As it was windy and uncomfortable down at the coast we decided to have a long overdue walk in Cross Inn forest. No sign of the Shrike but it is a large area to cover and whilst we were hunkered down with our kit-kats a fine male Hen Harrier appeared hunting over the tops of the spruces. We were hidden and on the far side of some well vegetated clear-fell so I was surprised it did not do the usual close to the ground hunting over this area. As it progressed I could see small birds jumping out of the treetops so we surmised it was looking to grab the birds busy feeding on the plentiful cone crop.
A bit of research revealed that this behaviour had been observed over the Breckland forest in 1988 and examination of pellets at the roost site nearby revealed a plethora of small woodland birds likely to be in the firs!
Later on we were fortunate to find some Crossbills in bushes alongside the track which posed nicely.
