What sort of bird was it....

artieanna

Yesterday I spotted a large bird on top of a esb pole at first I thought it was a sparrowhawk but, as he lifted to fly I noticed he has a copper clolour back and a bit on the wings too.. So I was thinking mabe a red kite..

But are there red kites in the West of Ireland???

Would have taken a picture but my zoom not strong enough!

Any ideas?

jmkennedyie

Although based in Wicklow, a previous post on red kite mentioned one had toured the country...however I guess they all have obvious wing tags which you would have noticed.

Other large brownish birds of prey to consider...kestrel, hen harrier, buzzard, golden eagle (based in Donegal, would also be tagged I guess).

I have often seen Kestrel on poles / cables. Not sure if it is typical for the others.

rspb have an interesting bird identifier tool here which might help:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/

BirdwatchIreland have info here: http://birdwatchireland.ie/IrelandsBirds/tabid/87/Default.aspx

Mothman

Sounds perfect for Kestrel.

dodgyme

where abouts did you see him (not the exact location as that may endanger him) but the general area -e.g connemara, north mayo, joyce country,achill etc?

artieanna

East Mayo near sligo roscommon border..

Oh and he came back again to the same spot two days later only landed for about 30 seconds

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

What size was this bird? The description is good for Buzzard but it would be much bigger than a sparrowhawk. If not much differenc sizewise to a sparrowhawk then I'd go for a Female Kestrel.

artieanna

Its difficult to say what size he was as he was'nt awful near. He was pretty big cause I wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. I did notice he had speckled markings like a thrush on his breast.

I don't know if this is any help at all.

(I've seen lots of sparrowhawks flying but none resting so I dunno what sort of size they are really:o)

stephen_k

Hi,
I'm pretty sure I saw the bird you are talking about in the same area of Mayo about 3-4 weeks ago. It was definitly a falcon of some kind, and it was much larger than a kestrel, sparrow hawk or hobby. I didn't have my binoculars with me at the time however I too felt it might be a Red Kite that has travelled accross from Wicklow...
At first I thought it may be a buzzard but (the colouring was similar) but the wing tip were more pointed in flight than a buzzard, very powerfull looking bird with an easy wing beat of 3 beats and then a glide...
I'd love to know for sure what it was

artieanna

Possibly the same boyo... Who knows!!

Was a Classy looking bird though!

boneless

It is sounding like a buzzard at this stage. Although a female Hen harrier may not be ruled out.