Bird of prey west of cork city

oflynno

Hey there

Last Sunday week I was in Ovens at a barbeque and we saw a bird of prey.

I was not a sparrow hawk or kestrel as i know their size and antics.

It was much larger with a wingspan in between a pheasant and a heron(i know this as there pigeons in the vicinity flying lower than this bird and i could scale from that)

The area i saw it in is a hilly area covered in hardwood trees overlooking the Lee valley to the north and the Bride valley to the south.

he came out above the trees gliding at a height of 100 feet or more and out over the flat plain north of eire og football pitch.
his speed was quite quick.
i'm calling it he but i dont know the sex,obviously.

he then circled over the fields and returned to the trees on top of the hill.this was repeated 5 or 6 times.

we got a glimpse of underneath the wings,but could only make out that there was a contrasting colour scheme like black and light grey or brown and light brown,as it was too high to make out colours properly.

Has anyone seen it?What species was it?Are there any other sitings of large birds of prey in Cork?

Mabel

Possibly/probably a Buzzard?

Here's generally what they look like underneath: http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/sevcik/buzzard--kane_DSD4070.jpg

Sometimes they can be a good bit lighter or darker though, and the size would lead me onto this ID

oflynno

a buzzard?

i did not know they were in the wild here.
i keep confusing the name with vultures.

cool to think it would be one of them.
were they reintroduced to ireland or whats the story?

Mabel

Turkey Vultures in the States are called Buzzards too, as are other birds of prey. My buddy in New York calls "our" Buzzards Buteos, which is their scientific name.

Buzzards were largely absent from Ireland but they have been spreading from the North during the twentieth century. They are locally reliable in some spots

(All this assuming it actually was a Buzzard you saw!)

oflynno

the picture you put up looks accurate enough,but the colouring was darker(having said that we were looking at it in strong sunlight from below)

I dont know for sure if it was a buzzard but i've been to 2 bird of prey shows,1 in Clare and 1 in France and i would have said it was an eagle of some kind,but the picture of the buzzard looks good.

so now,its a buzzard/eagle.

i hope someone else saw it,there were 15 of us at the barbeque.

Mabel

Well like I said, Buzzards can be variable. Some are quite dark, and I think they can look an awful lot bigger than they really are! Take a gander through the existing Buzzard thread - there's some great shots there if you're curious.

Maybe someone will come along and completely shoot my ID out of the sky (pun intended) later!

Kess73

Based on the location you mentioned and the describtion you gave, I am going with it being a buzzard. There have been buzzard sightings in Cork/West Cork. and I have seen one myself not far from Bandon.

oflynno

Hello again,

Today again I saw the buzzard near the same spot as before.
My folks reckon that there is a nest nearby as they hear all the screeching and stuff going on regularily

today it was around a field and swooped an picked up a rabbitt.
it also seems to like perching on trees that have died in the area,so it is easy enough to spot.

is there some website or society that i can get in touch with to find out more and let them know where these birds are

cameramonkey

oflynno wrote: »

Hello again,

Today again I saw the buzzard near the same spot as before.
My folks reckon that there is a nest nearby as they hear all the screeching and stuff going on regularily

today it was around a field and swooped an picked up a rabbitt.
it also seems to like perching on trees that have died in the area,so it is easy enough to spot.

is there some website or society that i can get in touch with to find out more and let them know where these birds are

you can report a sighting here

http://www.goldeneagle.ie/portal.php?z=129

pops

Buzzards often make a very audible mewing noise. A bit like the noise a kitten would make.