Spotted very large perched bird of prey in County Durham, UK (3 Viewers)

[Kathryn North Shields]

White-tailed Eagle - BirdForum Opus but as Butty always says ...

This is the one I’m almost sure!

 

[Kathryn North Shields]

Hi again everyone. Thanks for all your help. Love that scene from Father Ted, so delighted that it’s been referenced in this thread 🤣

Just a couple of points to pick up on: I have regularly seen buzzards and this bird was much bigger. I was close to the bird and don’t think my size perception was skewed a la Father Ted. My dogs are very hairy and weigh approximately 5kg and this aided my weight estimate. A herring gull loafs on a daily basis in my garden and I estimated the bird I saw to be about 2-3x its weight. Maybe 5kg is an over-estimate but what I can say with certainty is that it was an extremely large bird of prey. Whilst it seems highly improbable, after all your feedback and photos, I’m pretty convinced that I saw a Sea Eagle. But I still keep asking myself what was it doing in Rainton Meadows and therefore questioning myself 🤪 so if anyone else spots one in the same location please let me know! Either way I feel honoured to have seen it!

Thanks again

 

[Daz001]

Thanks Daniel. Looking at the photo I don’t think so … the bird I saw had a bigger beak and there was more yellow. Also, I think the bird I saw was bigger.

Thinking logically. Buzzard. If it wasn't a Buzzard then a Red Kite is more common and larger in size. BUT if it was larger, then we could be talking an Eagle.

Isle of Wight Sea Eagles Archives - Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

www.roydennis.org

There are websites to show where the White Tailed Sea Eagles have visited as they are Tracked. Judging by the map... are those yellow lines right on top of Rainton Nature Park?

If you know your Birds, and looking at that map, I'm going to say you might have seen the White Tailed Sea Eagle. (that's just one of the Bird's data)