Not Leps! Birds of prey.

[Zonda]

Spotted this raptor over Bullers Cliff, Abbotsbury. Need id confirmation, please birders. Looks like an escapee (jesses dangling). At first i thought it to be a falcon, but now the closest i can get is immature Goshawk. Watched it for around 20 minutes, no falconer present. I think it was hungry, because at one point it went after a herring gull. It looked almost buzzard size.

[Gruditch]

Maybe a Buzzard or a Red-tailed Buzzard, if you see it again then its probably a lost bird. You can report it to The Independent Bird register.

Regards Gruditch

[geniculata]

hi zonda,

its definatly a falcon and by the looks of the breast plumage its either a juvinile gyr falcon or maybe a hybrid saker.

certainly of great value to the owner and an impressive bird to watch flying around.

gary.

[Zonda]

Well we've had Goshawk from me, a couple of buzzards, and now a falcon. I always associate falcons with a tapering tail, and more pointed wings, like a peregrine. I'm thinking whoever owned it might be a novice, because it flew away, and like you hinted at, it must be worth a bob or two. The flight of this bird was not buzzard-like at all, but strong purposeful wing beats followed by long glides. It was silent as well. I'm still inclined towards juvenile Goshawk.

[Zonda]

Not so sure of myself now,,,,, have a look at the second picture down.
http://www.avianweb.com/gyrfalcons.html
Also they are buzzard size, like the bird i spotted.

[Lee Hurrell]

I'm not an expert, but I'd be inclined toward Gyr Falcon too.
Cracking picture Zonda!
Cheers
Lee

[Hamearis]

Lanner X Saker?

[Mikhail]

This bird (probably) was seen over Portland on 19th Sept. For further images see: http://www.portlandbirdobs.org.uk/latest_sept2009.htm.

Misha

[Zonda]

Hey Misha, you are probably right. The chances of more than one large falcon with jesses being seen in the same area within that time frame must be quite remote. They couldn't ID it positively at Portland either, and now Saker goes into the hat as well.

[Dave]

Hi - Sorry but it's not a Goshawk or Gyr and I do have experience with both. It's also not the same as the Portland bird from the photos. Dificult to tell what most falconers birds as they prefer hybrids but this one seems more Saker like than most. This one however appears to be an immature male Gyr x Peregrine. Hope that helps.

[Zonda]

If the plot gets any thicker it'll be porridge. Surely it must be the same bird. Well i think we have all agreed it's an immature falcon now.

[Zonda]

Somebody on the Dorset coast is breeding falcon crosses, and letting them go to confuddle all the twitchers. Two in a month? It's likely that if this is two separate individuals they probably escaped from the same owner. Gotta be an amateur.

[Gruditch]

Well i think we have all agreed it's an immature falcon now

God knows, Owls are less confusing.

Gotta be an amateur

Not necessarily a bad owner Zonda, probably just an unlucky one. He's bound to of used telemetry with a Falcon, it could of packed up, or the damn bird just flew out of the telemetry's range, bet he's gutted.

Regards Gruditch

[Dave]

You'd be amazed what escapes, I remember once racing all over Sheppey trying to see a Gyr Falcon that turned out to be a hybrid and coming from Cheshire that was a waste of time! Mind you Raptors are nothing compared to wildfowl, you wouldn't believe the combinations of those that turn up. Even when the pure bred raptors escape they also cause problems. A Red-tailed Hawk (American Buzzard type thingy) escaped once, I think it was Leicerstershire?, and it paired with a Common Buzzard producing hybrids that looked similar to Long-legged Buzzard which is a long awaited vagrant yet to arrive in Britain. That caused a few probs!
I'm no longer a twicher but was once amassing a list of around 480. As a precentage though that's terrible compared with my Butterfly list
Stick to the leps guys there so much easier, both to see and to identify and you get the winter off. It's win - win.

[geniculata]

blimey zonda,

you not sorted this one out yet, you've had all day!

gary

[Zonda]

OK, i'll come clean,,,it's a hoax. If you look carefully, you can just see the string. It's my mate's kite.

[Gruditch]

No not a Kite, they have a very distinctive V in the tail.

Regards Gruditch

[geniculata]

i don't know gary,

whats that zonda like, it looks nuthin like a kite even my old granny would know that!