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Not females, but our feathered friends.
They’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs, and while I’m not a fanatical bird watcher or anything like it, I do find them interesting. There’s something inspiring about seeing a bird of prey floating on high air, so high that if you look away chances are you mightn’t be able pick him up again.
One they last year I saw not one but five birds of prey circling overhead. I looked up because I heard a call, I think they were buzzards judging by the sound. They circled for a couple of minutes before first three drifted off and then the two followed at a rate of knots. I’ve heard them regularly over the past few months but have only ever seen one at a time since, and presume there is a pair nesting nearby.
What prompted me to start the thread was a magnificent bird I saw earlier. There are three big beech trees at the bottom of the garden where I live and I happened to look up at the biggest of these when I was feeding the horses. There were three crows, two of normal size and one two to three times the size of them, a massive bird altogether. I wouldn’t know how to differentiate between a regular crow and a raven but seeing them side by side I can only assume the bigger bird was indeed a raven. He let a few calls as he spread his wings and departed, not the normal crow call but a deeper, harsher sort of noise.
Kind of a nothing thread but it gave me a bit of momentary enjoyment earlier!
I was given two ‘Hawk Walks’ for Christmas last year; on one we just did a walk with a Harris Hawk and on the other we stayed in the same field but flew a range of birds including owls. We held a Golden Eagle but didn’t fly her
.I bored people even more than usual afterwards with all I’d learned, especially all the words that are in our language that come from hawking. We have quite a few buzzards round here [East Midlands]. I got used to seeing them when I lived in Cornwall, but have only recently seen them here. Buzzards usually hunt in pairs [see one and always look around for the other] but Harris Hawks are more social; maybe that’s what you saw? Want to see a Red Kite but even when we go to known locations they seem to hide away from us. Don’t suppose you saw the programe about Vultures the other night? It’s probably still on iplayer.
Not females, but our feathered friends.
They’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs, and while I’m not a fanatical bird watcher or anything like it, I do find them interesting. There’s something inspiring about seeing a bird of prey floating on high air, so high that if you look away chances are you mightn’t be able pick him up again.
One they last year I saw not one but five birds of prey circling overhead. I looked up because I heard a call, I think they were buzzards judging by the sound. They circled for a couple of minutes before first three drifted off and then the two followed at a rate of knots. I’ve heard them regularly over the past few months but have only ever seen one at a time since, and presume there is a pair nesting nearby.
What prompted me to start the thread was a magnificent bird I saw earlier. There are three big beech trees at the bottom of the garden where I live and I happened to look up at the biggest of these when I was feeding the horses. There were three crows, two of normal size and one two to three times the size of them, a massive bird altogether. I wouldn’t know how to differentiate between a regular crow and a raven but seeing them side by side I can only assume the bigger bird was indeed a raven. He let a few calls as he spread his wings and departed, not the normal crow call but a deeper, harsher sort of noise.
Kind of a nothing thread but it gave me a bit of momentary enjoyment earlier!
I enjoy a bit of bird watching myself. A Sparrowhawk is probably the biggest bird I’ve seen in my modest garden. Not sure what bird would look like a Crow but be two or three times bigger, but it certainly wouldn’t be a Raven. They are only slightly bigger, on average.
Given yo live in Ireland THM you’re certainly more likely to see ravens than most of us here in the UK, where they’re more-or-less confined to the hillier regions of Wales and Scotland. The only ones I’ve seen are those resident at The Tower of London and they’re noticeably bigger than crows and rooks, but not twice as big
The simple things in life don’t stale and I take great pleasure in watching yer everyday garden birds going about their daily business: an entertaining show that’s free-to-view
If you want almost guaranteed sightings of Red Kites Moe I suggest you visit the Thames Valley in Berkshire. They’re a familiar sight soaring high above my brother’s garden in Reading: I get animated, he underwhelmed
on hearing the first cuckoo in spring
one swallow doesn’t make a summer
little bit of bread and no cheeseguaranteed spirit-raisers and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
par excellence
There are lots of them at Gibside in Newcastle, Drone, but they were hiding when we went there. I just know they were tittering amongst themselves and all came out to play the minute we left
I found a dead sparrowhawk outside the back door a few years ago. I took it to my neighbour [who’s a nurse] for reassurance that it was dead . I sent it in a jiffy bag to a place that analyses dead things to see if it had any poison in it; they were going to contact me with the results but never did. I hope it actually got to the right place and isn’t still festering in a lost parcels depot somewhere. One of my favourite birds is the jay; don’t know why such a brightly coloured bird is so difficult to spot, but I’ve only seen a few. I was staying outside London
and saw a jay that followed the same path every day, even sitting in the same tree every afternoon. In Crete I used to walk for miles each day to watch two birds that circled over a valley [never found out what they were] and on holiday in Cornwall used to watch two buzzards circling overhead, with the sea in the background. And I have a tawny owl that sometimes sits in the tree outside my bedroom window. It’s nice being an amateur’ish twitcher. There’s a little owl that lives nearby, but that’s dificult to spot
I was given two ‘Hawk Walks’ for Christmas last year; on one we just did a walk with a Harris Hawk and on the other we stayed in the same field but flew a range of birds including owls. We held a Golden Eagle but didn’t fly her
.I bored people even more than usual afterwards with all I’d learned, especially all the words that are in our language that come from hawking. We have quite a few buzzards round here [East Midlands]. I got used to seeing them when I lived in Cornwall, but have only recently seen them here. Buzzards usually hunt in pairs [see one and always look around for the other] but Harris Hawks are more social; maybe that’s what you saw? Want to see a Red Kite but even when we go to known locations they seem to hide away from us. Don’t suppose you saw the programe about Vultures the other night? It’s probably still on iplayer.
I’ve done bit of googling this morning and the calls I heard were definitely that of a buzzard. They’re quite common in Wexford seemingly and have been seen in groups of three or four (again, this is just what I found on google!). At the time I thought that three of the five were a bit smaller and they might be juveniles but at that distance I concluded I was probably seeing what I wanted to see so I just can’t be sure. What channel was the vultures programme on Moe? About four years ago I had the good fortune to see a Red Kite at a distance of about 30 yards. Luckily the person with me at the time knew what it was (he had spotted the bird a few times in the area) because I wouldn’t have had a clue!
I enjoy a bit of bird watching myself. A Sparrowhawk is probably the biggest bird I’ve seen in my modest garden. Not sure what bird would look like a Crow but be two or three times bigger, but it certainly wouldn’t be a Raven. They are only slightly bigger, on average.
Have you ever seen a Sparrowhawk hovering above prey Mr.P?
This bird was definitely twice the size of the others, I was too far away to tell but the par could possibly have been jackdaws which would explain the size differential I suppose. I looked up a raven’s call this morning and I’m fairly sure it’s what I heard. Hopefully I’ll see it again!
Given yo live in Ireland THM you’re certainly more likely to see ravens than most of us here in the UK, where they’re more-or-less confined to the hillier regions of Wales and Scotland. The only ones I’ve seen are those resident at The Tower of London and they’re noticeably bigger than crows and rooks, but not twice as big
The simple things in life don’t stale and I take great pleasure in watching yer everyday garden birds going about their daily business: an entertaining show that’s free-to-view
Possible the other birds were jackdaws, I wasn’t close enough to tell but all three birds were definitely of the
corvus
family. I’m hoping I’ll see/hear it again and will be on the look out
During the summer we often leave our back door open when we’re home, and just inside it is a dish for the cat’s food. I lost count of the number of times I birds came in to the house to plunder the dish. There’s a robin around here too that thinks nothing of coming to land within six or seven feet of you, I suppose when they’re fed every day they get used to the people.
I enjoy a bit of bird watching myself. A Sparrowhawk is probably the biggest bird I’ve seen in my modest garden. Not sure what bird would look like a Crow but be two or three times bigger, but it certainly wouldn’t be a Raven. They are only slightly bigger, on average.
Have you ever seen a Sparrowhawk hovering above prey Mr.P?
This bird was definitely twice the size of the others, I was too far away to tell but the par could possibly have been jackdaws which would explain the size differential I suppose. I looked up a raven’s call this morning and I’m fairly sure it’s what I heard. Hopefully I’ll see it again!
I doubt that you’d think a Sparrowhawk looked like a Crow? Also, Jackdaws are no bigger than Crows.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2uhbel2.jpg
Natural World Vultures; Beauty in the Beast [still on iplayer;couldn’t get it to copy though]
I enjoy a bit of bird watching myself. A Sparrowhawk is probably the biggest bird I’ve seen in my modest garden. Not sure what bird would look like a Crow but be two or three times bigger, but it certainly wouldn’t be a Raven. They are only slightly bigger, on average.
Have you ever seen a Sparrowhawk hovering above prey Mr.P?
This bird was definitely twice the size of the others, I was too far away to tell but the pair could possibly have been jackdaws which would explain the size differential I suppose. I looked up a raven’s call this morning and I’m fairly sure it’s what I heard. Hopefully I’ll see it again!
I doubt that you’d think a Sparrowhawk looked like a Crow? Also, Jackdaws are no bigger than Crows.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2uhbel2.jpg
I don’t think I’ve wrote anything to suggest I thought it was a Sparrowhawk? As birds of prey go the Sparrowhawk is pretty small, and definitely smaller than a crow!
That’s my point, Jackdaws are smaller than crows so would have made the raven look even bigger in comparison.
I quite often have a job to tell a rook from a crow as they are of similar size and looks. Rooks do tend to be in gangs though, like long-tailed tits. Loads of info online, here’s just a bit I found…
The Rook is about the same size as the Carrion Crow but is more untidy in its appearance. The plumage is all black with a reddish or purplish gloss but around the base of its beak – nostrils and chin – is bare skin. The untidy appearance arises from the slightly peaked head and the thigh feathers, which look like baggy trousers. The bill and legs are black. The Rook’s bill is longer and more pointed than that of the Carrion Crow Just to add to the confusion, juvenile Rooks do not have the bare skin around the base of the bill and so look very much like a Carrion Crow, but purplish gloss to plumage and baggy trousers remain diagnostic. It is often said that if you see a flock of crows that they will be Rooks. This is not strictly true because Carrion Crows do form flocks, but what is true is that Rooks nest in close-knit colonies but Carrion Crows do not. Rooks are rarely alone and so their raucous caws can become overwhelming. The Rook’s diet, like most crows, is diverse and includes insects, worms, carrion and seeds. They will visit bird tables for scraps and fruit. Rooks nest in a colony called a rookery. The nest is built high in a tree close to other nests. The nest is bulky and made from twigs bound together with earth, lined with moss, leaves, grass, wool, hair, etc. Previous years’ nests may be renovated and reused. The hen lays and incubates eggs that are smooth, glossy and light blue, greenish-blue or green with dark spots. The eggs are about 40 mm long. Both parents feed the young after they have hatched. In flight, rooks are notable for their rounded tails and backswept "hands". Sometimes they fly with rapid wing-beats and at other times they glide, tumble, roll and dive. On the ground they walk or hop. In early spring the large flocks tend to split up to form smaller "rookeries" in the tops of mature trees. The clutch comprises four or five eggs, incubated by the female alone for around 18 days when she is brought food by the male. When the chicks hatch, the male rook is at first the sole provider of food, but after a few days the female rook joins him in this task. Only one brood is raised in a season. The food brought to the nest is mostly insects, but the food of the adult rook is much more varied, with the diet including seeds, berries, worms, molluscs, and food taken from local fields such as root crops and corn. The "scarecrows" seen in many bare fields should more properly be called "scarerooks", because that is the bird that is more likely to cost the farmer money!
Natural World Vultures; Beauty in the Beast [still on iplayer;couldn’t get it to copy though]
I’ll give it a go… Moe
I wouldn’t be able tell a rook from a crow, tend to just call it a crow regardless, although they’re probably rooks more often than not! I would know a jackdaw, magpie and grey backed crow though… And now a raven
Natural World Vultures; Beauty in the Beast [still on iplayer;couldn’t get it to copy though]
I’ll give it a go… Moe
Thanks Moe and Mr.P, I’ll have to keep an eye out to see if it’s ever repeated, the player won’t work in Ireland
I found a dead sparrowhawk outside the back door a few years ago. I took it to my neighbour [who’s a nurse] for reassurance that it was dead 
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