A few weeks ago, at about 05:50h, I was watering the flower pots that hang from the eave of my mother's garage. As I hung the last one of five back up, sommat caught my attention about 25m up, about 100m out. My immediate thought was, odd looking gull. Then, as I focused in and gained a sense of distance and scale, it was not a gull... waaaaayy too big.

I stood in awe and watched it as it flew so effortlessly over me. When it was directly overhead, I gauged the wingspan at just over 1.2m. I had goosebumps. I guesed at what it might be. I was wrong. An hour later, after searching my bird books and the internut, I confirmed it was a female Northern Harrier. Never saw one before.

No matter that I could not identify it right away. As it flew out of sight over me Mum's house, I had a thought come to mind. If only her next door neighbour's yappy little dog had somehow gotten outside without being on it's leash, I wouldn't have to listen to it yap and yap and fookin yap all fookin day long from dawn til dusk. (I know it's not the dog's fault, but the Harrier couldn't carry Ches away, eh?)