A buzzard and gulls -- Kockrowsberg Polder, Spreewald, Germany (1 Viewer)

[Henry_Flower]

Hi, I have another couple of IDs I'd appreciate help with, from Kockrowsberg Polder in the Spreewald, Germany, today. Bird 1 is a buzzard, but is it a more interesting one than Common Buzzard? Strong carpal patch and contrast with the dark trailing edge of the wing made me wonder about rough-legged; unfortunately I don't have any shots of the tail, which I'd normally look for.



Then the gulls: these (rather distant) were mobbing a white-tailed eagle, and Merlin suggested Yellow-legged for the call (I can post the recording if it would help);


I had a better view of one later, in the same area but not necessarily the same species:


Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Henry,

the Buzzard is a Common Buzzard imo: Please note against a RLB:

• Raccoon Dog like face is better for this, RLB with a dark throat often give a different impression
• Uniform and contrasting dark secondaries
• that would be quite a massive bill for a RLB

I cant ID the three Gulls in the White-tailed Eagle picture with confidence, but my impression for the right bird: much white in the wingtip and shape of the black wedge with little black on p10 and possible lack of a band on p5 (yes, I stretch wishful thinking far beyond the limits here) gives it a Herring Gull vibe to me.

The last one is an adult Caspian Gull imo:

• dark eye and long bill
• narrow, but nearly complete band on p5
• can I detect a long grey tongue on p10? I think yes

 

[tconzemi]

Hello Henry,

the Buzzard is a Common Buzzard imo: Please note against a RLB:

• Raccoon Dog like face is better for this, RLB with a dark throat often give a different impression

Agree on CB but can you develop on the Racoon dog stuff
Especially as this bird has an unusual dark throat for a light CB

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Tom,

sorry for the late comment to your question:
some Common Buzzards have a "face" that reminds me of a Racoon Dog. I looked at pictures again, and think its caused by this: they have a largely darker forehead (not mainly the throat, while forehead and supercilium, and even the crown is pale in many Rough-legged Buzzards)

This results in a two coloured head with a vertical demarcation line. Together with a more or less dark neck, the resulting pattern is similar to this I think: Club300 Germany

Bemerkung zur Beobachtung - www.ornitho.de

Like this Common Buzzard (Fiener Bruch, NE-Germany, 01.12.2020)

IMG_0086

flic.kr

IMG_0085

flic.kr

Some more pictures:

https://flic.kr/p/2hVkWxB

(Common Buzzard, Fiener Bruch, NE-Germany, 15.11.2019)

https://flic.kr/p/2k3GNgT

(Rough-legged Buzzard, Fiener Bruch, NE-Germany, 03.11.2020, all RFbussard)


(Common Buzzard, Schwetzinger Wiesen, SW-Germany, 19. and 26.02.2011)

https://flic.kr/p/2qZay32

https://flic.kr/p/2qZbxrt

https://flic.kr/p/2qZbxEj

 

[Southern Viking]

I wish my photoshop skills were up to putting a racoon dog head on a buzzard body for the sake of this thread

I do see what you mean though