Bird of Prey - ID?

donal2000

Hi All,

On tuesday morning I noticed a number of swallows/house martins chasing what I initially thought was shaped very like a Kestrel.

I observed the bird of prey for about 10mins. It was a really clear morning and not a cloud in the sky. The bird climbed up to a serious height and just seemed to circle around. Does this sound more like the actions of a Buzzard rather than a Kestrel? If so, would the Buzzard not take out the much smaller swallows/house martins?

snowstreams

If it was falcon shaped, i.e. a similar shape to a kestrel I would say that its a peregrine falcon or a merlin. Buzzards wouldn't bother with swallows or house martins. The only other bird that would attack swallows could have been a sparrowhawk but they wouldn't go up very high like that for long periods of time.
So your best bet would be peregrine falcon, although it could have been a kestrel that was fond of swallows.

Birdnuts

snowstreams wrote: »

If it was falcon shaped, i.e. a similar shape to a kestrel I would say that its a peregrine falcon or a merlin. Buzzards wouldn't bother with swallows or house martins. The only other bird that would attack swallows could have been a sparrowhawk but they wouldn't go up very high like that for long periods of time.
So your best bet would be peregrine falcon, although it could have been a kestrel that was fond of swallows.

Another possiblity would be a Hobby - an outside chance yes but this species would be more likely to target hirundians then the others

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Maybe I'm wrong but I read the OP to say this Raptor was NOT taking the Swallows/Martins but that they were chasing it.

It sounds like Buzzard behaviour but the description is confusing. Buzzards would not usually take adult Hirundines. The shape is nothing like a Kestrel and the size is so different. I thought Peregrine at first but again there is a huge size difference and it would not be chased off by Swallows.

Kess73

Sounds pretty much like a typical swallow/Sparrowhawk interaction to me to be honest.


I see swallows harrass my regular male sprawk on a regular basis and his response is generally to gain altitude and circle.

swifts need our help!

sparrowhawks soar on rounded wings

Kess73

swifts need our help! wrote: »

sparrowhawks soar on rounded wings

The OP said that he saw a bird that may have looked a bit like a kestrel in shape.

People often mix up a kestrel and a sparrowhawk from distance when looking at the bird from underneath as they can appear very similar.

cuddlycavies

Kess73 wrote: »

Sounds pretty much like a typical swallow/Sparrowhawk interaction to me to be honest.


I see swallows harrass my regular male sprawk on a regular basis and his response is generally to gain altitude and circle.

+1

Berger1

based on details given that sounds very like a Buzzard.they are becoming quite common and spend alot of time soaring in cirlces at height.

CillDaraAbu10

Kess73 wrote: »

The OP said that he saw a bird that may have looked a bit like a kestrel in shape.

People often mix up a kestrel and a sparrowhawk from distance when looking at the bird from underneath as they can appear very similar.

stunning photo love it