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help to i.d. bird please (1 Viewer)

T

tamsin

Active member
hi,

this bird was seen near a small mudflat area on south coast..... medium sized, a bit larger than a kestrel... seemed very bird of prey like....... was totally black on wings and body and a totally white head....... it did not have a long neck, reminded me of a kestrel shaped bird...... it had a whole fish in its mouth and flew to the motor way embankment... but not up into the tree's but down into bushes at base of tree's....... it did not have a very long beak, not like a grebe.. shorter beak..... this was just a fleeting glimpse as it flew over......

it was very striking..... i saw no other colour like brown or grey.... it was jet black body and wings and plain white head.... the cl=olours did not mingle.....the white feathers at base of neck ruffled up in the breeze, like a collar......

it has been suggested it might be cormorant... but it had bulkier body.....there was no streamlining for diving for fish.....i watch 'water' birds everyday when i walk the dog..... avocets, oystercather's, grebes... this was not a water bird. it was stocky, more bird of prey like.


thanks for your help
 
Please explain how it flew if you remember. Shape, wing beats??

Also was it defintely jet black with just a white head? could it have been brown? Could it have been paler underneath but the light was poor?
 
jimmy2faces said:
Please explain how it flew if you remember. Shape, wing beats??

Also was it defintely jet black with just a white head? could it have been brown? Could it have been paler underneath but the light was poor?
Click to expand...

hi, yes the light was fading.... it was going towards dusk, but still good....i remmember jet black, no other colour... the white head was sparkling white... it flew over my head, so i saw underneath it...and remember no other colour except black and white.. it was about 4ft away from me.... quite close...its feathers didn't seem to be that of a water bird....i.e not sleek, oiled or waterproofed.......wingspan.....ummm 2.5 - 3 ft min.. and it carried quite a large fish with total ease......the wing beat was slow, my eyes were glued to its head and neck... where the white feathers met the black body, the breeze ruffled the end's up...i could see individual feather ends, it's head was small and round and neat. the beak was open, not a long beak but i couldn't see any shape to it, i presume because of the fish.

i immediately felt and still do, this was a bird of prey

I'll go back out in an hour or so to see if i can catch another glimpse and take a digi photo..... i would love to i.d it...

thanks for your help
 
hm! a melanistic osprey or a leucistic black kite are the only i can think of though i've never heard about such a black kite, but i've seen a very dark lookin, maybe melanistic osprey.
regards,
 
tamsin said:
hi, yes the light was fading.... it was going towards dusk, but still good....i remmember jet black, no other colour... the white head was sparkling white... it flew over my head, so i saw underneath it...and remember no other colour except black and white.. it was about 4ft away from me.... quite close...its feathers didn't seem to be that of a water bird....i.e not sleek, oiled or waterproofed.......wingspan.....ummm 2.5 - 3 ft min.. and it carried quite a large fish with total ease......the wing beat was slow, my eyes were glued to its head and neck... where the white feathers met the black body, the breeze ruffled the end's up...i could see individual feather ends, it's head was small and round and neat. the beak was open, not a long beak but i couldn't see any shape to it, i presume because of the fish.

i immediately felt and still do, this was a bird of prey

I'll go back out in an hour or so to see if i can catch another glimpse and take a digi photo..... i would love to i.d it...

thanks for your help
Click to expand...

Tamsin I think the only bird that I can think of that matches your decsription exactly would be a bald eagle.

http://www.naturescapes.net/memberpics/3957-bald_eagle_snatch_mid9e342.jpg

Still think an Osprey in poor light may be the my next choice.
 
London Birder said:
so, that'll be a Cormorant then lads?
Click to expand...


Cormorant....i'm not convinced and going back out tonight for a few hours.......i can recognise cormorants..... although thinking about it, i have not seen one in flight....

but if this so close immediatley over my head.......why didn't i see its neck.....do they stretch their necks out when they fly.......'cause this one was wound in to nothing.....

i'm not professional bird spotter, but this one was def a bird of prey,

if i can get a photo i'll try and post it... try being the operative word

many thanks all lads ****and lassie's****

tamsin
 
Keith Reeder said:
Tamsin, did you look at the cormorant in flight picture I posted in the other thread? It's pretty representative...
Click to expand...

Keith,

lovely photos, many thanks....

the cormorant in flight looked absolutley nothing like the bird i saw....

the other cormorant photo.... was dark in the body, yes... but not black enough...plus the cormorant's head has some white feathers......but...the bird i saw had pristine white feathers, that ended on a short neck.

the general consensus is a cormorant.....but my eyes took a snap shot of this bird and i will not be convinced.

i am on cloud nine and i can only say a pray that it has moved on, and will keep safe and find a reserve somewhere.

lastly, i think i have been bitten by the bird bug....what i saw was one of the most beautiful sights i have ever seen.....it was as if those feathers had been painted by an artist, i saw them ruffled up in the breeze. it was that close, i saw individual feathers and the fish's head and tail.......
if that had been a cormorant, i'd have recognised it.

this bird is not shy of man.....it flew very close to me and the dog....may it stay free and well fed!!!!
 
Tamsin's bird is a bit larger than kestrel sized.

You must have some pretty impressive kestrels in your part of the world, Rob!

;)
 
I know- but something doesn't stack up!

(Sorry - I've just re-read the thread and seen that we've been down this line before - I should go to bed earlier!)
 
If the bird had a large fish in its beak, how could the beak have been small? What was it gripping the fish with?

It must have been a sinensis cormorant (the white headed subspecies), which would have its neck tucked in if flying with a large fish in its beak to balance its weight more efficiently. It's the only bird that fits the description.
 
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