UK/Raptor ID please (1 Viewer)

[rosbifs]

My initial reaction was some sort of owl....

Leave everyone else to measure their haws and play with their leather straps..........

 

[Stonefaction]

Montagu's Harrier? (Based mostly on the illustrations in the Collins Bird Guide, especially the 2nd winter male bird). Don't Harriers have an owl like face, albeit smaller as some have suggested for this bird. Also frequents heathland with low bushes (according to same source).

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

Montagu's Harrier? Also frequents heathland with low bushes (according to same source).

Not in East Lancashire they don't.

 

[Stonefaction]

I'm not familiar with Montagu's Harrier or East Lancashire, but I do enjoy trying to solve mysteries, especially if I can pick up some handy info along the way, that might be helpful to me in future.

 

[Paul Jarvis]

Looking at the shape of the head and the position of the eye and beak, a wild guess would be for me is a short eared owl hybrid. Must stress a guess though.

 

[birdboybowley]

Not sure where the owl thing is coming from...the bird has a accipiter face and together with guestimate size etc it can only be a sprawk - not sure how young birds moult on the undersides...but gotta be more of a realistic guess than some others

 

[saluki]

The blue object could be jesses or a cable tie, which is used to attach a telemetry transmitter to the hawk. This would indicate that the bird is used in falconry, so that probably discounts Spot-winged Falconet or Cuckoo Hawk! Exotics might be kept in aviaries (I remember the old Falconry Centre in Newent used to have falconets) but they wouldn't be fitted with either jesses or telemetry. It isn't a peregrine, merlin or kestrel - they all have dark eyes. If we forget the supposed size, does anyone seriously believe this looks like a sparrowhawk?

Non-indigenous raptors used in falconry in the UK are mainly harris hawks, red-tails and a few ferruginous hawks. A few people used to fly shikras and coopers, not sure how many are flown these days?

Still think it's one of these:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3364694716_d38731421c.jpg

http://www.greglasley.net/Images/Red-tailed-Hawk-0019.jpg

http://robertandrewferguson.com/nature/photos/Juvenile REDTAIL Hawk.jpg

Cheers
Jonathan

 

[gradders52]

Interesting grid reference, that is 'geography' (to me anyway)
SD764195

Field trip...

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

Interesting grid reference, that is 'geography' (to me anyway)
SD764195

Field trip...

Have I missed something? I thought this bird was seen last autumn. A field trip would seem pointless. If it was still there you might as well get your friend to get better pictures.

Stephen.

 

[birdboybowley]

If we forget the supposed size, does anyone seriously believe this looks like a sparrowhawk?

My initial thought was the same as yours....imm Red-tail - but as the berry-measurers came out and Fieldfare-comparisons appeared the nearest sized-thing that looked possible was Sprawk which I don't think is that unbelievable looking at what we can see - certainly more so than an owl!! Of course, the branches could be nearer and the bird further away.....:-O the underparts fit with RT as does eye colour and cere colour

 

[Mark Harper]

All the berry measurements quoted are based on the parts of the bird we can see, I would estimate on most raptors perched upright and head on that the distance from where the legs emerge to the top of the head is less than half the length of the bird from top of head to tip of tail and on this picture the legs start below what is visible of the bird. Doesn't get me any closer to identifying the bird, but I would not consider it unreasoanable if it was Hen Harrier sized.

 

[Jane Turner]

mark, compare the body bulk here

http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=269524&d=1277820344

 

[Morg]

Hen Harrier sized.

Agree on size

...and maybe on species...

Grey wings with black visible on primaries. Very white below. Yellow eye (if it is an eye!).

Spots could be present on a subadult presumably? Anyone see a lot of younger male hen harriers?...

Behaviour looks odd for this species but maybe it is hiding from a gamekeeper? :eek!:

 

[Daniel Martin]

is it possible that its actually some distance behind the berries?? are the berries giving the wrong impression of size, as in are they close to the camera, peering through them at something some way behind??

Sorry, but still cant see past an escaped Owl sp.

 

[Adam W]

Sorry, but still cant see past an escaped Owl sp.

I'm the opposite, i just cant see how its an Owl.

 

[ed keeble]

Agree on size

...and maybe on species...

Grey wings with black visible on primaries. Very white below. Yellow eye (if it is an eye!).

Spots could be present on a subadult presumably? Anyone see a lot of younger male hen harriers?...

Behaviour looks odd for this species but maybe it is hiding from a gamekeeper? :eek!:

harrier is quite an interesting question- I got as far as this one whilst I was mulling over the sloping beak profile and looking for some harrier lightly marked

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_JSA633&res=640

but my heart wasn't in it as the mystery bird really looks like a big eyed, small beaked bird

plus the linked pic is a Marsh Hawk...

 

[Jane Turner]

is it possible that its actually some distance behind the berries?? are the berries giving the wrong impression of size, as in are they close to the camera, peering through them at something some way behind??

Sorry, but still cant see past an escaped Owl sp.

There are berries behind as well as in front of the bird.

 

[gradders52]

is it possible that its actually some distance behind the berries?? are the berries giving the wrong impression of size, as in are they close to the camera, peering through them at something some way behind??

Sorry, but still cant see past an escaped Owl sp.

I can tell you it was taken on a Canon PowerShot G9
focal length 44.4000002!

I understand it was taken from about 20 feet away... i.e walk close to tree, look up, see a bird, grab camera, focus, take picture. So yes the depth of field is foreshortened but I don't see it making much difference (it was not taken on a 500mm with extensions from a 1,000 yards!).
Can't see an owl anywhere.
Can only see Yellow eye iris,
although this MAY be 'merged' with the eye ring by the angle.
The beak and cere colour to me don't appear to have fully developed fully for an adult.
Yes add the length of the tail. (about 14 berries!)
Beginning to wish I'd never asked... still no football on tele!
Hear there's a good film on... 'Out of Africa'...

 

[dantheman]

Beginning to wish I'd never asked... still no football on tele!

But surely this is all vastly more entertaining than watching England, even with no resolution??

Here's a pic of Merlin showing breast spotting;

http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=259105

Gave up trying to find any pics on Sparrowhawks showing anything similar in the gallery!!

And yes, the apparent yellow eye is a bit of a prob, was thinking it was the orbital ring tbh. (Don't know if it has been mentioned but it has yellow feet? - ie not Little Owl, apart from anything else ...)

So ... Sprawk/Merlin hybrid? or something escaped?, or a larger bird and those Hawthorn berries are a lot juicier than we thought (or someone's miscalculated )

Anyway ...

 

[Jane Turner]

I've just made the mistake of looking closely at the head. You know that beak looks less a and less hawkish when you look closely. The eye-ring seems black, the iris is yellow, no cere and racoon-like dark spectacles.