What raptor is this then?

[senatore]

This will be easy for the raptor guys but others may struggle for a bit.

Taken in mid Wales last Tuesday.

Max.

[keithyed]

Think i saw this bird at gigrin farm last year but feathers were a bit better

keith

[Peewit]

Amercian Eagle of a type - Amercian Bald Eagle/Sea eagle at just a guess

Peewit

[AStevenson]

Never seen one in that state before - what a mess - hardly showing the graceful elegance of the species!

[deborah4]

looks like a Fledgling Red Kite in a terrible state of moult!

EDIT it is in a terrible state of moult which would rule out a 1cy! So... just Red Kite

[bitterntwisted]

It's a Red Kite with lots of knackered leucistic feathers. The feathers without pigment can be more prone to wear.

[matthall]

that is a red kite . i could tell as soon as i saw it ( bit in a shoddy state though)

[martin kitching]

looks like a Fledgling Red Kite in a terrible state of moult!

Any particular reason for thinking it's a fledgling?

cheers
martin

[deborah4]

This will be easy for the raptor guys but others may struggle for a bit.

Taken in mid Wales last Tuesday.

Max.

Hi Max

It is a Red Kite as I said originally but it's not a 1cy - I was rather lazy and didn't enlarge the pic - it's obviously in an advanced state of moult! This would rule out a bird from this year (not even sure they've fledged yet have they? but I'm sure some smart alec will advise me ;) ).

Nice to see them doing well in Wales - we're getting more in Sussex too (from the original Chiltern population spreading South I believe)

Great photo btw!

[ayasuda]

Did you report the color wing bands. If you can determine the numbers on the color band then someone might be able to give you the history of this bird.

[senatore]

Sorry to give the answer so late but broadband went down in this area.

It is as most of you pointed out a Red Kite.Several other birders pointed out to me at the time that it was an albino.

Max.

[martin kitching]

.....Several other birders pointed out to me at the time that it was an albino.

Max.

I hope you corrected them Max;) The bird is not an albino, by any stretch of the imagination. The presence of black, grey and dark brown in the plumage, the pale-lemon iris and the bright yellow legs rules out this possibility.

For anyone interested there was a very informative paper about colour aberrations in birds, published last year;

van Grouw, H. Not every white bird is an albino: sense and nonsense about colour abberations in birds. Dutch Birding (2006) 28, 2, 79-89


cheers
martin

[senatore]

Hi Martin,
I didn't correct them because I believed them at the time.This bird is considered a bit of a celebrity at this site because of it's colouring and it is considered to be an albino.However your comments ring true and I'm sure you are correct but I wont tell them!!!!!!.

Max.

[deborah4]

Hi Martin,
I didn't correct them because I believed them at the time.This bird is considered a bit of a celebrity at this site because of it's colouring and it is considered to be an albino.However your comments ring true and I'm sure you are correct but I wont tell them!!!!!!.

Max.

Do you know the age of the bird Max? It does look quite pale (not albino!) and just wandered if it's pigmentation effects the moult/feather wear

[martin kitching]

As the bird has feathers from more than one generation, and the outermost primaries appear to be retained juvenile feathers then it's probably a 2cy bird (definitely not 1cy/fledgling). It's tagged so if someone has read the tags then it should be possible to find out exactly how old and where it came from.

cheers
martin

[matthall]

seeing as martin is from northumberland i have been wondering if u have seen the red kites around durham ? lots of them about. fantastic to see.

[The Raptor]

This red kite appears to be the white one, I saw it last year at Gigrin. I believe that the black tag on the left wing means it hatched in Wales, the right wing tag is either red or orange, difficult to tell from this photo, red wing tag means bird hatched in 2003 & orange in 2005, these identity tags however may be from the other red kite feeding station near Aberystwyth & not sure if this applies with Gigrin.

ROD.