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Honey buzzard migration (1 Viewer)

gerald762

Well-known member
England
I saw a Honey buzzard yesterday at La Janda, near Vejer, Andalucia, Spain. I thought it was late in the year for migration. Then this morning 10 Honey buzzards flew over my house, going North. Are they young ones migrating late?
I attach 2 photos from this morning, they show one dark and one light bird. Is this variation normal?
 

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They vary incredibly from almost black to near white, with a host of tones inbetween, rusty red, brown, grey. Great images by the way.
 
Thanks for the compliment. Do you think these birds are late to migrate? Or are some last years hatchlings and possibly not old enough to breed?
 
The Honey-buzzards arriving now are tail-enders of the main spring passage at the Strait, which invariably peaks during the first ten days of May. They are likely to be adults from the northern part of the nesting range. Some passage continues right through June and there are stragglers throughout July. I have even seen two arriving in early August (at Bolonia). These very late birds seem more likely to be non-breeders although apparently most young birds remain in Africa until maturity.
 
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