As we walked up the valley and arrived at the favoured location the bird came into view almost immediately ... it performed wide circuits of the narrow section of the valley ...
... flying quite high and disappearing over a rise only to reappear moments later ...
... the elegance and rakishness of it was striking ...
... so different from our own Hen Harriers ...
... sometimes on one ridge of the valley ... and then the other ...
... and at times performing the most exuberant and aerobatic skydancing I have ever seen ...
... mostly at an incredible height ...
Pallid Harrier has a breeding distribution from the Ukraine, across Central Asia to Mongolia ... it winters largely in Africa and the Indian Subcontinent ...
... in between bouts of skydancing the bird went lower down the valley side to an area where it plucked grass in its bill and indulged in some nest building activities ...
... after two hours or so the bird had been continuously active ... flying circuits ... skydancing ... nest building ...
... an extraordinary spectacle ... given by a very rare bird ...
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