The Montagu's Harrier (April 2022)
The venture to see the Montagu's harrier was the last trip I undertook in Spain before I left for my exams. It was also the most exhausting and, I should add, most unnerving trip I have done this entire year. Even more exhausting than the bike rides.
The Montagu's harrier is a beautiful and maneuverable bird of prey which in Spain can be found living in cereal crops and marshlands. However, the place in which I live it is rare everywhere, with only 2 distinct populations of any noteworthy size- the smaller El Hondo VC population, and the much bigger Torrevieja population, where the birds nest in the reedbeds fringing Torrevieja's famous salt lakes. I was here once before- the ringtail was perfect, but the males, which I always wanted to see more, weren't photogenic that time.
My history with Montagu's harriers started in 2018 when I encountered a wandering male in the UK's RSPB Lakenheath Fen, later followed up in 2021 when I observed a female/juvenile Montagu's alongside white storks when on the way from Moscow to Ostashkov. Everywhere my photos weren't super stunning, and so I desired more. I did this trip on foot, leaving my bike behind in the city. I had observed the Montagu's bigger and slightly less attractive cousin, the hen harrier, in December 2021 at Roydon Common in the UK, and was mesmerised:
As I began the trip, I saw a Montagu's almost immediately, as soon as I began walking alongisde the reeds fringing lakes. Soon I, with excitement, realised that a pair was nesting in that dense thicket of reeds: a male out and about, and also a female which briefly came up to him, presumably to take food. During this entire trip, this pair in my eyes had the highest probability of breeding based on my observations.
I took a few photos of the male, and continued on my way. However, the male wasn't going to let me go that easily. He crept up from behind, and suddenly hurtled past at extremely close range, startling me and sending my focus off the mark in the first couple of photos as I randomly began 'blasting' with burst mode in the general direction of the bird. But then I got myself under control. The male, in no hurry to leave, went straight across my field of vision, and this time I focused in properly.
When I saw what I had taken, I stopped for a while to get my breathing under control. After I had done so, I continued on. The track I took turned into a swamp after recent heavy rain and thunderstorms, and so I was forced to take a detour straight through low shrub, which looked like snake habitat. But fortunately that part ended quickly, and so I was on my way.
After I got to the western La Mata fringes, previously having seen a few more harriers, I got treated to a wonderful view of 4 birds in the air simultaneously, including yet another probable pair.
La Mata done with, I turned my eyesight onto the Pink Lake near Los Montesinos. A short walk and I was there, but it was getting hot and uncomfortable now. I didn't have to wait long before a male harrier showed up and began flying around in front of the viewpoint.
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