Raptors

It's been a busy week in the skies above the village. We've had the usual buzzards, kestrels and sparrow hawks, but we've also been seeing a large number of eagles, both the golden and fish (or white-tailed) varieties, flying high above us. Sadly, they seem camera-shy, heading off over the hill as soon as a lens is pointed at them.

The highlight, however, was the sighting of a hen harrier. They don't appear often, and when we've seen them before they've been at the eastern end of the village, usually over open, Estate land. This one flew the length of Ormsaigbeg. Being a female, she could have been mistaken at first sight for a buzzard, but her brown feathers are set off by a smart white bar across her rump. Hen harriers also have a lazy, zig-zag flight when they're hunting. We've seen males too, though, with off-white feathers and black tips to their wings, they are more likely to be mistaken for seagulls.

By the end of the Second World war, hen harriers were confined to the outer islands of Scotland. They're one of the raptors which have made a remarkable comeback in the last few decades, spreading across much of the Scottish mainland.