[buzzardbill]

On sunday the 22nd of march i was going over the antrim hills towards glenarm when i saw two buzzards in the distance with another large bird not far from them, and as they came across the front of me i realised that the third bird was larger than the buzzards with a different shaped tail and head this bird had a lot of white on the wing feathers on top with darker brown through them and very dark on edge of wings, this bird was not being attacked by the buzzards but you could tell they were keeping it at a distance and every time the buzzards were near it you could see a big difference in size, at first i thought of a red kite because they are bigger than buzzards and they had been realeased in ireland again but this bird had an awful lot of white through it and i just could not get an osprey out of my head and it looked very like it in my wee book, and as we are on the east coast and thought maybe it was heading for the west coast of scotland to nest and osprey's have been seen in these areas before passing through, but it just seemed surreal, i am 99% sure but as it is a bird i would not have expected to see in northern ireland i have a wee doubt.

[s. james]

Originally Posted by buzzardbill

On sunday the 22nd of march i was going over the antrim hills towards glenarm when i saw two buzzards in the distance with another large bird not far from them, and as they came across the front of me i realised that the third bird was larger than the buzzards with a different shaped tail and head this bird had a lot of white on the wing feathers on top with darker brown through them and very dark on edge of wings, this bird was not being attacked by the buzzards but you could tell they were keeping it at a distance and every time the buzzards were near it you could see a big difference in size, at first i thought of a red kite because they are bigger than buzzards and they had been realeased in ireland again but this bird had an awful lot of white through it and i just could not get an osprey out of my head and it looked very like it in my wee book, and as we are on the east coast and thought maybe it was heading for the west coast of scotland to nest and osprey's have been seen in these areas before passing through, but it just seemed surreal, i am 99% sure but as it is a bird i would not have expected to see in northern ireland i have a wee doubt.

Bit early in the year maybe for osprey?? Buzzards can look very white at times.

However a few ospreys are seen every year in NI.

[Johnny1]

Originally Posted by s. james

Bit early in the year maybe for osprey?? Buzzards can look very white at times.

However a few ospreys are seen every year in NI.

Plenty of Ospreys passing through this side of the Irish sea in Lancashire so there's a good possability it was an Osprey.

[buzzardbill]

i know what you are saying but the two buzzards were within a short distance from this bird and it was quite a bit bigger and i follow buzzards closely and knew this definitely was not one as it's tail was a different shape, and buzzards are generally whiter under the wings this had an awful lot of white on top (i know this can occasionally happen with buzzards).

[Finchey]

Originally Posted by buzzardbill

On sunday the 22nd of march i was going over the antrim hills towards glenarm when i saw two buzzards in the distance with another large bird not far from them, and as they came across the front of me i realised that the third bird was larger than the buzzards with a different shaped tail and head this bird had a lot of white on the wing feathers on top with darker brown through them and very dark on edge of wings, this bird was not being attacked by the buzzards but you could tell they were keeping it at a distance and every time the buzzards were near it you could see a big difference in size, at first i thought of a red kite because they are bigger than buzzards and they had been realeased in ireland again but this bird had an awful lot of white through it and i just could not get an osprey out of my head and it looked very like it in my wee book, and as we are on the east coast and thought maybe it was heading for the west coast of scotland to nest and osprey's have been seen in these areas before passing through, but it just seemed surreal, i am 99% sure but as it is a bird i would not have expected to see in northern ireland i have a wee doubt.

Hi Guys

Although i have not been lucky enough to see an osprey in Ireland, I have a friend who has been lucky enough to see one last year. I believe it was also around the Antrim coast area near Waterfoot.

He won't tell me the exact location, as although i have a great interest in birds he knows i have a very keen interest in taxidermy too. He is just extremely paranoid and slightly critical on my other hobby. Its just plain silly because apparently it is currently still illegal to kill any bird of prey in the UK.

I do believe the bird you seen with the buzzards was indeed an osprey. This pic below is one of my favourites where you can clearly see the markings on this stunning bird.

http://www.lakenormanwildlife.org/im...e%20Osprey.jpg

[Apodemus]

Perfect time of year to see ospreys travelling north

[Rob McA]

S James is totaly wrong ! An excellent chance of seeing Osprey on the Antrim Coast at this time of year. I'm sure thats what it was BuzzardBill ! Nice spotting " ; )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robireland/

[Chkm8]

We had an Osprey stop off at Kinnego last year for a few mths.
http://www.biodiversityni.com/craiga...s_stories.aspx

[mak3154]

Originally Posted by Chkm8

We had an Osprey stop off at Kinnego last year for a few mths.
http://www.biodiversityni.com/craiga...s_stories.aspx

heres the photos i digiscoped last time that OSPREY appeared at the Closet hide in Oxford Island

[Pluvius]

What about Male Hen Harrier

[spyro1972]

Mark those Osprey shots are fantastic.

Allison

[Lmc3598]

I saw an osprey a couple of years ago in Northumberland a good way to tell is that it has very long wings and soar on flat wings not v wings

[mak3154]

Originally Posted by spyro1972

Mark those Osprey shots are fantastic.

Allison

thanks Alison