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Falcon, Dundee, Scotland 1/6/24. (1 Viewer)

Stonefaction

Dundee Birding....(target 150 in 2025).
Scotland
Spotted this falcon this lunchtime from the top of Dundee Law. Rather distant so quality of photos is somewhat lacking - not much obvious detail and colours are a bit 'off'. Initially I thought it was a small-ish falcon (there is a Kestrel hangs around the top of the Law which I'm used to seeing at varying distances and it seemed to be a similar size). The bird appears to have a full crop which is changing the shape of the front end of the bird. The head markings seem to be strong and look a bit Hobby-esque in shape (where visible) and too strong & dark for Kestrel. Some of the photos appear to show strong breast markings, though there's no obvious sign of the red vent of a Hobby. I'm not convinced the wing shape is quite right for Hobby either - though I've only ever seen 2, the last of which was 10 years ago this month, so I'm not really familiar with the species. I'd be very chuffed if it was a Hobby, but I'd appreciate some input from others regardless of what it might be.

Might be slightly easier to see what detail there is by looking at the photos on my twitter feed -
 

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Thanks, folks. I hadn't considered a Merlin, mostly due to urban location and time of year - (despite having had a definite Merlin from my living room, a mile to the east of the hill just over a month ago). I didn't get a Kestrel 'feel' at all from the bird when I saw it - there is a resident Kestrel that I'd seen earlier, and which I see on most visits to the hill. Kestrel WOULD however probably be the likeliest species. I've gone back to all of the photos I took again and scrutinised them some more, but the quality just isn't there for me to be 100% happy with either of the suggestions (or anything else I've tried to make fit) so I think I'm just gonna leave it as 'unidentified falcon sp.'.
 
Difficult indeed, though the tail is long I don't get Kestrel's vibes here, and even with plenty of artefacts, the upperside does not look reddish at all. The tail may be ok for Merlin, as are the upperpartw, but somehow I get more the impression of a long-winged large Falcon and not so much the stocky Merlin. An escaped Lanner(hybrid) maybe? Honnestly don't know
 
Difficult indeed, though the tail is long I don't get Kestrel's vibes here, and even with plenty of artefacts, the upperside does not look reddish at all. The tail may be ok for Merlin, as are the upperpartw, but somehow I get more the impression of a long-winged large Falcon and not so much the stocky Merlin. An escaped Lanner(hybrid) maybe? Honnestly don't know
There is an escaped Saker that frequents the area and one of the photos did remind me of some of the photos I have of that bird. There have been times when that Saker has given off a bit of a Kestrel 'feel' for a few seconds before the realisation hits that it is a bigger bird. The escaped Saker does (or at least 'had', last time I saw it) a pale-ish crown rather than what appears to be a dark crown in most of the photos - though I've found a photo of the bird from an angle which gives an impression that the darker areas on the head are 'all' the head markings, and the pattern seems to match the visible markings on today's bird. Maybe it was the Saker after all.

EDIT : More pics from a few years ago of the Saker - 0941 : The One That Got Away (19/2/22)
 

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With a Kestrel the contrast between the reddish brown upperwing coverts and the darker flight feathers should be visible in these pictures. At large distances the two colored upperwing is the only thing you see. But I'm not sure that it's a Merlin.
 
With a Kestrel the contrast between the reddish brown upperwing coverts and the darker flight feathers should be visible in these pictures. At large distances the two colored upperwing is the only thing you see. But I'm not sure that it's a Merlin.
My suspicion is now that it is the escaped Saker Falcon that has been in the area (on and off) for the past 2 and a half years. Mis-judging the size initially, due to distance has sent me off down the wrong track when trying to work out the ID (and quite probably has also contributed to the uncertainty expressed by others).
 
What about the flight? Kestrel, Merlin and Saker have their own way of flying. Did you notice anything different?
It was pretty distant and seemed to just be in 'travelling from A to B' mode, though not in any particular hurry. I don't think there's enough in any of the photos to reach a definite conclusion - though it would appear to be between the Saker and Merlin, given the evenly brown topside. I appreciate everyone's input on the bird but for the foreseeable future the bird is going to be left as 'unidentified'. If I do ever (remember and) find the time to track down & dig out my Saker photos that match some of the angles in the photos I will try to compare them side by side/overlaid, which might rule in/out the Saker as a possibilty. Unfortunately I don't have very many Merlin photos to do likewise.
 

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