Marsh Harrier

I set out yesterday with the intention of photographing water voles, and unfortunately they did not really play ball and I only had a very brief view of one as he swam across a channel between reed beds.
It is fair to say that I didn't really go at the best time so I shouldn't be too surprised at the result.
I did however get a very fine compensation in the form of this magnificent marsh harrier.
Initially it dropped on to a bank about 70m away but then flew much closer and landed about 30m away.
The autofocus was struggling a little with the varied background but it came around 3 times at varying distances so in the end I was more than happy with the afternoon's work.