[Help] Bird identification

[cardboard]

2 pairs of peregrine falcons hovering over Horsham town centre yesterday which was a sight. I thought they only had nesting sites in Brighton and Chichester so not sure what was going on unless they just fancied a day out?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Last week, between Newhaven & Beddingham, we saw a large bird of prey hovering. My first thought was a buzzard but the wing span seemed larger.
I've since found out that 6 white tailed Eagles have been released on the IOW, & one of them, Culver, made his way to Essex, and back to the island, having been tracked via satellite. They've all been ringed and have transmitters. He was definitely tracked over Polegate, so now I'm wondering if it was him we saw.
White tailed Eagles are being reintroduced into southern England.

 

[Mr Putdown]

Last week, between Newhaven & Beddingham, we saw a large bird of prey hovering. My first thought was a buzzard but the wing span seemed larger.
I've since found out that 6 white tailed Eagles have been released on the IOW, & one of them, Culver, made his way to Essex, and back to the island, having been tracked via satellite. They've all been ringed and have transmitters. He was definitely tracked over Polegate, so now I'm wondering if it was him we saw.
White tailed Eagles are being reintroduced into southern England.

If it was hovering then it wasn’t a white tailed eagle.

 

[Mr Putdown]

I'm in Camp Pheasant, although it does look like it's seen the thick end of a 12 bore which has skimmed it's arse.

It’s a juvenile, it’s tail hasn’t fully grown yet.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

If it was hovering then it wasn’t a white tailed eagle.

Ok. I'm no twitcher so don't know the finer details. Do buzzards hover?

 

[jakarta]

Ok. I'm no twitcher so don't know the finer details. Do buzzards hover?

Yes they do, although circling is a better description.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Yes they do, although circling is a better description.

Thank you. I was amazed at the wingspan.

 

[sydney]

Only one way to find out

50g butter
That bird + a mate,
100g bacon lardon
1 onion chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
4 sage sprigs, leaves chopped
2 eating apples, cored and cut into large chunks
500ml cider
300ml chicken stock
1 Savoy cabbage, finely shredded
100ml double cream
mashed potato

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Melt the butter in a large non-stick flameproof dish. Season the Bird(s), add to the dish and brown on all sides. Remove from the dish and set aside.

Add the bacon, onion, celery and sage to the dish and cook for 10 mins until the onion is soft and the bacon is crisp. Carefully pour off any excess fat.

Return the Birds to the dish and scatter over the apples. Pour over the cider and the chicken stock, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 25 mins until the birds are cooked through.

And let us know how it tastes

pluck & gut first ........does one hang the pheasant post gutting or prior to.....and how long for 5-7 days..?

 

[CheeseRolls]

People Google LENS is your friend for stuff like this.

https://lens.google.com/#!#download

If you use google photos you may already have it installed, the icon looks like this.


It uses artificial Intelligence to highlight the area of focus in the photo and then compare it to known images and their descriptions. For identifying plants and animals it is really useful. It identifies this as a pheasant by the way.

 

[sydney]

If it was hovering then it wasn’t a white tailed eagle.

soaring or gliding yer but hovering nah there are only a few raptors that hover kestrel , sparrow hawk .......i think the buzzard is too big to "hover" as such.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Thank you. I was amazed at the wingspan.

There are a lot of big buzzards around. You can normally tell them by the way the circle lazily with a very distinctive V shape to the way they hold their wings

 

[highflyer]

soaring or gliding yer but hovering nah there are only a few raptors that hover kestrel , sparrow hawk .......i think the buzzard is too big to "hover" as such.

Agreed, buzzards don't 'hover'. They circle in thermals, glide and only flap if they really really have to.

However, a few years ago (in 2014 to be precise) we spotted a very large bird of prey genuinely hovering not very far from where we live. Which seemed very odd, as it was way too big to be any of the usual hovering suspects. A few days after that I was on a ride through the Ashdown Forest and saw a huge number of full-kit twitchers, assembled at Gills Leap car park. I stopped and asked what they were looking for and they said there was a young short toed eagle hanging around. This was a BIG event. Turns out short toed eagles do hover, in the traditional sense, it's one of the things that makes them distinctive (also their teeny tiny toes). So (having also checked plumage etc) we were pretty certain that's what we'd seen.

It's not impossible that you've spotted one of those, but if you have you are going to cause a stir!

 

[WATFORD zero]

pluck & gut first ........does one hang the pheasant post gutting or prior to.....and how long for 5-7 days..?

It's a matter of taste, but the flavour is quite strong (particularly the cocks), so no hanging for me. But if you do, guts in and a bit less, 2-4 days

 

[Goldstone1976]

Yep, that’s a bird.



It’s a femal pheasant.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Agreed, buzzards don't 'hover'. They circle in thermals, glide and only flap if they really really have to.

However, a few years ago (in 2014 to be precise) we spotted a very large bird of prey genuinely hovering not very far from where we live. Which seemed very odd, as it was way too big to be any of the usual hovering suspects. A few days after that I was on a ride through the Ashdown Forest and saw a huge number of full-kit twitchers, assembled at Gills Leap car park. I stopped and asked what they were looking for and they said there was a young short toed eagle hanging around. This was a BIG event. Turns out short toed eagles do hover, in the traditional sense, it's one of the things that makes them distinctive (also their teeny tiny toes). So (having also checked plumage etc) we were pretty certain that's what we'd seen.

It's not impossible that you've spotted one of those, but if you have you are going to cause a stir!

When I said hovering, it wasn't flapping like a kestrel, but was almost stationary over one point looking down at a prey (rabbit?) but only 30 feet or so up.
I was the passenger in the car so could see the wings & 'fingers' at the end of the wings very clearly.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Yep, that’s a bird.



It’s a femal pheasant.

A menopausal pheasant ? Could be a bit dry, and you certainly wouldn't want to roast it.

https://www.femal.co.uk/

 

[highflyer]

When I said hovering, it wasn't flapping like a kestrel, but was almost stationary over one point looking down at a prey (rabbit?) but only 30 feet or so up.
I was the passenger in the car so could see the wings & 'fingers' at the end of the wings very clearly.

Ah, then yup, that's a Buzzard.
Very common, but still magnificent.

 

[sydney]

It's a matter of taste, but the flavour is quite strong (particularly the cocks), so no hanging for me. But if you do, guts in and a bit less, 2-4 days

perfec.......takes me back to that crisp december morning in the early 70's , i gambolled down the stairs in my jim jams and dressing gown , the old man winked at me and said " go and have a look in the garage" there i was expecting an early chrimbo present but what greeted me was a huge white goose hanging over a bucket , blood dripping rhythmically from it beak creating a death knell in the pail beneath......that vision stuck with me and the guilt i felt on our future walks to patching pond was unworldly....i refused to partake of the goose at that stage .......these days i reckon i'd eat it no bother ....with a cab merlot , some cranberries...... and a lion bar.

 

[brakespear]

It's a matter of taste, but the flavour is quite strong (particularly the cocks), so no hanging for me. But if you do, guts in and a bit less, 2-4 days

Don't eat the cock then

 

[Superphil]

soaring or gliding yer but hovering nah there are only a few raptors that hover kestrel , sparrow hawk .......i think the buzzard is too big to "hover" as such.

Surely it's only a Harrier that can hover?