11 May 17.

After 10 days of intermittent sightings I was forced to admit that my birds had gone and were, to me at least, lost.  However, towards the end of May an email reported the sighting of 2 birds hunting in the Grosse Bruch east of Hornburg.  An immediate expedition was mounted and both birds were quickly located hunting over arable land to the east of Hornburg.  Our relief was palpable but we continued to work on the assumption that the birds would be breeding and therefore we were desperate for any evidence of nesting.

Male Wiesenweihe with Hornburg church in background - 23 May 17.

Female Wiesenweihe with Hornburg church in background - 23 May 17.

Little came of our efforts and we seemed to have lost the birds again.  Accordingly, we extended our search area east into the Grosse Graben.  Somewhat ironically, I had spent hours searching this area in vain the previous year thinking all the time what perfect habitat it was for these birds.  The picture below shows the nest area and, as you can see, it consists of extensive meadow land interspersed with ditches.  Both sides of the valley are surrounded by arable crops - mainly wheat and barley.

Breeding area - Grosse Bruch. 18 Jun 17.

Protective fence surrounding nest on which he female is perched.  20 Jun 17.

The nest.  3 eggs.  More may have been laid.  20 Jun 17.

On the 20 Jun I noticed that someone had placed a protective fence in a meadow which served obviously to indicate where the nest was located.  Actually my assessment had been correct and it was obviously good to know that the birds had at last got down to the business of reproduction.    Taking the opportunity of the female's temporary absence I sneaked a look into the nest in which lay 3 relatively small white eggs.  A normal clutch can consist of as many as 5 or 6 so more may have been laid later.

The male bird perched close to the nest site.  22 Jun 17.

Female - early Jul 17.

Male - early Jul 17.

Female - early Jul 17.

Male - early Jul 17.

So we await hatching.  Our birds have obviously left it late to breed.  I think that both harriers are first time breeders and that this is probably their third summer.  I think they arrived first in the Schladen area and prospected looking for somewhere suitable and eventually decided to move further east into the Grosse Bruch.  Here they evidently took some time to settle choosing a location in grass, as opposed to crops, roughly on the Niedersachsen/Saxon-Anhalt border.  In terms of behaviour the harriers seemed to be remarkably tolerant of Kestrels which they allowed to perch on the fence surrounding their nest as well as hunting in the immediate vicinity.  Other raptors, including a second male Montagu's Harrier, were not tolerated and were chased vigorously from the nest site.

Black Kite - Grosse Bruch - late Jun 17.

.One of several Kestrels, perched close to the nest site - late Jun.

Two male Montagu's Harriers at the breeding site - early Jul 17.

Male Marsh Harrier - Grosse Bruch - late Jun 17.

The Grosse Bruch is an amazing habitat.  It is a linear valley feature running east-west from Hornburg as far as Oschersleben.  At its centre runs the Grosse Bruch its self which is a semi-canalised wate course.  Both banks, especially the southern, are lined in some places at least with luxuriant grass and semi-wetland.  During the first half of the summer I saw in the vicinity of the Harrier site large numbers of breeding Red and Black Kites, Marsh Harriers, a single Hobby, Kestels, Buzzards, Marsh Warblers with attendant Cuckoos, Whinchats and Quails.  Disappointingly, I heard no Corncrakes.

Hare - Grosse Bruch - Jul 17.

Cuckoo - Grosse Bruch - Jul 17.

Marsh Warbler - Grosse Bruch - Jul 17.

I am in England at the moment.  I look forward to returning to Germany to see hopefully at least 3 young Montagus Harriers before they depart to Africa.  This is the first time Montagu's Harrier have bred in the Grosse Bruch since the 1930s, and the fact that at least 3 birds, possibly 4, have been present throughout the summer, obviously bodes well for the future.

Post script: sadly the Wiesenweihe nest failed due to an unprecedented storm which brought heavy rain and hail to northern Germany in July.  The exposed chicks, which must have been about six weeks old, had no chance.  Goslar suffered flooding and many communities were significantly damaged.