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UK/Raptor ID please (1 Viewer)

Are you even sure this is a raptor? If you have any additional info, please state up front

Niels
 
If I had any more information I wouldn't be asking and I would have posted it.

If you look top left it has a yellow eye ring and what looks like a hooked beak to me, I don't know if that classifies it as a raptor... I'm fairly new at this and it isn't my photo.

Considering I can't see any 'hood' or 'chest barring' but appears to have a grey head and grey wings, yellow eye ring and hooked beak, and vertical 'diamond specks' on the breast and it's sat in a hawthorn bush/tree with ripe berries and green leaves, which is all in the photo, not a lot I can add. Sorry. The sun appears to be out.
 
Beak and eye, visible behind leaves top left are pretty raptor-like. I can't make it into any UK breeder though. Yellow iris so not a falcon. General look superficially quite accipiter-like, but plumage (white belly and weak blotching on breast) excludes sparrowhawk and gos. Is that a grey leg, lower centre, near a very red cherry? Possibly an escaped falconry bird? Zoo escape? Don't know enough non-UK raptors to suggest what it is! Or have I ignored something really obvious again?
 
Crossed with above. Of course its a hawthorn, so the bird is quite small. Still don't know what it is. Not a Honey. Don't think male Sparrowhawk either, although about the right size and dorsal colour right. Too much plain white on the belly, no barring visible, so not typical Sparrowhawk. Perhaps its an atypical one.
 
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Sparrowhawk is barred to at least the legs though, though I haven't got a better answer without invoking weird escapes! It looks quite broad headed - so its clearly a miniature St eagle :eek:)


I'm thinking imm Sparrowhawk may be a little less barred - off to have a look
 
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Looking again, the hint of rufous on throat behind the beak, is also consistent with male sparrowhawk. Perhaps the barring its supposed to have is hidden behind the branch. Perhaps the plumage is just not typical lower on belly. Perhaps. But is that a grey leg or not? If it is a leg it shouldn't be grey if a sparrowhawk!
 
I don't think it's a leg.
I think I can see two yellow toes a bit further down.
Unsure though what the bird is.

Regards,

Ronald
 
If I had any more information I wouldn't be asking and I would have posted it.

If you look top left it has a yellow eye ring and what looks like a hooked beak to me, I don't know if that classifies it as a raptor... I'm fairly new at this and it isn't my photo.

Considering I can't see any 'hood' or 'chest barring' but appears to have a grey head and grey wings, yellow eye ring and hooked beak, and vertical 'diamond specks' on the breast and it's sat in a hawthorn bush/tree with ripe berries and green leaves, which is all in the photo, not a lot I can add. Sorry. The sun appears to be out.

Sorry, that did not come out too well. I had two reasons to ask, one was that you might have seen the bird fly away and thereby have some additional info, the other was a suspicion that this might be a quiz rather than a genuine id request.

I could not even find the bill first time I looked. My first reaction to the eye was sprawk, but the breast looked like a thrush to me; that was the reason for "is this really a raptor" question.

Now for a guess: could this be a lesser kestrel? The yellow looks like an iris, but even so, the kestrels do have some yellow around the eye. I don't think regular kestrel would have this sparce a spotting on the breast, and same for merlin.

Niels
 
I just can't make anything fit properly, looks like an accipiter but the breast pattern doesn't fit. Beak looks almost owl-like with no real sign of a cere, this also made me think of Harrier sp. as an option but I'm stumped at the moment and going to bed. Might be obvious in the morning
 
Looks like a Lanner Falcon to me.

If it is perhaps a Falconers bird since you can't see the feet jessies could not be ruled out either I guess.

Or some other falconry bird lannerxsaker who knows hehe.

Good picture
karpman
 
I would say juv short-toed eagle if it was bigger.

but on what I see in reality, the best I can say is a really messed-up sparrowhawk or some exotic raptor I've never seen...
 
Thanks for the thoughts... I did think juvenile male Sparrowhawk, but lack of chest barring put me off... Peg? Hobby? Merlin? Nah. Hence the question. Sorry it was the only photo and not one of mine. Odd or dead simple.

I am afraid this is tied up with a previous post about the two eggs (see below), this raptor was in the tree where the eggs were found underneath. But checking with my friend (I have one) she saw this BOP in September time 2009 (makes sense with the red berries). The eggs in the last month.(June 2010).

I think a field trip or two will be required.

From East Lancashire in UK.
"Deep up a moorland valley. The only trees are five twisted and knarled hawthorns which look like a grown out hedge".

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=174507
 
Thanks for the thoughts... I did think juvenile male Sparrowhawk, but lack of chest barring put me off.]

It's not a juv spar - see attached pic.

Looks like an escaped juv redtail to me?

Cheers
Jonathan
 

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