Large Falcon, Greece (1 Viewer)

Hello,
Gallikos estuary near Thessaloniki, North Greece, 23-4-2017
Could it be a Saker ?
in the first foto with a Marsh Harrier,
in the second with probaple Peregrine

yes, saker, and yes with peregrine in the second pic.

Thanks lou,
could you (or someone else) write more about the id features of this bird ?
Both Saker and Lanner are rare birds at this site (Gallikos) but generally Lanner breeds in some parts of Greece so Saker is more rare.
In a Greek id facebook page, some people said that the bird is probaply a Lanner.
The impression that i had in the field was for Saker (although i haben't seen one) but the bird looked heavy and very big and the underpants looked dark.
But now that i see the picture i'm not sure beacause of the head pattern.

babists said:

The impression that i had in the field was for Saker (although i haben't seen one) but the bird looked heavy and very big and the underpants looked dark.
But now that i see the picture i'm not sure beacause of the head pattern.

Click to expand...

I can't really comment on the other ID features, but Saker is the biggest falcon species in the region - so if it looks big and heavy, that seems accurate.

It's sooooo difficult with these two!
So no Id from me, just a few remarks
The bird looks huge but can it be a simple photo-artefact, it must definitely be smaller than the harrier
The thighs look darkish, but it is such a dark bird
What is visible from the head pattern fits both
Feet are yellow which may be better for Lanner at this age, but it is a second cy, so maybe both possible
From behind the tail pattern looks better for Lanner with long light bars contra points or ovals
I suggest to send these pictures to Dick Forsman, it would be a pleasure to learn something about Lanner/Saker ID
Maybe tib dares commenting?

i thought that heavy streaking is very dense and reaching very far down. also thighs look marked although not entirely brown. structurally the very broad arm also suggests saker. but head pattern had me looking more than twice as well.