Hundreds visit rare harrier site

Telescopes have been set up to view the harriers

More than 1,000 people have flocked to see one of the UK's rarest breeding birds of prey in Lincolnshire.

A pair of Montagu's harriers are breeding at Digby Fen where the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has built a viewing platform.

There are fewer than 10 pairs of the harriers nesting in the UK.

Tony Bladen from the RSPB said it was wonderful the public was showing such interest in the birds mostly spend winter in Africa and Asia.

Digby Fen is located between Lincoln and Boston and the viewing area will be open until 26 August.

The watch point has been organised by the RSPB under the Aren't Birds Brilliant scheme, which runs dozens of projects across the UK aimed at encouraging people to take a closer interest in birds.

The harriers prefer to inhabit open areas, such as meadows and grassland and feed on ground birds and small mammals, as well as reptiles and invertebrates.