Black Kite or Buzzard? (1 Viewer)

[wpercy]

Tim, how do you mean?.

 

[wpercy]

Had another look,no way on earth is that a Honey!.

 

[Edward woodwood]

sorry for the confusion Wayne
not being funny or owt
it was just a ref to all the recent HB debate etc. this DOES look mlike one to me though funnily enough.....

 

[CJW]

God, I remember this thread!
It's still a Honey Buzzard, despite what some of you have failed to learn from the (mostly) helpful Honey Buzzard thread.

 

[Michael Frankis]

I'd still like to know what a Honey Buzzard was doing at the same latitude as Inverness, on 13th April

Hands up those, who if you saw that reported on birdline, wouldn't think 'stringy' right away?

Michael

 

[CJW]

Hands up those, who if you saw that reported on birdline, wouldn't think 'stringy' right away?

Michael

Come off it Michael, not all of us are as cynical as you and your little friend.

 

[logos]

The bird certainly bears a superficial resemblance to a Honey Buzzard but when you start to examine in it in detail, and really quite a lot of detail can be seen in some of the images, all kinds of internal inconsistencies appear.

Even leaving aside for one moment the fact that Honey Buzzards remain in Africa during their second calendar year (and that the date is extraordinarily early), what age and sex could account for the plumage features of this bird if it is that species?

The fact that I don't think this can possibly be a Honey Buzzard does not mean I think it's a Black Kite though.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the view that this is a buteo but am unable to be any more precise, I don't think we can assume that it is necessarily of wild origin.

Spud

 

[Edward woodwood]

Spud n Wayne et al
didn't realise there were 4 more pix!
having seen em I'm totally thrown
bottom left of the four looks Black Kite (v. straight edge to pale window, dark secs, wing-tip shape and poss tail too and attitude in other pics) but single pic not so convincing.....
am I far enough onto the fence now boys?

 

[CJW]

am I far enough onto the fence now boys?

Careful you don't knock Spud off, while you're on there Tim - it doesn't take much!

 

[logos]

I don't make contributions to this site in order to receive abuse from cretins like you CJW.

Who on earth was resposible for making this halfwit a moderator?

Goodbye.

Spud

 

[wpercy]

I feel i must say to cjw that if you want to learn ,dont look at photos,get out in the field.
I have looked at little else than H.B. for twelve years,and if thats one i,ll eat my bins!!........

 

[marek_walford]

I'm sure many of you saw the Kite at Cheesefoot Head in Hants last winter but if not take a look at http://www.jjcskw.demon.co.uk/pages/milvus.htm

I saw the bird and it certainly looked like a Black Kite but definitely had five fingers.

As for this particular bird I'm not sure but I don't think it's a Honey Buzzard. Despite what's been said I don't think it shows a typical Honey head shape and nor is the tail long enough and rounded enough.

 

[THH]

teh´s bird is a Rough-legged (cant completely rule out Common). Forget Honey Buzzard and Black Kite!

The bird has dark belly patch and carpal patches and a dark tail bar - Rough-legged! Probably an adult (relatively well-marked dark trailing edge to wing). The underwing coverts look dark because of the light conditions (clear blue sky).

 

[jpoyner]

Dark phase Booted Eagle.
Structure size and tail look right, nice pale patch on inner primaries. Birds start going through Spain by March so the date would be right too. They can look very Black Kite like at a distance.
Good thread!

JP

 

[logos]

Sorry John, Booted Eagle is a non-starter due to wing formula and plumage (especially primary pattern) etc.

I can't see this being anything other than a buteo.

Spud

 

[THH]

Booted Eagle (dark or light) has no dark trailing edge to primaries and secondaries like this one.

If it was a Booted, it would have been the 10th and earliest record for Denmark.


Tim H. Hansen

 

[logos]

Out of interest Tim when do Honey Buzzards start to move through Denmark in spring?

Spud

 

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Spud,

One or two from early May on, with a strong peak between 20th-30th May.

Michael

 

[THH]

Michael is right!

The earliest records are from early may, and usually from eastern Denmark (birds breeding in southern Sweden?), and they arrive about a week later in Skagen (the northern tip of Denmark).

According to local birder Rolf Christensen the earliest record ever in Skagen was about 7th of May.

 

[logos]

Thanks Michael and Tim,

I suspected as much!

Spud