The Breeding Season

As from now until the end of the breeding season birds of a sensitive nature will be omitted from this blog due to a small percentage of undesirables who take their pleasure from egg collecting, nest destroying and the killing and trapping of birds.
Reports of non breeding birds moving through the area will still be published. BS
WELCOME TO ( WEST YORKSHIRE BIRDING )

Saturday, April 2, 2011

What t f is this??

Got back tonight from birding( Osprey report to follow) and as I got out of the car at home a large corvid looking bird was coming over the top of me. I grabbed the camera first and got a poor photo and then got the bins on it but  was looking at it arse on. It was Buzzard size with long drooping wings fingered at the ends and flew very slowly with 3 long strokes and a glide. The body was dumpy with a short raggy tail, possibly in moult, and the whole of the underside was dark brown. I never got a face view and the bird never called. I couldnt believe I couldnt I.D. it and was left standing there saying "What t f was that".
Spoke to DCB at Oxenhope as it was going >N in the hope that he got it.
On the photo it looks light underneath but this was just the sun on it.
Any ideas gratefully received !
BS
Posted by Brian Sumner . at 8:27 PM

3 comments:

heavy birder said...

Hi Brian I may be wrong but the wing formular and short tail look like Osprey to me. Perhaps the brownish underbody is the result of oil contamination. Have you got any more pics no matter how poor, may shed more light to id.

April 2, 2011 11:13 PM
NigelK said...

I too think it is an Osprey that maybe had a mishap with tail feathers. Of some significance I trust is the fact that on April 1 2010 I got two birds, both up Roper Lane. These two were evening birds, occuring within the same period you reported this i.e 1845 - 1915 hrs if I recall correctly.

April 3, 2011 7:18 AM
Brian Sumner said...

Thanks for the feedback lads confirming what I suspected. No more photos as I was just getting out of the car as it flew above me and I snapped 1 photo then grabbed the bins but by this time it was on its way.
The tail looked damaged and the bird looked generally in poor shape. The jizz and flight method were Osprey but the pure dark brown underside threw me.It was,nt mottled at all, just plain dark brown. Maybe someone else up country will turn it up.
Thanks again.

April 3, 2011 10:50 AM

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