possible Goshawk?

cd07 · 22-09-2017 8:06am #1

Hey guys. I was up in Monaghan shooting for a farmer yesterday evening. I saw what I thought was a Sparrowhawk pass over me but it just looked too big the Swallows mobbing it were dwarfed by it. It had a very pale underside and grey coloured upper. It was 100% an Accipitor . It was more it's slowish almost laboured flight pattern that didn't look at all right for Sparrowhawk. No visible signs of jesses or that from it's talons. What do you think?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 22-09-2017 11:56am

Unusual for a Goshawk to be in the open as they prefer woodland. They also fly fairly fast. You were in the right area (Monaghan) for Hen Harriers though and the flight style fits.

cd07 · 22-09-2017 12:36pm

Definitely not hen harrier it was definitely a large Accipitor. The area was fairly wooded with bigger forest surrounding.

fryup · 22-09-2017 3:04pm

buzzard ?

cd07 · 22-09-2017 3:07pm

Definitely not a buzzard

philstar · 22-09-2017 5:45pm

didn't think we had goshawks in ireland ?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 22-09-2017 5:48pm

philstar wrote: »

didn't think we had goshawks in ireland ?

They are rare here.

Birdnuts · 22-09-2017 11:07pm

Some big female spars could be mistaken for Goshawks - especially males. The only Gos I'm any way certain I've seen was one a few years ago just outside Blessington. It was the size of buzzard but very much a hawk!! Local gameclub member I'm friendly with also reckoned a handful wintered the last few years in some of the larger woods in the area

WildIreland · 23-09-2017 6:41am

philstar wrote: »

didn't think we had goshawks in ireland ?

We have goshawks in Ireland... no CONFIRMED breeding sites... but they're here, and displaying birds are recorded regularly, just nobody's confirmed nesting or fledged young... yet.

philstar · 23-09-2017 9:28am

^^^^^^^^^^^

how did they get here? flew over the irish sea or introduced ?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 23-09-2017 11:47am

philstar wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^

how did they get here? flew over the irish sea or introduced ?

The birds currently here, or recorded in the past years, are thought to be relics from post Norman falconry; as the population recorded from 3000+bc went extinct following the deforestation that followed the last post-glaciation and the clearance of land by the fist human inhabitants of Ireland.

recedite · 26-09-2017 10:37pm

Marina Shrilling Level wrote: »

..thought to be relics from post Norman falconry

Would they not have gone extinct again though, since then? Big deforestation 200 years ago and lots of gamekeepers.

The modern UK population is thought to have become established from a mixture of escaped falconers birds and Scandinavian migrants.

All the medium sized birds of prey seem to be doing pretty well in Ireland these last few years. I reckon its due to to less poison being around.

Anything airborne, whether birds or seeds, is going to keep popping up sporadically in new habitats. But whether they stay and thrive there is another matter.

cd07 · 27-09-2017 7:49am

The bird I saw that night was , I'm almost certain not a spar. The mere sight of it sent two full grown mallards bolt into the water. I'd be very familiar with Sparrowhawks and this bird flew nothing like one. It also had very visible white vent covering feathers. So I dunno! Thanks for the replies

recedite · 27-09-2017 12:44pm

Well hopefully if it is a Goshawk, it will stick around and you might get to see it again.

Qzak2017 · 27-09-2017 7:14pm

Hey, where in Monaghan (roughly, the nearest village would do fine) did you see the bird? I only ask as I bird the area regularly. In fact, only earlier this year myself and some friends saw a pair of Goshawks displaying in Monaghan, would be nice to see if it was the same area or if it was a totally different bird.

cd07 · 27-09-2017 9:44pm

Qzak2017 wrote:

Hey, where in Monaghan (roughly, the nearest village would do fine) did you see the bird? I only ask as I bird the area regularly. In fact, only earlier this year myself and some friends saw a pair of Goshawks displaying in Monaghan, would be nice to see if it was the same area or if it was a totally different bird.

Roughly around crossmagen. I'm sorry but it was a gos I'm not going to mention any specific area!

cd07 · 27-09-2017 9:59pm

cd07 wrote:

Roughly around crossmagen. I'm sorry but it was a gos I'm not going to mention any specific area!

Crossmaglen

Qzak2017 · 27-09-2017 10:14pm

cd07 wrote: »

Roughly around crossmagen. I'm sorry but it was a gos I'm not going to mention any specific area!

Totally understandable but is that not County Armagh? A totally different area to where we saw our pair, a good 20 mile away! Good stuff, nice to think there are a few in the county!

cd07 · 28-09-2017 7:21am

Well u did say a rough location!! It was monaghan though!

Qzak2017 · 28-09-2017 8:16am

haha, I did your right! good stuff, a great bird for Monaghan!

fryup · 06-10-2017 9:02am

its a female buzzard what you saw OP

female buzzards and goshawks look alike from a distance

(read it in a RSPB book)

cd07 · 08-10-2017 8:10pm

No as I say I see buzzards every day of the week and am extremely familiar with them. This bird was 100% an Accipiter without question. The only reason I'm thinking it was a goshawk was the size of the bird .

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 08-10-2017 8:34pm

fryup wrote: »

its a female buzzard what you saw OP

female buzzards and goshawks look alike from a distance

(read it in a RSPB book)

Unless it's the extremely rare in Ireland light form a female buzzard is not at all like a goshawk.

cd07 · 08-10-2017 8:57pm

Marina Shrilling Level wrote:

Unless it's the extremely rare in Ireland light form a female buzzard is not at all like a goshawk.

My thoughts exactly! I'm very familiar with both buzzards and Sparrowhawks and this bird was definitely not a buzzard

Beast4mdaeast · 22-07-2019 7:25pm

cd07 wrote: »

My thoughts exactly! I'm very familiar with both buzzards and Sparrowhawks and this bird was definitely not a buzzard

Any more sightings.. i have seen a large female Spar in flight, flap falp glide flap falp glide type of flight like all true hawks it was being mobed by 2 magpies she seemed to be double there size very rare for a spare to be any bigger than a magpie! Got me thinking was it a Gos i seen now. My sighting was in the newcastle direction of kildare.

Stigura · 22-07-2019 7:53pm

WildIreland wrote: »

We have goshawks in Ireland... no CONFIRMED breeding sites... but they're here, and displaying birds are recorded regularly, just nobody's confirmed nesting or fledged young... yet.

*Cough!*

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 22-07-2019 7:59pm

WildIreland wrote: »

We have goshawks in Ireland... no CONFIRMED breeding sites... but they're here, and displaying birds are recorded regularly, just nobody's confirmed nesting or fledged young... yet.

They most certainly have bred successfully. I was with some observers monitoring sights three years ago.

Beast4mdaeast · 22-07-2019 8:28pm

Marina Shrilling Level wrote: »

They most certainly have bred successfully. I was with some observers monitoring sights three years ago.

Thats ace !! Great to hear, they are blistering Hunters

OpenYourEyes · 22-07-2019 10:00pm

Mod Note: I'm going to close this thread as its two years old, but not before I get in a plug for the Irish Rare Breeding Birds Panel - if anyone has seen any suggestions of Goshawk breeding please do submit the record via the link below. Obviously, all records will be treated as sensitive and locations won't be disclosed etc.

http://irbbp.org/submitting-your-record/

(...as is probably obvious, I'm helping the IRBBP collate records of rare and scarce breeding species this year!)

possible Goshawk?

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