Richmond Park, 21st September (1 Viewer)

I know this is a longshot but was anyone in Richmond Park yesterday afternoon and able to identify the raptor flying around the Pen Ponds area mid-afternoon, shortly after 3pm?

I checked the Surrey Bird Club website (nothing) and London Birders (Red Kites around 12pm, pretty sure that's not what I saw).

What I saw was a large(ish) raptor flying over the trees away from Pen Ponds up towards the sports fields. I then saw it a few minutes later over the trees being mobbed by a couple of crows which drove it back across Pen Ponds and towards the south.

I couldn't get a photo but it had large wings that were quite light underneath, but I'm sure were browner around the body. They were black fringed but I couldn't tell you for sure whether they were black at the tips or had a black chunk at the ends of the wings. I thought the tail was relatively short and square. All of which led me to Buzzard at the time.

I considered the Red Kite sightings from yesterday and am pretty sure the tail was wrong.

Today London Birders are reporting a Marsh Harrier in that sort of area. I dismissed Marsh Harrier yesterday on a few factors such as location (no reedbeds), tail (I'm fairly sure it wasn't long enough for a harrier) & numbers (Buzzards are more common). Now I'm not so sure.

If anyone can shed any light on the ID I would be most grateful

There are one or two Buzzards resident in the Park- that seems to be what you saw.

D-)

Thanks D.

I have been birding that park roughly once a week for a couple of years now and that was the first Buzzard I had seen there.