Reed Cam ready for work

The tricky operation of getting the disguised camera situated next to the nest was again conducted by wildlife cameraman Martin Hayward Smith who holds the necessary licence to visit the nest.

For 2009 he used reeds to hide the device. Then there was a nervous wait to see if the mother bird would accept the change, until she settled down and began brooding the chicks.

View archive footage of breeding marsh harrier at Sculthorpe Moor reserve here