Book about Pallid Harrier

For many birdwatchers, the Pallid Harrier is the holy grail of harriers. And how lucky, in recent years in Western Europe there has been an increasing chance to get this rare and wonderfully beautiful bird in the spotlight. Because from a vagrant he became an annual visitor and a spectacular new breeding bird.

First book worldwide about Pallid Harrier

In ‘Dwaalgast in het graan’ you follow Pallid Harriers from Iceland to Siberia and from Finland to South Africa. Breeding, hibernation and migration, everything you would like to know about this nomad and about its habitats can now be read in the very first book worldwide about this species! At first in Dutch, but hopefully soon also available in English.

About Pallid Harrier

In 2017, this graceful bird of prey nested for the first time in the Netherlands, in the north of Groningen. It was world news, because the nearest nest was 2500 kilometers away: near Oulu in Finland. The Pallid Harrier is also a new breeding bird there. As well as in Spanish, French and Czech grain fields. In 2019 there was a new successful breeding case in Groningen and in 2022 a Pallid Harrier male paired with a pair of Marsh Harriers, resulting in fledged youngsters.

Discoveries

What is going on here? Where do those Pallid Harriers suddenly come from? What is happening in the original breeding grounds, in Russia and Kazakhstan? In order to find answers, Ben Koks and Elvira Werkman have spent the past five years delving into literature and archives, talking to researchers on three continents, doing their own fieldwork and traveling. Their discoveries are surprising…