[Mickymouse]

Birds of prey, given that I only tend to get a glimpse of them, what are the things to look out for, I know the hovering thing is unique to Kestrels and Sparrowhawks have shortish wings, I am asking because I have heard far more experienced birders than me be getting tripped up thinking they are seeing a Hobby when it turns out to be a Kestrel with certain feathers missing for instance, the books I have show splendid pictures of them perched somewhere but I just never see them like that, what should I look out for????????

Mick

[deboo]

Tricky...Micky!

Yes, they should be easy...but they're not.
Take Merlin for example.
It should be a straightforward ID, but you rarely
get more than a few seconds glimpse as they dart by.
If there is no other bird in sight (which is always the case)
then trying to judge size is v.difficult.
I'm often stood there thinking:
"Was that a female Merlin or a young Sparrowhawk?"
I had good views of a female Merlin last Autumn
at Woodwalton...It was hawking dragonflies!
And yes....I thought Hobby at first!!

Sorry for not helping much..hahaha :)

Dave.

[Bluetail]

Keeping it simplistic (and leaving plumage out of it):

For starters: Falcons all have pointed wings; hawks have rounded ones.

Kestrel: pointed wings; longish tail; hunts by hovering. NB easily confusable with Sparrowhawk when soaring high up (when wings look more rounded) but careful observation should sort out

Sparrowhawk: rounded wings; also longish tail; level flight is a characteristic flap-flap-gliiiiiiide; when hunting, soars high up then dives to chase victim or flies low secretively, eg along a hedge and flipping over to the other side hoping to surprise something.

Hobby: Compared to Kestrel, much longer, pointed wings; shorter tail - a much more dashing bird (Kestrel does not normally chase birds in flight). At long range can look uncannily like a very large Swift. At closer ranges, white neck collar helps to ID

Peregrine: Triangular wings (very broad at base); graduated tail thicker at base than at tip (when not spread); looks thickset, but with shorter body than above three.

Merlin: Small and fast. Usually seen at low level (I've never seen one high up). To my eyes, the least distinctive falcon, eminently confusable with any of the above, depending on circumstances!

Buzzard: the only big bird of prey commonly encountered. Broad, rounded wings and short tail; broad body. Soars in spirals with wings slightly raised in a shallow V with tips more upcurled (wings more level in gliding flight). Utters cat-like mewing call.

Goshawk: Although an accipiter, does not really look like a Sparrowhawk when seen well. Same basic shape as Sprawk, but a much heavier-looking bird with deeper chest and belly, much broader wings (esp at base) with more pronounced S-shaped curve to rear edge. Bigger: females can be as big as Buzzards, though males not much bigger than female Sparrowhawks. A forest bird and normally very secretive.

Honey Buzzard: Very similar to Buzzard. Differences all subtle. Longer projecting head (cuckoo-like); longer tail (but beware young Buzzards look long-tailed too); longer winged with a pinch-in appearance at base. Display flight diagnostic: climbs; raises wings vertically above back and shivers them. Soars with wings level, not raised like Buzzard (but beware: Buzzards glide and not infrequently soar on level wings too).

Hen Harrier: Big bird, more or less Buzzard-sized. Very rakish. looks to be all wings and tail (body looks the least significant part - very slim and short-headed). Glides with wings well raised in a quite deep characteristic V. Adult male plumage all grey with black wing tips (head darker grey); female and immatures brown with white band around rump (hence the common term "ringtail" for fems/imms).

Montagu's Harrier: Very similar to Hen Harrier, but a bit smaller with wings thinner and slightly more pointed - only 3 "fingers" (ie splayed primary tips) where Hen shows 4. Male darker grey than Hen with black covert tips forming bars on upper wings (absent in Hen). White rump on fem/imm thinner than on Hen.

Marsh Harrier: Same general shape as Hen Harrier, but broader-winged and a bit shorter-tailed so proportions a bit more like Buzzard. To my eyes does not look rakish like Hen Harrier, but more so than Buzzard. Also glides with wings held in a marked V.

[Keith Reeder]

Falcons all have pointed wings; hawks have rounded ones.

Yep, but I've lost count of the number of times I've watched a kestrel soaring on rounded wings "confusingly round wingtips" to quote p95 of the Collins guide, or a sparrowhawk going by at speed (especailly into wind) and showing (comparatively) pointed wings.

You clearly qualify this further down (a great set of rules which I've already signposted a friend to!) but I just thought I'd add an extra cautionary note in case you get quoted out of context!



I think that the overall look of the bird plus its jizz are the key, and your tips in that respect are really useful: and even with all that, I still haven't the confidence to "call" honey buzzard, even though - apparently - they're being seen more in this part of the world...

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I think birds of prey and gulls are probably the hardest families to ID (at least in the Western Palearctic). The reason for this is that sometimes even when you get really good views they can stump you.

Great guide from Jason, but don't Hobbies have a rather short tail in comparison to a Kestrel?

[Bluetail]

Ooops. Yes, Andrew. Thanks for pointing that out. Should have checked me facts! Correction made.

[StuartReeves]

I'd like to reinforce Andrew's point - these things are difficult ! Your observation that experienced birders sometimes get them wrong on initial viewing is a good indication of this, and I would certainly plead guilty as charged in that respect. There are a couple of good books on flight identification of raptors which are helpful, but there is no substitute for spending time in the field learning them for yourself. There are a few tricks however, and Bluetail's guide is a nice summary of these. For Sparrowhawk I find the rapid flap-flap-glide flight pattern a clincher. For Kestrel, colour is useful - no other raptor you are likely to see in Britain has that rusty brown colouration. However, I'm afraid I will disagree with Bluetail over Merlin - I find them the most distinctive of the falcons, with th ewingtip always being really sharply pointed.

Stuart

[pauco]

Thank's Jason, thats a help in the I-D of Raptors. They just won't sit still for you!! and gull's, why oh why do they have to have so many plumage changes!!! arrrrrrrrrr.
bert.

[Bluetail]

In another thread I recently wrote "I've just spent a week in France in an area where there were quite a number of Buzzards and all of them without exception were soaring on flat (or at best barely-raised) wings". I've noted them doing this in England too on occasion, but only rarely and I must say the fact that none of the French birds soared with wings anywhere near as raised as English ones surprised me a lot.

Why should they soar on flat wings? One possibility occurred to me, though there may be nothing in it. The weather in France was cloudless and very hot. When I've seen flat-winged soaring Buzzards in England it's also been in similar weather. Has anyone else has noticed heat making a difference to the way soaring Buzzards hold their wings, or is it just a coincidence?

[Benjismum]

Jason, that's a great guide, I'm gonna print it out and put it in my field guide, should come in handy as a quick reference.

cheers

[Tim Allwood]

lost count of the raptors i've let go on me travels!

sometimes even with good views and extensive notes it's impossible. Factor in OHB, hawk eagles with all their mimicry etc and it starts to become almost impossible at times. Aquila eagles are very difficult too - eg Indian Spotted Eagles.

re Comm Buzz on flat wings - never really seen an unequivocal prolonged instance of this but sometimes something approaching it....anyone else?

[Mickymouse]

Thanks for the info, like Benjismum I shall print a copy out to put in my book and more importantly try to memorise the details of the more likely local sightings.
Just to show how silly I can be, I was filling my pipe with baccy while I was reading this thread and on the packet there is a picture of a bird so I thought I would have a go at IDing it using Bluetails principles, then I noticed I was smoking Condor!!!!

Mick

[godwit]

"re Comm Buzz on flat wings - never really seen an unequivocal prolonged instance of this but sometimes something approaching it....anyone else?"

I've regularly seen em gliding on flat wings but don't ever recall seeing one soaring on flat wings. All raptors that normally soar on raised wings can sometimes be seen gliding on flat wings I think, including harriers.

Dave

[Bluetail]

Originally Posted by Mickymouse

I was smoking Condor!!!!

A man after my own heart!

[Tim Allwood]

Originally Posted by godwit

"re Comm Buzz on flat wings - never really seen an unequivocal prolonged instance of this but sometimes something approaching it....anyone else?"

I've regularly seen em gliding on flat wings but don't ever recall seeing one soaring on flat wings. All raptors that normally soar on raised wings can sometimes be seen gliding on flat wings I think, including harriers.

Dave

Hi Dave
cheers, I figured we were talking soaring and my comments relate to that. I've never been convinced of flat-wing soaring in Comm Buzz despite it looking the case on a few occasions and observers i've been with mentioning it.....wonder if angles and flight attitude etc can deceive here?.

[Bluetail]

When you're looking up at them I'd agree, but with some of the ones I saw I was pretty much level and can state categorically that the wings were level. I did, though, see more with wings (as I put it) "barely raised" than absolutely horizontal.

And just in case anyone's wondering I certainly wasn't mis-IDing Honey Buzzards. God knows I was trying hard enough, but I only saw one all week! (Apart from a couple of other possibles at about 2 miles range - but there's no way I'm claiming them.)

[Kevin Mac]

For an excellent read on raptors please check out "Hawks in Flight" by Pete Dunne and David Sibley (1988). It is a North American guide but I'm sure our Brit friends can glean some usefull information from it.

[John Cantelo]

Jason's resume was, I thought, quite excellent. Hence, I've taken the liberty of basing what follows on his "framework", but adding a few observations of my own (which, if I I could remember what was his and what's mine, I'd italicise). I'd like to claim that this is to assist those that might want to copy the sum total of mine and Jason's wisdom, but in reality it's sheer laziness!

Kestrel: pointed wings; longish tail; hunts by hovering. Rakish - the anorexic of the falcon world - this is the one that gets sand kicked in its face! Fast shallow wing beats lacking power and aggression.

Sparrowhawk: Oval, rounded wings and longish tail. Level hunting flight (and I mean level) is a characteristic flap-flap-gliiiiiiide. May use strategy of soaring up then dropping in a relatively shallow dive (rarely as deep as Peregrine) to prey. Also flies low 'hedge hoping' to surprise its prey; may hunt in pairs. Will even dive into cover to chase birds through bushes/hedges.

Hobby: Compared to Kestrel, much longer, pointed wings contrasting with shorter tail - a flying anchor. A much more dashing bird than Kestrel. At long range can look like a Swift, but note that, unlike Swift, insects are caught by the talons and transferred to the bill which gives a soar-swoop-pause flight profile (at long range this is a give away). White face and dark moustache good pointer at closer range. (Can be confused with rare Red-footed Falcon which can look very similar but note that the Hobby tends to steer by flexing wings whereas Red-foot twists its tail).


Peregrine: Triangular wings (very broad at base); graduated tail thicker at base than at tip (when not spread); looks thickset and 'chestier' than smaller falcons. Relatively short body. Immense impression of power and strength.

Merlin: Small, fast and feisty. Unlike Kestrel, a sand kicker! Merlin is to a Kestrel as a Harley Davison is to a moped (adapted from Dunne & Sibley's comment on Merlin vs American Kestrel). Hunting flight pattern recalls Sparrowhawk, but wingbeats deeper and more powerful - powerhouse downstrokes (no mere flaps these!) followed by rocket fast glides. Tends to have a more 'bounding' (like a Mistle Thrush) hunting flight action than "flat" pursuit of Sparrowhawk. Hunts low but will follow prey high into sky jinking and turning rapidly on tight 'flicking' wings. It tends to be a more persistent chaser than other BoPs (except, perhaps, Peregrine). Once learnt its 'flight envelope' can be distinctive.

Buzzard: Over much of central, northern and western UK the commonest 'large' BoP. Broad, rounded wings and short tail; broad body. Soars in spirals with wings slightly raised in a shallow V with tips more upcurled (wings more level in gliding flight). Utters cat-like mewing call. Extremely variable plumage, but often shows pale chest mark (unlike HB).

Goshawk: Although an accipiter, it does not have a Sparrowhawk's jizz - as likely to be mistaken for Hen Harrier. Same basic shape as Sparrowhawk, but a much heavier-looking bird with deeper chest and belly, much broader wings (esp. at base) and longer wings with more pronounced S-shaped curve to rear edge. Bigger: females can be as big as Buzzards, though males not much bigger than female Sparrowhawks. A forest bird and normally very secretive.

Honey Buzzard: Similar to Buzzard. Individual differences relatively subtle, but, well seen, collective impression can be distinctive. Smaller, longer,projecting head (pigeon or cuckoo-like). Longer tail with more rounded corners (but beware young Buzzards look long-tailed too). Longer winged with a pinch-in appearance at base. Deeper, springy, 'elastic' wingbeats than Common Buzzard reminiscent of kites. Look for the strong barring on the wings (esp. on outer flight feathers). Diagnostic display flight allows ID at long range: climbs; raises wings vertically above back and shivers them. Soars (as distinct from gliding) with wings level (or even drooping), not raised like Buzzard. (Contra Jason I've only rarely, and then only momentarily, seen Buzzards soar on flat wings).

Hen Harrier: Big bird, more or less Buzzard-sized. Males are more rakish than heavier females, but never approaches the skinny look of Montagu's Harrier. Looks to be all wings and tail (body looks the least significant part - very slim and short-headed). Glides with wings well raised in a quite deep characteristic "V". Adult male plumage all pale ash-grey with black wing tips and trailing edge to inner wing. Female and immatures brown with white band around rump (hence the common term "ringtail" for fems/imms Hens/Montagus/Pallids).

Montagu's Harrier: Very similar to Hen Harrier (esp. ringtails), but smaller and skinnier with wings, thinner and slightly more pointed - so much so that in silhouette it can recall Kestrel . (Shows only 3 "fingers" - primary tips - where Hen shows 4). Male slightly darker bluer grey than Hen with black covert tips forming bars on upper wings (absent in Hen, but be beware that this can be obscured in moulting adults). White rump on fem/imm thinner than on Hen. In flight the body tends to lift with each downbeat giving a lighter, floating flight action.

Marsh Harrier: Like a Hen Harrier that's been 'working out' regularly: beefier, broader-winged. A bit shorter-tailed so proportions a bit more like Buzzard. Often looks all dark, but look for variable amounts of straw on leading edge of wings & crown. Males with grey wings can momentarily be confused with Hen Harrier. As with all harriers glides with wings held in a deep V. Typically hunts low over field, reedbeds etc, but soars high in display flight and when 'commuting' from site to site.

Red Kite: Relaxed, "easy" buoyant flight with body bouncing up with wingbeats. Narrow chested and 'stretched' aft. Narrow wings often "folded" back in flight or drooped. Deeply notched tail flexed and turned in flight as a rudder. White 'windows' on wings.

Black Kite: It looks like a darker, stockier version of Red Kite. Flight action similar to Red Kite, but less "whimsical" and more "direct". And it really doesn't look like Marsh Harrier ……. oh, dammit, just don't get be started!
John

[godwit]

I suppose the one bit of advice I'd give to anyone who wants to know their raptors better (and this applies to other stuff too) is to keep watching them even after you know what they are, watch how their appearance alters with changing light, angle, distance and behaviour etc to build up a complete picture of the species that can be drawn on to identify those more fleeting views at other times.

Dave

[Tero]

The main problem I have is the same, I don't see them often enough, so it has taken quite a while to get a feel for relative size. It has confused me to have both 8x and 10x binoculars in use.

I like to have books with illustrations and photos. If they have them both in one book for your area, all the better. The Pererson we have is OK, not ideal.

[John o'Sullivan]

One impression I get with Merlin is they are compact birds more like a tiny peregrine rather than the rakish kestrel and hobby. They typically beat up the place in similar fashion to peregrine, arriving from nowhere, powering after prey and then either leaving as fast as they arrived or perching (often in the open).

Would some-one like to do a similar guide to stints/small sandpipers. Comments from people with field experience is really useful John O'

[Andrew Rowlands]

Hi all,

I've only just 'found' this thread and would like to add a few comments.

Sparrowhawk: Often gains height quickly, in a tight spiral, often with the same flap-flap-gliiiiiiide. Wingbeats are often a little too rapid to count easily. Distant, perched female-types can sometimes have a few whitish, oval feathers showing on the upperparts (to separate from Merlin).

Merlin: (the 'Jack Russell' terrier of the falcons) can look uncannily like a Peregrine, esp. females when driving off a male Goshawk (they share similar breeding habitats in certain areas of the U.K.). Even the little males will drive off Raven, Peregrine, Hen Harrier......

Common Buzzard: When soaring or circling, esp. with the wings up in the shallow v position, often has a 'rocking' action from side to side (N.A. birders, familiar with Turkey Vulture will recognise this trait), gains height relatively slowly, flaps more readily in level flight and when circling whilst gaining height, wingbeats are usually quite shallow and relatively 'stiff' (cf. Honey Buzzard: gains height quickly and effortlessly, can be watched for several minutes without a flap, though the tail is used much for steering, when it does flap, the action is often very deep and flexible).

Goshawk: smaller males can be confused with large female Sparrowhawks; keep watching ......., wingflaps are generally slow enough to count, longer 'necked' impression (compared to Spar.) with a tendency to 'look over its' shoulder' in flight; in Wales, they can often be seen over moorland, towns, open farmland and coastal areas; not so secretive or confined to forestry here!

Montagu's Harrier: on the Continent, watch out for melanistic birds!

Get a friend or two, some deckchairs and spend at least a six hour period overlooking a decent cross section of habitats, several times a year and checkout everything that has feathers and can fly! Experience is everything with raptors (and gulls, etc., etc.).

Andy.