Sparrowhawk – Dragon goes Wild

Another Bird of Prey

Dragon — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 15:00:10 +0000

I always wonder how birds manage to fly so easily when there’s a strong breeze, and today was no exception! I spotted a bird of prey circling and took a few photos, but it was so far away and moving so quickly, you couldn’t identify the type of bird.

An hour or two later, I spotted another bird, or maybe the same one, and got lucky with the sunlight lighting up the detail on its feathers just as I took the photo.

Originally I thought it was a Buzzard, but this clearly isn’t – a Buzzard has a lighter patch on the underside of its wings, whereas this one has dark-edged individual feathers. Looking at the RSPB site, I’m pretty sure this is a Sparrowhawk.

#30dayswild

Sparrowhawk or Kestrel?

Dragon — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:00:45 +0000

Spotting this bird circling reasonably high, I took a few photos thinking it was the local Buzzard…. but when I got the photos onto the computer, it was quite clear that the tail is considerably longer than a Buzzard’s. So just what is this bird?

I asked on the RSPB community “identify this” forum, and was given a couple of possibles: a Sparrowhawk, or a female Kestrel.

Personally I’m inclined to think it’s a Sparrowhawk – the way this bird was circling, was a totally different flight pattern to the Kestrel I spotted hovering over a field recently. Hopefully it’ll return and fly a little lower next time, so I can get a clearer photo!

#30dayswild