Brabant Netherlands, big raptor... looks rare.... (1 Viewer)

[Bertus]

These are pics of 17 April 2021 in a kind of a nature reserve nearby. Quality so/so... It does not look to me like a Buzzard, nor like a Sparrowhawk or a Goshawk. The bill is very large, still a crow was not impressed and tried to scare it away as I see crows doing so on Buzzards. Could somebody confirm this was a White-tailed Eagle perhaps? I know they get spotted in the Netherlands, even here away from the sea, but not many. Thanks for advice...

 

[Jos Stratford]

Immature White-tailed Eagle, not very common, but not very rare these days. Fortunately a species generally increasing.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
congratulations! Always an impressive bird to see!

White feathers to the breast (vaguely reminiscent of an ill bird with a poor state plumage), juvenile looking tail and whitish spots in the coverts should make this a 2cy bird imo.
But better wait for others to confirm or correct. Thanks!

 

[Bertus]

Thank you Jos, and indeed a very large bird, nice... My respect for your website, you have been travelling a lot. I have been in Iran too but that was in 1973, the year they kicked out Shah Reza Pahlevi. I had no eye for birds those days...