Despite their size goshawks are extremely difficult to find although the literature tells us that they are not particularly uncommon. Their elusiveness is almost certainly because they usually inhabit dense woodland and I last came across a pair of them deep in Le Forêt de Belaire a few seasons back. This week it was in the Braconne Forest that I saw one soaring above the canopy. Compared to the many similar sized buzzards which are soaring in a similar way at the moment, goshawks have much longer, narrower tails and this was the main distinguishing feature of this individual which didn't show itself for long.
The flooded fields are still full of lapwings, golden plovers and grey herons but very little else which is a bit surprising. The most interesting birds this week have been a few reed buntings near the Bandiat together with a couple of late bramblings, a pair of short-toed treecreepers in the Braconne and of course the resident garden firecrest.
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