Bird of prey Florida

bobwilliams

just back from a family holiday in Orlando.
Amazing to see so many big birds incuding Vultures,Eagles,Ospreys and a lovely swallow tailed Kite.
My question is this,one night we were all having a midnight swim at the pool,as i lied down on the slide i noticed 5 large birds at quite a height hovering.
The thing that struck me was the birds appeared to be glowing in the sky.
Any ideas much appreciated.

V_Moth

My best guess would be an owl species, possibly Barn, which is very white underneath. The other option would be a Nightjar/Nighthawk species.

OpenYourEyes

Is it possible that the bids were "back-lit" because of the moon behind them? I'd imagine that could cause a glowing effect when viewed from underneath, especially with light getting through the primaries and secondaries on the wing

bobwilliams

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Is it possible that the bids were "back-lit" because of the moon behind them? I'd imagine that could cause a glowing effect when viewed from underneath, especially with light getting through the primaries and secondaries on the wing

i was thinking that alright,it was an amazing sight though

Kicking Bird

They may just have been something as prosaic as a Gull species.I was in Galway City over a decade ago and saw a flock of gulls overhead at night which had been underlit by the city lights - it was a mesmerising sight!

I presume they weren't hovering as such(like that of a Kestrel)but were more than likely surfing a breeze.

bobwilliams

Kicking Bird wrote: »

They may just have been something as prosaic as a Gull species.I was in Galway City over a decade ago and saw a flock of gulls overhead at night which had been underlit by the city lights - it was a mesmerising sight!

I presume they weren't hovering as such(like that of a Kestrel)but were more than likely surfing a breeze.

they were there for a while and were circling,they were quite high but i didn't think gulls,this was Orlando by the way.
One morning observed 2 vultures eating a carcass in the middle of the road,really need to get myself a good camera.

Kicking Bird

bobwilliams wrote: »

they were there for a while and were circling,they were quite high but i didn't think gulls,this was Orlando by the way.
One morning observed 2 vultures eating a carcass in the middle of the road,really need to get myself a good camera.

Hi bobwilliams,

Must have been a wonderful holiday - it must be great to be back?!

I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of gulls;you don't have to be on the coast just to see gulls.Orlando is only about 40kms. from the coast and is surrounded by massive lakes too.

Kicking Bird

Just a thought bobwilliams(and it's a long shot I know),but can you recall what type of profile the birds had?Did they appear to have narrow,pointed wings or broad,splaying ones?Were the tails narrow,broad or fan-shaped?I know I'm being difficult on you but I'm afraid it's a guessing game really and we can't be sure!

One other thought I had is that they may have been Ospreys which are very common there given the number of lakes present.I'm afraid there are a vast number of possibilities given the wide variety of species of birds that inhabit the Florida area in general.

bobwilliams

Kicking Bird wrote: »

Just a thought bobwilliams(and it's a long shot I know),but can you recall what type of profile the birds had?Did they appear to have narrow,pointed wings or broad,splaying ones?Were the tails narrow,broad or fan-shaped?I know I'm being difficult on you but I'm afraid it's a guessing game really and we can't be sure!

One other thought I had is that they may have been Ospreys which are very common there given the number of lakes present.I'm afraid there are a vast number of possibilities given the wide variety of species of birds that inhabit the Florida area in general.

i really didn't realize the possibilities were soo great as it was around midnight.

Back to your question,to me they had the profile of an eagle to me,tails?couldn't tell but wings were wide and broad.
Sorry i am a real novice in this field.

Kicking Bird

bobwilliams wrote: »

i really didn't realize the possibilities were soo great as it was around midnight.

Back to your question,to me they had the profile of an eagle to me,tails?couldn't tell but wings were wide and broad.
Sorry i am a real novice in this field.

"......wings were wide and broad.." - that kinda rules out my hunch that they may have been gulls so!Yeah,we're looking at something like a bird of prey or possibly Vultures - Take a look at the following link:

http://lolfed.com/2010/02/18/vultures-circling-suntrust-55-west-in-downtown-orlando/.

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bobwilliams

Kicking Bird wrote: »

"......wings were wide and broad.." - that kinda rules out my hunch that they may have been gulls so!Yeah,we're looking at something like a bird of prey or possibly Vultures - Take a look at the following link:

http://lolfed.com/2010/02/18/vultures-circling-suntrust-55-west-in-downtown-orlando/.

‎

thanks,the one thing i'd say that looks different to your picture is the vultures wings seem to go almost straight from left to right whereas the birds i saw seemed to have a bit more angle but in saying that they were a good bit up.
Thanks again.

cuddlycavies

Ibis perhaps