Mystery Birds

Cliff Hatton · May 18, 2012

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?

beerweasel · May 18, 2012

On what grounds did you discount the usual suspects ?
What colour was it ?
What shape tail ?
I think Kite is most likely for Wales.

murv · May 18, 2012

beerweasel said:
On what grounds did you discount the usual suspects ?
What colour was it ?
What shape tail ?
I think Kite is most likely for Wales.

^ This

Or even the other, much underrated aerial beauty the Buzzard can certainly do a fair impression of being able to hover

Hugh Bailey 2 · May 18, 2012

You say large bird , so I'd guess we can discount Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin & Hobby. Symonds Yat is well know for Peregines (also Gos & Buzzard), so , in daylight I'd guess one of these. If it was a few days ago, probably too late for Gos displaying? maybe Peregrine or Buzzard

Bluenose · May 18, 2012

I pulled up at some lights yesterday, onside window down, some mad little thing chirping in the bushes... a goldcrest, right there on the A49/A556 junction.

3 metres away. Ace.

Sorry to hijack Cliff, I told them in work, showed them a pic, but they don't get it!

mark brailsford 2 · May 18, 2012

It's a honey buzzard mate, much longer wings than our common buzzard and they are becoming more common over the last couple of years.
for folk that are not much up on birds here is a little tip on raptors, falcons, ie, kestrel, merlin, have pointed wings, the hawks, ie buzzard, goshawk, sparrow hawk have spayed wing tips...simples!!!

Cliff Hatton · May 19, 2012

Thanks, everyone so far. I discounted that list because I'm pretty good on birds and none of those could have been my hovering M.48 bird; I must emphasize this bird's hovering ability - it held station as surely as a kestrel, but this was bigger and had those splayed wings. All birds can hover to some extent (with the obvious exceptions!) but can a honey buzzard do a rapid-winged hover, like a kestrel? It wasn't a kite of any kind, and it wasn't a perry or a 'standard' buzzard. I'm still keen on the short-eared owl theory, but I'll eagerly look into the honey buzzard thing. Keep your suggestions and sightings coming!

PS: Mark: 'my' bird didn't appear to have very long wings...it's the short-eared owl I attribute long wings to.

mark brailsford 2 · May 19, 2012

Cliff Hatton 2 said:
Thanks, everyone so far. I discounted that list because I'm pretty good on birds and none of those could have been my hovering M.48 bird; I must emphasize this bird's hovering ability - it held station as surely as a kestrel, but this was bigger and had those splayed wings. All birds can hover to some extent (with the obvious exceptions!) but can a honey buzzard do a rapid-winged hover, like a kestrel? It wasn't a kite of any kind, and it wasn't a perry or a 'standard' buzzard. I'm still keen on the short-eared owl theory, but I'll eagerly look into the honey buzzard thing. Keep your suggestions and sightings coming! PS: Mark: 'my' bird didn't appear to have very long wings...it's the short-eared owl I attribute long wings to.

I have sat on a hillside near loch awe and watched common buzzards hovering over some gorse bushes, it was quite a sight to see!

Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC) · May 19, 2012

Can't think of anything other than has been suggested Cliff but it did remind me of two unusual sightings I have had.

Watching an Eagle Owl surveying all below from its perch on Canterbury Cathedral, and having my fielding distinctly disturbed as a pair of mccaws flew over Kirby Stephen cricket ground!! Assume escapees in both cases!!

Cliff Hatton · May 20, 2012

An eagle owl in Canterbury, Posh Paul...fantastic! In '94 I was staying overnight in a small hotel at the very top of Rocamadour, Central France - a medieval village built more or less vertically in the side of a ravine. Around midnight, I sat by my open window looking at the flood-lit cliff-top where pigeons roosted for the night. From out of the jet blackness came an eagle owl, talons extended to grab a bird off it's perch. You should have seen the shower of feathers...

no-one in particular · May 20, 2012

I heard eagle owls can take your pet dog or cat. Don't know if it is true?

mark brailsford 2 · May 20, 2012

markg said:
I heard eagle owls can take your pet dog or cat. Don't know if it is true?

They might take a pup or a kitten but you are quite safe, the European Eagle owl is only found on the continent and not on the British mainland.
There are two Eagle Owls, the European, which is the largest and the Bengal (my mate has one of these and she is stunning) As my friend stated above, the one he saw was most likely an escapee so don't worry about your pets just yet!!

nicepix · May 20, 2012

There were a couple of European Eagle Owls nesting on the North Yorkshire Moors a few years ago. Don't know if they are still there.

mark brailsford 2 · May 20, 2012

nicepix said:
There were a couple of European Eagle Owls nesting on the North Yorkshire Moors a few years ago. Don't know if they are still there.

Are you sure they were not the short eared owl, these birds are large and nest on the ground in moorland areas, the Eagle owl like's pine such as the vast black forest.

alan whittington · May 20, 2012

Cliff ive seen an escapee eagle owl fly off the roof of my local Asda chasing a blackbird intent on mobbing him,my jaw almost hit the deck as it glid between the parked cars about four feet high before disappearing over a garden fence,the only saving grace was my wife saw it too,a very large bird indeed,glad she did cos no bu**er would have believed me,as for your bird,it was almost certainly a buzzard,which often 'hover' and although they are not as efficient as kestrels,with a breeze they do a good impression,also with their becoming more common(as are kites),you see them everywhere(including my house in Luton),ive seen many hovering mainly in Wales,but also within 10 miles of my home.

mark brailsford 2 · May 20, 2012

alan whittington said:
Cliff ive seen an escapee eagle owl fly off the roof of my local Asda chasing a blackbird intent on mobbing him,my jaw almost hit the deck as it glid between the parked cars about four feet high before disappearing over a garden fence,the only saving grace was my wife saw it too,a very large bird indeed,glad she did cos no bu**er would have believed me,as for your bird,it was almost certainly a buzzard,which often 'hover' and although they are not as efficient as kestrels,with a breeze they do a good impression,also with their becoming more common(as are kites),you see them everywhere(including my house in Luton),ive seen many hovering mainly in Wales,but also within 10 miles of my home.

Alan,
I am blessed with being able to walk to work across the fields (and back home) and I usually have the local pair of buzzards and last years young playing around the woodland. It is so nice to see them back after many, many years absence due to silly man using DDT and such. Enjoy them Alan and I hope you see many more around Luton in the next few years.

Cliff Hatton · May 20, 2012

Sorry if this is beginning to sound like the Python Poverty Sketch but many years ago my mum was sitting in her sister's kitchen in Bromley, S.E London, with the door open to the garden. They heard a bird cry, and Mum pronounced it that of a golden eagle. Of course, Aunt Phil told her not to be so bloody silly, but Mum insisted it had been a golden eagle. On that evening's news, it was announced that 'Goldie the Eagle' had escaped from London Zoo!
Mum was no fool. eh?

peter crabtree · May 20, 2012

I saw a buzzard hovering just like a kestrel ( but not as much wing movement)
this morning on the A41 near Berko.

alan whittington · May 20, 2012

mark brailsford 2 said:
Alan,
I am blessed with being able to walk to work across the fields (and back home) and I usually have the local pair of buzzards and last years young playing around the woodland. It is so nice to see them back after many, many years absence due to silly man using DDT and such. Enjoy them Alan and I hope you see many more around Luton in the next few years.

Mark,about 2 weeks ago we had a report of some ar***ole had poisoned 2 red kites 15 minutes from home,cant understand it as they actually kill very little and scavange most of their grub.

nicepix · May 20, 2012

Right! If we are braggin' let me tell you that there are a pair of black kites nesting about 300 metres from our house, at least three pairs of buzzards on the estate and a short toed eagle regularly seen on the far edge of the village. Beat that!!

Mark, you might be correct. Memory plays terrible tricks, but I am sure that one of the birds was described as an escapee and they didn't know where the other was from. I have seen the short eared owls nesting near Danby, and were being harried by crows seemingly intent on raiding their nest.

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