OT. Large bird of prey

[Papa Lazarou]

Just adding - they are impressive birds, and very distinctive with their V tails. And much bigger than anything else in Southern England.

 

[Jack Straw]

I managed to get a photo of it.

 

[Kneon Light]

If it had a V shaped tail it is almost certainly a red kite.
You do get Marsh harriers in Sussex but they are smaller than buzzards. Sparrowhawks also smaller.

 

[junior]

Could be my missus, she's a big bird.

 

[Dolph Ins]

I managed to get a photo of it.

Colour is wrong but tail is right.

 

[Dolph Ins]

The red kites I have seen from car on m40 are about quarter the size and have a much sharper v on their tails

 

[Dolph Ins]

There is one missing from a sanctuary near aldingbourne which has been on radio Sussex.
Can you email radio Sussex with any sightings

That sounds interesting. My first thought on seeing it was an eagle as I've never seen a bird that size apart from a heron

 

[Kneon Light]

The red kites I have seen from car on m40 are about quarter the size and have a much sharper v on their tails

If it is that much bigger than a red kite then the only thing it can be is an escaped bird. There are no UK birds of prey with forked tails larger than a red kite.
They are very big birds though.

 

[Exile]

The red kites I have seen from car on m40 are about quarter the size and have a much sharper v on their tails

If your sighting was of a bird FOUR times the size of a red kite (which has a wingspan of 70"), I'd get onto David Attenborough quick!

You've discovered a new species, almost double the size of the great albatross, and officially now the largest flying bird in the world.

 

[AmexRuislip]

The red kites I have seen from car on m40 are about quarter the size and have a much sharper v on their tails

The M40 is rife with Red Kites, there's a field just off the motorway by High Wycombe where they seem to congregate during the summer, quite spectacular.

 

[dazzer6666]

The M40 is rife with Red Kites, there's a field just off the motorway by High Wycombe where they seem to congregate during the summer, quite spectacular.

Agreed - always look out for them if driving up that way. There are a load of pine trees beside the road at one point and they're usually circling above them

 

[Giraffe]

Are those the fellas that you see hovering over a large part of the M40? Pretty sure their numbers are increasing feeding off the road kill.

Edit, sorry just seen the other post mentioning this. They are impressive to watch as you sail along at 70mph (but never more....)

 

[dazzer6666]

Are those the fellas that you see hovering over a large part of the M40? Pretty sure their numbers are increasing feeding off the road kill.

Yep, that's them........

 

[AmexRuislip]

Agreed - always look out for them if driving up that way. There are a load of pine trees beside the road at one point and they're usually circling above them

Off the Wycombe junction, it's a road to Marlow Bottom, where funnily enough has a decent brewery on the same road
Rebellion Brewery!

 

[Dolph Ins]

Ok I am not certain how big red kite are but this had the wingspan of a heron. The other gardener saw it the day before and suggested harrier. Colour was wrong for hen harrier. Marsh harrier was closest match I could find.

 

[WATFORD zero]

I'd probably still guess Buzzard. I've seen a huge variety of size and coloured birds all round sussex and some of them are seriously big.

 

[Mtoto]

The M40 is rife with Red Kites, there's a field just off the motorway by High Wycombe where they seem to congregate during the summer, quite spectacular.

I think this is/was the main re-introduction site which kick-started the Red Kite's revival in England about 15 years ago. It's certainly where I first started seeing them, anyway.

Almost crashed the car first time I saw one. Couldn't be anything else because of the forked tail and at the time, I thought they were still confined to wilder parts of Wales. Then I saw another one about half a mile down the road, and another half a mile after that. Looked it up when I got home and it turned out the population was already exploding, and they have since used the motorway network and its abundant roadkill to spread out over large parts of central England. Still haven't seen one in Sussex though, & was beginning to wonder why they hadn't made it down the M23, so good to hear they have started to arrive.

 

[dazzer6666]

I think this is/was the main re-introduction site which kick-started the Red Kite's revival in England about 15 years ago. It's certainly where I first started seeing them, anyway.

Almost crashed the car first time I saw one. Couldn't be anything else because of the forked tail and at the time, I thought they were still confined to wilder parts of Wales. Then I saw another one about half a mile down the road, and another half a mile after that. Looked it up when I got home and it turned out the population was already exploding, and they have since used the motorway network and its abundant roadkill to spread out over large parts of central England. Still haven't seen one in Sussex though, & was beginning to wonder why they hadn't made it down the M23, so good to hear they have started to arrive.

Definitely saw one on the Downs when out running one morning last year - between Clayton Hill and the A27 (not far from the Chattri site). It was on a fence within about 20 yards before flying off. Not seen any others though.

Buzzard numbers seem to be significantly increasing locally - had 5 circling over the house a couple of weeks ago (near to Bedelands in Burgess Hill) and very often see them when out plodding on the country lanes/trails.

 

[Kneon Light]

Ok I am not certain how big red kite are but this had the wingspan of a heron. The other gardener saw it the day before and suggested harrier. Colour was wrong for hen harrier. Marsh harrier was closest match I could find.

Marsh Harriers are large birds of prey but smaller than kites - significantly smaller than herons.
Red kites can vary in colour (as can buzzards) but the V shape tail still suggests red kite for me.

 

[AmexRuislip]

I think this is/was the main re-introduction site which kick-started the Red Kite's revival in England about 15 years ago. It's certainly where I first started seeing them, anyway.

Almost crashed the car first time I saw one. Couldn't be anything else because of the forked tail and at the time, I thought they were still confined to wilder parts of Wales. Then I saw another one about half a mile down the road, and another half a mile after that. Looked it up when I got home and it turned out the population was already exploding, and they have since used the motorway network and its abundant roadkill to spread out over large parts of central England. Still haven't seen one in Sussex though, & was beginning to wonder why they hadn't made it down the M23, so good to hear they have started to arrive.

I can tell you there have been a few near misses with people twitching and some.....
Glad you didn't crash
On a lighter note, there's a pair that commute over my allotment, keeps the pigeons on their toes!