Most welcome buzzard

Couple more shots of the same bird

 

first rate

 

Thanks Roders and Mac, They are magnificent birds with a 4-5 ft wingspan. Their colour is a bit variable and also depends a lot on the light but the bright yellow legs are a giveaway.

[ 12. December 2006, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

I took the photos and saw the bird and we have a large number of buzzards, owls, sparrow hawks and even a Red kite once in the immediate vicinity and whilst agreeing that kestrel like it is, the size made me wonder. We sat and watched a kestrel the other day at Hardcastle Crags near Slack Top (typical, no camera). The one we saw would have dwarfed it!
There has been no sign of it here again either which is typical too.

 

Now Red Kite is what I want to see in our part of the world Palustris. They have a feeding station not that far away over the border in Wales. I have only seen one once - the back end of it hurtling down a country road.
While trying to id your bird I was told by one 'bird' man that they have hen harriers breeding on the Berwyns , that is over your side of the county- in fact there are 15 pairs up there. They will hunt over Whixhall.

 

Never seen a Red Kite but I'm in with a chance for an Osprey sighting as some spend the summer on Loch Leven which I pass most days.

I digress though - still not much help in identifying Pal's bird. Size would match a Buzzard and they do like to perch on poles and wires. I've even seen them quite low down on hay bales and fence posts where their size is quite deceptive.

 

If you want to see Red kites then a trip to Rhayader in Mid Wales is called for. We used to divert and come back that way from delivering youngest to Swansea Uni. just so we could see these birds. They always put in an appearance for us, especially on the road between Beulah and Newbridge on Wye.

 

They appeared for us on a very similar mission to Palustris' - but we saw them from the M4! Very obliging of them. We were on the way to Carmarthen....

 

We used to have to travel to Tregaron in mid Wales to see the Red Kites in the eigties.They used to spend the day feeding at the local rubbish tip returning to roost at sunset.Now the farm where they are have turned it into a place where people can come and observe them being fed.We have them locally at Finshade woods near Corby where they are filmed throughout the breeding season.We also have wing tagged ones that fly round the area.We have also had one fly over our village though o/h saw it and I missed it by minutes

 

There are dozens over the Lambourn Downs and the Chilterns,roughly a triangle from Swindon, Aylesbury and Oxford. Until last Summer I had never seen one before and to see several all at the same time was a sight I will never forget,and they fly so low overhead too.

 

The Chilterns are from a reintroduction scheme. I think they used birds from from spain or Portugal and very successful it has been too. I think the Welsh birds are also expanding out - weren't they the last original population left? Other birds that are expanding their range - ospreys at Rutland, the Lake District and North Wales apart from Scotland.
We even have ospreys stopping off in Shropshire on their migration. Now how can we persuade then that Colemere or one of the other lakes around Ellesmere would be a nice place to rear a family? That would be a thing wouldn't it?
Pity the golden eagles are not doing as well. The female in Cumbria has disappeared so there is just one lonely male left in England.

 

Don't forget the fish eagles, Geoff - they've been re-introduced in the north west of Scotland, and the islands in that area.

It's great that a lot of birds are doing better now, with the heightened awareness of their needs, and greater penalties for egg-stealing. I love to walk in the wilder areas of Scotland - you can see real eagles, not just tourist ones! And loads of buzzards and kestrels, as well as othre hawks and falcons which I'm never too sure which ones they are. Lovely to see. Apparently there are ospreys in the Ochils, the hills I can see from my bed! That's a an area I want to explore in the spring. :D

 

When I was up near Fort William we never did see the sea eagles. When i went on the boat trip it was fog at one point so i persume all sensible eagles were tucked up somewhere.
I do like living in a rural county. I was brought up in a rough area of Manchester so i do not take all this wildlife for granted.
Years back my lads shouted that we had a kingfisher in the garden. I told them not to be stupid it would be a blue tit...I had never seen one before. But sure enough there was a kingfisher...and more buzzards fly overhead than you can shake a stick at.
I think my kids take them for granted. Nothing unusual to them is seeing badgers, foxes and deer.

 

We have seen the White tailed sea Eagles up on the Isle Of Mull.They are known as flying barn doors because of their wide wing span said to be up to severn foot,but don't quote me on it.They were introduced onto Rhum in 1975 and have bred since 1985.I think the ones on Mull were introduced on to the Island and It has been a pleasure to see them hunting on the loch.We have also seen the pair that Simon King went up to Mull to film for Spring Watch.The island is well worth a visit for the scenery as well as the bird and wildlife