Cliff Hatton
Well-known member
Nothing to do with fishing really, but part of the great fishing adventure.
I feel sure I'm not the only angler-twitcher regularly frustrated by his inability to distinguish one predatory bird from another, especially as we have only a few to choose from in this country. Twice - once at Symonds Yat a few years ago, and once a few days ago on the M.48 going into Wales, I've seen a large bird with 'splayed' wing-tips hovering as surely as a kestrel. Now then: discount the harriers, the kestrel, the sparrow and goshawks, the hobby, the merlin, the kites and the buzzard. This leaves the owls, and Europe's only hovering eagle, the short-toed or snake eagle - pretty unlikely, I think. It won't be the tawny owl, the little owl, the barn or the long-eared owl, but it might be the short eared owl which DOES feed in daylight and can hover...but it DOES have very long wings, and 'my' birds don't appear to have long wings. Any thoughts, anyone?
I feel sure I'm not the only angler-twitcher regularly frustrated by his inability to distinguish one predatory bird from another, especially as we have only a few to choose from in this country. Twice - once at Symonds Yat a few years ago, and once a few days ago on the M.48 going into Wales, I've seen a large bird with 'splayed' wing-tips hovering as surely as a kestrel. Now then: discount the harriers, the kestrel, the sparrow and goshawks, the hobby, the merlin, the kites and the buzzard. This leaves the owls, and Europe's only hovering eagle, the short-toed or snake eagle - pretty unlikely, I think. It won't be the tawny owl, the little owl, the barn or the long-eared owl, but it might be the short eared owl which DOES feed in daylight and can hover...but it DOES have very long wings, and 'my' birds don't appear to have long wings. Any thoughts, anyone?