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Hey Twitchers what make and model bird of prey did i see earlier?



skipper734

Registered ruffian
Aug 9, 2008
9,189
Curdridge
Drew-Buckley-Red-Kite-Photography-Workshops-in-Wales_051-480x319.jpg
Red Kite. Difficult to find pictures of the backs of Birds of Prey, you're only supposed to see them from underneath.
Red Kite sounds favourite, got more gold in its plumage than the Buzzard. There are flocks of Buzzards round here and a couple of Red Kites. On still days you hear them before you see them.

Common-Buzzard-07.jpg
Buzzard
 






greyseagull

New member
Jul 1, 2012
2,023
West Worthing
I would actually go for a Honey Buzzard. Their numbers are increasing dramatically and they are regular visitors to the Arundel Wildlife and Wetlands Trust. Their head is also lighter than a regular Buzzard which may explain the white head description.

Honey.jpg
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
Having now google imaged Honey Buzzard, Sparrowhawk (I thought they were small, one thing 'my' bird wasn't) and [MENTION=12195]skipper734[/MENTION] image, the closest image is skipper's, because of the lighter colour.

Although today's bird was almost florescent by comparison to that image.

It was a fair distance ahead in the road, maybe 100 yards, and still clearly visible as not just 'another pheasant'.
As I approached (cycling) I got quite close before it took off across the field to my left.
It barely flapped it's considerable wings, and looked fantastic.



Oh and if you're a person of the car, Rolls Royce had something going on at their factory.
I couldn't move for Rollers from Goodwood to Arundel.

It's quite nice, this cycling lark.
 




smiler

Well-known member
Jan 12, 2006
676
Shoreham by Sea
Does anyone see a large bird of prey around the Berwick area regularly? I often see one or two on my drive along the A27 too big to be a common sparrow hawk but I never get a clear enough sight of it to describe it apart from it soars like a bird of prey and is large and mostly brown.

Buzzard I see it from the train from time to time
 


SIMMO SAYS

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2012
11,749
Incommunicado
Having now google imaged Honey Buzzard, Sparrowhawk (I thought they were small, one thing 'my' bird wasn't) and [MENTION=12195]skipper734[/MENTION] image, the closest image is skipper's, because of the lighter colour.

Although today's bird was almost florescent by comparison to that image.

It was a fair distance ahead in the road, maybe 100 yards, and still clearly visible as not just 'another pheasant'.
As I approached (cycling) I got quite close before it took off across the field to my left.
It barely flapped it's considerable wings, and looked fantastic.



Oh and if you're a person of the car, Rolls Royce had something going on at their factory.
I couldn't move for Rollers from Goodwood to Arundel.

It's quite nice, this cycling lark.

Have you been :drink:
 


Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
25,508
Worthing
It might have been an albatross.
What flavour was it ?
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
Have you been :drink:

Nope although I'm about to have a bottle of Hogs Back TEA with my diet pork scratching, in order to celebrate one of my toughest rides of the year.

I anticipate being asleep by 8pm :facepalm:
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
What does a diet pork scratching taste like?
It's all in the mind.
If i say they are diet they can't be all bad, can they?

It works on so many levels.
Diet chocolate.
Diet beer.
Diet pie.
Diet donut burgers.

The one downside is, surprisingly I'm yet to lose weight only eating diet food :lolol:
 




SIMMO SAYS

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2012
11,749
Incommunicado
It's all in the mind.
If i say they are diet they can't be all bad, can they?

It works on so many levels.
Diet chocolate.
Diet beer.
Diet pie.
Diet donut burgers.

The one downside is, surprisingly I'm yet to lose weight only eating diet food :lolol:

Never mind about all that----------what about the BIRD you've been seeing:wozza:
 


Seagull's Return

Active member
Nov 7, 2003
866
Brighton
Not sure about a Honey buzzard: as Paskman said, carrion isn't a common food source for them at all; they're really summer visitors here, too. Plenty of variety in nature, though, in fairness - on bird surveys I've spotted all sorts of out-of-season and out-of-character stuff over the years.

To me it sounds like a buzzard or possibly a female sparrowhawk, but I can't account for a striking gold band - colours and markings can be very varied, however. Usually a mistake to assume a rarity unless you have to (Occam's razor and all that), so probably not a Rough-legged buzzard or a juvenile Goshawk, though both might conceivably fit the description.

An escapee, perhaps? I'm not very clued-up on non-native raptors, but a Harris hawk might be a contender - lots of them in captivity for a start. While again no gold band as such, they often have a sort of block of bright rufous colouring to their wings along the leading edge, against a brown body with a white tail-band.
 


mistahclarke

Well-known member
Jul 28, 2009
2,997
what bird is this then?

He says, with some nostalgia for his youth where other sorts of birds caught his eye when out and about.

DSC_0301.png
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DSC_0317.png
 






The Sock of Poskett

The best is yet to come (spoiler alert)
Jun 12, 2009
2,836
Had a sparrowhawk in our back garden on Friday. Think it had bagged a mouse.
Splendid looking creature.
The bird, that is.
The mouse has probably looked better.
 










Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
25,508
Worthing
Driving through Berkshire and Oxon on the M40 it's hard to keep your eyes on the road when all the red kites are soaring above you. They're quite majestic.
 


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