Peter Gibbons
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« Reply #15 on: Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 23:19:24 » |
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Alanis Morissette.
Wrong thread?
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It's not that I'm lazy. It's that I just don't care.
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sonicyouth
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« Reply #16 on: Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 23:27:16 » |
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Feckers are still up there...
Birds flying? I don't believe it. |
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Compo
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« Reply #17 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 09:00:41 » |
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Reg Smeeton
Walking Encyclopaedia
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« Reply #18 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 09:43:12 » |
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Ace. On Sunday, I saw a fine bird of prey, in the Front Garden...not one I can remember seeing before, on checking the books could have been a Merlin or a Hobby. I'm inclined to think it was a Hobby, although these are rarer, because Merlins supposedly like estuaries and marsh, whereas Hobbys like fields, hedges and downs. Apparently Hobbys come for the summer in April, so that just about fits. [url width=900 height=375]http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/hobby_tcm9-327590.jpg?width=1170&crop=%280,296,1400,880%29[/url] |
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sonicyouth
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« Reply #19 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 11:09:08 » |
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They're quite different in size too. I've seen Merlins sat on fences/lights on the roads waiting to grab some roadkill before.
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Reg Smeeton
Walking Encyclopaedia
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« Reply #20 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 11:35:06 » |
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They're quite different in size too. I've seen Merlins sat on fences/lights on the roads waiting to grab some roadkill before.
You sure they're Merlins and not Kestrels? According to my book Merlins are 27-32 cm Hobbys are 30-36 Kestrels 33-36 cm. So difficult to tell apart by size. |
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sonicyouth
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« Reply #21 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 11:38:49 » |
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doh, you're right. I was thinking about Kestrel not Merlin. Just woken up and only had the one cuppa so far..
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Paolo69
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« Reply #22 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:18:17 » |
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A kestrel flew into my greenhouse the other day and broke its neck the poor sod. Lovely looking bird and pretty big with wings spread.
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Batch
Not a Batch
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« Reply #23 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:24:52 » |
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A kestrel flew into my greenhouse the other day and broke its neck the poor sod. Lovely looking bird and pretty big with wings spread.
Are you sure it wasn't a sparrow hawk... [url width=248 height=414]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m238/gwetin/hawk_sparrow_3.jpg[/url] Been lucky enough to see a sparrow hawk take out a pigeon twice... |
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Paolo69
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« Reply #24 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:31:25 » |
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Are you sure it wasn't a sparrow hawk...
Not 100% but pretty sure it was a Kestrel based on feathers and markings and head. Although the female sparrowhawk does seem to be relatively similar. |
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Reg Smeeton
Walking Encyclopaedia
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« Reply #25 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:39:39 » |
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Most likely to have been a sparrowhawk...I did wonder about mine being a sparrowhawk, as I recently saw one in the Lawn Woods. This thing was very dark grey on its back all the way to tail feathers, which weren't banded.
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Batch
Not a Batch
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« Reply #26 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:40:06 » |
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I only wonder because I made the mistake of mixing Kestrel and Sparrowhawk talking to a keeper at the Hawk Conservancy. It was fairly obvious to them, they said Kestrels don't normally take pigeons (too big)...
Falcons on the the other hand....but I didn't really know that they needed to swoop because pigeons are usually faster than falcons in level flight.
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Reg Smeeton
Walking Encyclopaedia
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« Reply #27 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:54:29 » |
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I only wonder because I made the mistake of mixing Kestrel and Sparrowhawk talking to a keeper at the Hawk Conservancy. It was fairly obvious to them, they said Kestrels don't normally take pigeons (too big)...
Falcons on the the other hand....but I didn't really know that they needed to swoop because pigeons are usually faster than falcons in level flight.
Identifying birds of prey, is a real difficult thing for the casual bird watcher...there's a few obvious ones....like Kestrel, when hovering, Sparrowhawk when diving, Buzzard...soaring and mewing, and now Red Kite...big bugger with a fork red tail. It's when you see one which doesn't fall into the category, it's a problem. All you can do is try and rule out what it can't be. I'm convinced I saw an Osprey, on the fledgling Thames between Cerney Wick and Cricklade, some years back. Huge bugger just sat on a tree stump peering into the water...very white looking thing, on its own. Now apparently they like open water, and the Water Park is nearby...and their numbers are increasing...absolutely electrifying like nothing I've seen before or since. |
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Paolo69
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« Reply #28 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 13:00:30 » |
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Mmmmm having looked again at about 300 images of each on google, i'm still none the wiser. Listening to to you both has now got me edging towards it being the sparrowhawk.
Presumably the sparrowhawk is more likely to be in my garden (i just live on a estate not in the sticks) and therefore end up flying into my garden greenhouse? What was more surprising to me was that it was only about a foot from the house too.
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Paolo69
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« Reply #29 on: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 13:02:00 » |
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and now Red Kite...big bugger with a fork red tail.
Now that i can identify. We have loads of em here these days. |
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