Looks like a snake Eagle or Eagle of some description. My memory is poor on species outside of the UK. Good pics tho.Osprey I think.View attachment 898535View attachment 898536
Looks like a snake Eagle or Eagle of some description. My memory is poor on species outside of the UK. Good pics tho.Osprey I think.View attachment 898535View attachment 898536
I did think a fish Eagle could be another likely one.Osprey I think
Could be a tawny eagle. It was very tall and as mentioned was munching on a rat. It's not a buzzard as we have mainly augar buzzards here. A lot of fish eagles as well as we are near a big lake.
No it's definitely not that we have so many of those they are easily recognisable plus their calls are very easy to distinguish.I did think a fish Eagle could be another likely one.
Aww c'mon! I feed and water the little birds all year round to make sure there's a good supply for the sparrowhawks, and the holly/fence combo gives them a chance to hone their murder skillz. Plus the holly keeps the neighbouring cats from the birds.Spoil sport! Sparrowhawks have to live too!
Aww c'mon! I feed and water the little birds all year round to make sure there's a good supply for the sparrowhawks, and the holly/fence combo gives them a chance to hone their murder skillz. Plus the holly keeps the neighbouring cats from the birds.
The sparrows have had a particularly good year this year so far and there'll be easy pickings for the sparrowhawks over the winter.
Sounds like you could be less tidy around your feed bin and keep your ornothological ecology in good heart.Just tweaking your tail, mate! I put up a lot of nest boxes in the yard in the hope that it would help the sparrows and maybe encourage a sparrowhawk to visit. There used to be a nest (sparrowhawk) about 200 yards from my door but the trees got too big and they have moved on. The sparrows multiplied but were getting a bit greedy at the feed bin so I put a lid on it. Not so many about now.
Used to see the occasional merlin (I am almost at sea level), but haven't seen one for years. Osprey, buzzard, occasional peregrine, a couple of harriers, once a Golden eagle, and ospreys are not unusual, and once a Honey buzzard I think.
Sounds like you could be less tidy around your feed bin and keep your ornothological ecology in good heart.
I had to take a feeder down and limit how much I put out because the sparrows and starlings were getting through it too fast but they seem to coping with my rationing programme. I put up nest boxes this year for 'my' sparrows as they had a turf war with the house martins last year, however instead they decided to move into my roof space, just under the rafters, which is fine as I don't hear them stomping about like the mice.
We only have the generic raptors locally - buzzards, sparrowhawks and kestrels mainly, although I've seen a marsh harrier over the local fen and hobbies in the summer. We have kites moving east, these past couple of years I've seen one scouting out the village allotments and field beyond, but they haven't stayed to nest. One thing I like to do each year is find where the goshawks are nesting in Thetford Forest although I tend to hear them rather than see them as they're well-hidden.
There's something very special about raptors above other birds.
I see them in the spring, yes, but rarely during the rest of the year apart from once when I was in the right place at the right time to catch three flying out over a clear-cut patch and back to the nest, which I presumed were fledglings and/or parent(s).Yes, I forgot about the kites. I love goshawks which I have trained and flown for years, also bred successfully, but I am not aware of any breeding around here -- too much persecution! But my choice would be merlins. I used to spend my summers in Ireland ringing them (and sparrowhawks) for the BT0. Lovely little birds.
Will you not see the goshawks in the spring doing their territorial soaring?
Pretty certain it's a baby blackbirdView attachment 879180
View attachment 879181
Anyone know what this bird is ....sat in the shed this morning
I see them in the spring, yes, but rarely during the rest of the year apart from once when I was in the right place at the right time to catch three flying out over a clear-cut patch and back to the nest, which I presumed were fledglings and/or parent(s).
Falconry is on my list to take up once I can retire and have more time, and a few years ago I treated myself to an 'experience' day spent flying a harris hawk, learning to tie knots with my thumb, fit jesses, weigh falcons, and squeeze the yolks out of dead chicks - all good stuff.
I pulled back the wrapping of a bale of haylage that had torn open the other day, and one dropped out. It had obviously been hiding up in there.View attachment 899562nearly trod on this when going to check the cattle