What is this bird?

suzeybo · 06-07-2009 6:03pm #1

Hi

I have attached 3 pics taken of a bird that landed in my garden this morning (Naas, Co Kildare). It was not there for long so I couldn’t get anything better than these shots. If I go by a small book I have it looks like it’s an adult Honey Buzzard. Can anyone tell me if this is correct or if not what kind of bird it is. If not can you point me in the direction of someone who can.

I would appreciate any help on this as I was very excited to see it and would love more info.

Thanks

Pic 1
Pic 2

karlog · 06-07-2009 6:10pm

It looks alot like a Peregrine Falcon, its common in ireland

Dont take my word for it though i could be wrong

suzeybo · 06-07-2009 6:18pm

karlog wrote: »

It looks alot like a Peregrine Falcon, its common in ireland

Dont take my word for it though i could be wrong

Ah ok. Never saw one in my back garden before. Thanks for your help.

Alun · 06-07-2009 6:19pm

Female sparrowhawk, I'd say.

ttc028 · 06-07-2009 6:25pm

Definitely a male Sparrowhawk.

suzeybo · 06-07-2009 6:33pm

Thanks everyone. But which is it.

A Peregrine Falcon, a male sparrowhawk or a female sparrowhawk? Now that is the question.

Alun · 06-07-2009 6:44pm

suzeybo wrote: »

Thanks everyone. But which is it.

A Peregrine Falcon, a male sparrowhawk or a female sparrowhawk? Now that is the question.

Definitely a sparrowhawk, in any case. Males are a bluish grey, females more brown, and the male's underside is more of an orangey brown whereas the female is more a darker brown. The females are also much bigger. Actually looking at the picture again, it probably is a male.

kversey · 06-07-2009 6:45pm

Sparrowhawk,,not sure if male or female though

suzeybo · 06-07-2009 6:59pm

Alun wrote: »

Definitely a sparrowhawk, in any case. Males are a bluish grey, females more brown, and the male's underside is more of an orangey brown whereas the female is more a darker brown. The females are also much bigger. Actually looking at the picture again, it probably is a male.

Thanks Alun and everyone else. Much appreciated. Now off to get some information on it.

wobzilla · 06-07-2009 7:01pm

sparrowhawk or a goshawk

suzeybo · 06-07-2009 8:05pm

wobzilla wrote: »

sparrowhawk or a goshawk

Well you mentioned Goshawk and of all the photos of birds I've see this is the most like the bird I saw. Pics 1, 3 and 5 in particular are very like it. http://www.falcoireland.com/goshawks.html

The speckle on its front didn't come out as well in my photo's as they were in reality. I didn't have very long to take the pics and had to zoom in from my kitchen. I wonder is this a strong possibility.

Alun · 06-07-2009 9:04pm

The thing is though that goshawks are a little unusual in that they live primarily in forests, and large coniferous ones at that, rather than more open country. Sparrowhawks are quite common in ordinary suburban gardens, so the chances of it being a sparrowhawk are much higher.

suzeybo · 06-07-2009 9:16pm

Alun wrote: »

The thing is though that goshawks are a little unusual in that they live primarily in forests, and large coniferous ones at that, rather than more open country. Sparrowhawks are quite common in ordinary suburban gardens, so the chances of it being a sparrowhawk are much higher.

But my house is in the country with farms, forest and the racecourse all around me. Not in a housing estate or in the town.

E39MSport · 07-07-2009 7:36am

That's the same species that's visting my garden in Kildare. I've posted here but without pic. It's Much bigger than the sparrowhawk that also visits and as I mentioned, I've seen this bird with another similar size bird soaring. I've also seen it or its partner circling to a height to spot prey then swooping at unbelievable speed to catch the prey (swallow).

suzeybo · 07-07-2009 8:16am

E39MSport wrote: »

That's the same species that's visting my garden in Kildare. I've posted here but without pic. It's Much bigger than the sparrowhawk that also visits and as I mentioned, I've seen this bird with another similar size bird soaring. I've also seen it or its partner circling to a height to spot prey then swooping at unbelievable speed to catch the prey (swallow).

It kind of tumbled into my garden. Like it fell and took some time to gather itself and then was on it's way. Was white and dark grey "stripes" (for the want of a better word) under its wings but not very dark stripes. Beautiful bird and not one I have ever seen here before. Will be keeping my eyes open for it again and my camera at the ready.

Alun · 07-07-2009 9:12am

suzeybo wrote: »

But my house is in the country with farms, forest and the racecourse all around me. Not in a housing estate or in the town.

Still, they (goshawks that is) are quite secretive birds and spend the majority of their time either deep in the forests where they nest and breed, or soaring above them and don't really spend much time out in the open. They're relatively rare too, which all points to it being a sparrowhawk IMO. (See http://www.goldeneagle.ie/portal.php?z=153 Status)

Regarding the way it 'fell' into your garden, I've had a sparrowhawk crash into a window on two separate occasions and stun itself. They seem to spot things in through the window and make a dive for it, in my case I think it was some of our cat's pet mice. In both cases they looked quite stunned for a few minutes but picked themselves up and flew away eventually.

With regard to ID'ing them, there's a significant difference between the mature males and females, but young or immature birds can often present conflicting intermediate stages which make sexing them a bit difficult.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 07-07-2009 12:03pm

Female Sparrowhawk. Not a Goshawk (Size shading etc all wrong.)

snowstreams · 07-07-2009 10:28pm

Anyone know what this bird is? It looks a bit like a female stonechat but could it be a whinchat? I saw it in a rocky marshy area near about 1km from the coast in connemara.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowstreams/3698678859/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowstreams/3699488352/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowstreams/3699486936/
Thanks.

cuddlycavies · 08-07-2009 5:33am

immature stonechat.

snowstreams · 08-07-2009 9:12am

Thanks for that. I never thought it could be an immature one because it looked big enough. Is is likely to be one of this years fledglings?

stevensi · 08-07-2009 9:14am

I think it's actually an immature wheater and not a stonechat

stevensi · 08-07-2009 9:14am

That should be wheatear of course!

snowstreams · 08-07-2009 3:15pm

Is there anything else that could help distinguish it from a stonechat or a wheatear? Do wheatears tend to live in low lying habitats too?

Alun · 08-07-2009 3:38pm

This won't help, but when I was looking up the wheatear on Wikipedia, I noticed that it's name 'is not derived from "wheat" or any sense of "ear", but is altered from "white" and "arse", which refers to its prominent white rump.' I'll never look at them the same way again!

Although the only place I ever see stonechats around here tends to be on the Bray coast path where there's lots of gorse and heather. Never really see them anywhere else.

stevensi · 08-07-2009 3:43pm

Have a look at the following from the rspb site and it may help.

Wheatear

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/wheatear/index.asp

Stonechat

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/stonechat/index.asp#

As Alun said the best way of recognising a wheater is through the white rump as it flies.

boneless · 08-07-2009 3:50pm

Alun wrote: »

This won't help, but when I was looking up the wheatear on Wikipedia, I noticed that it's name 'is not derived from "wheat" or any sense of "ear", but is altered from "white" and "arse", which refers to its prominent white rump.' I'll never look at them the same way again!

Although the only place I ever see stonechats around here tends to be on the Bray coast path where there's lots of gorse and heather. Never really see them anywhere else.

Are you allowed to say "arse" on boards

?

I believe it from the old Saxon language that the name derives.:)

Alun · 08-07-2009 3:54pm

boneless wrote: »

Are you allowed to say "arse" on boards ?

Hmmm, surprised the swear filter didn't pick up that one .. I just copied and pasted it from wikipedia without thinking! But yes, all those 'earthy' kinds of English words come from Anglo Saxon, the Normans would probably have called it a "derriere blanche" which wouldn't have sounded half as good

boneless · 08-07-2009 4:37pm

Thóin bán....;)

Notboard · 09-07-2009 9:16am

In response to the original question its a male Sparrowhawk, beautiful bird.
The male's have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown bars below.
The male is up to 25 % smaller than the female - the largest difference between the sexes in any bird species.
It is a predator which specialises in catching woodland birds, but it can be seen in any habitat and hunts garden birds in towns and cities.
Male Sparrowhawks tend to take tits, finches and sparrows females catch thrushes and starlings. Sparrowhawks breed in woodland of any type.

suzeybo · 09-07-2009 10:50am

Notboard wrote: »

In response to the original question its a male Sparrowhawk, beautiful bird.
The male's have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown bars below.
The male is up to 25 % smaller than the female - the largest difference between the sexes in any bird species.
It is a predator which specialises in catching woodland birds, but it can be seen in any habitat and hunts garden birds in towns and cities.
Male Sparrowhawks tend to take tits, finches and sparrows females catch thrushes and starlings. Sparrowhawks breed in woodland of any type.

Thanks a million for this information. I have feeders all over the gardens which attracts lots and lots of smaller birds which in turn must have attracted the Sparrowhawk. All the photos of sparrowhawks I have seen online and in my little book of Irish Birds though were brown and not grey. This is why I didn't think it was it. Maybe they come in many colours? or the male is different?

Any way thanks to all of you for your contributions.

snowstreams · 09-07-2009 12:54pm

stevensi wrote: »

As Alun said the best way of recognising a wheater is through the white rump as it flies.

Id say its a juvenile Stonechat because i didnt notice the white rump to be honest. This photo I found below has a juvenile wheatear in it & he has a less orangey underside and the white rump, so i'll have to go with Stonechat cause it looks different to my photo. Thanks for the help.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/archive/showphoto.php?photo=98854

stevensi · 09-07-2009 12:59pm

You can say it's a juv stonechat...but it really isn't. 100% a juv wheatear...

tomahawk101 · 04-08-2009 9:08pm

This bird is definitely a female sparrowhawk, I kept and flew one for over ten years. read about her if you like on my website www.woodlandsfalconry.com then look through the articles. or there are pics of my female sparrowhawk on the gallery there

Kess73 · 04-08-2009 9:16pm

She is a female sparrowhawk. A very healthy looking one at that.

purple_hatstand · 17-08-2009 3:47pm

This is a male Sparrowhawk. Definite and unmistakeable. It is always a treat to get birds like this in the garden. We had one land on the back fence a couple of weeks ago. The female is brown and has darker, more defined face markings.

http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00630/images/sparrowhawk_2.jpg

And the male is a blue/grey clour with a blush in the face and down the front.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sparrowhawk-Male.JPG

What is this bird?

Comments