Weekend in Suffolk; Marsh Harriers Take a Tern for the Worst

I had planned getting to Suffolk for dawn, but didn't quite make it.  After a quick 2 hour drive I arrived at 7am at Hen Reedbeds near Southwold.  I was hoping to find Marsh Harriers in the morning sun, but I was a little late and they weren't coming close.  It was great to be out there without another person in sight.  A walk up to the estuary produced a pair of Pintail:

On to Minsmere for another attempt at the Marsh Harriers from the Bittern Hide.  Over the two days I managed some nice attempts but never got the light for a great shot.  The problem with these birds is that they spend most of the time looking down!  In addition they seemed to fly in a general circular direction away from the sun which didn't help:

A Bittern came relatively close during the morning with a nice fly past:

The Marsh Harriers were abandoned when news came of a White-winged Black Tern on the scrape.  Unfortunately it was feeding right in the middle of the water, too distant for any shots.  Still, a beautiful bird though in nice summer plumage. 

Later in the day a couple of nice shots of Red Deer and Rabbit were possible: