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Tales of a South Downs fox... and other ramblings

Definitely not a kestrel...

Tuesday, 25. August 2009, 23:42:05

,

I was over at the local kestrel valley today. There were one or two about, but only at a distance. What did catch my eye though was this slightly larger bird of prey. It was flying high above open ground, circling and occasionally swooping. The speed, movement and range discounted it being either kestrel or sparrowhawk. From the ground it looked like a peregrine (if a small moving dot in the sky can 'look' like anything).


It was too high up to make out much detail while I was there (these are all hefty crops), but when I looked at the images on the computer I noticed what appear to be straps (jesses) on the bird.


This got me thinking. I couldn't see anyone out flying the bird, but the straps suggest a kept falcon. I've posted over on Wild About Britain and one suggestion is that its a Saker. However, an alternative proposal is that the straps are part of a radio tracking device on a juvenile peregrine. I'm slightly leaning to the former on the basis of the wing patterns but I'm not sufficiently familiar with either breed to be certain.

Here's one more shot (a 100% crop).


The consensus is that the second bird that appeared is indeed a juvenile peregrine. I was slightly confused by the vertical banding on the breast, but having checked further I'm fairly sure about the identification. And yes, I got both birds in one - very long distance - shot :D


Here's a better shot of the second bird. The markings do look quite different from those of the 'saker'.

Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

The return of an old faithful (lens)Tongue Twister

Comments

Darko 26. August 2009, 05:09

Could it be that bird trapped itself somewhere and then got lucky to fly away?

Neil 26. August 2009, 06:26

A few weeks ago I saw a couple of peregrines at work calling and flying at each other. I noticed one was bigger than the other and wondered if one was an escaped saker or hybrid. I spoke to the RSPB and they reckon it was a male and a bigger female peregrine. Perhaps thats whats here (the female looked paler with mine too)

As for the straps, I reckon its an escaped falconers bird and the long wire is the aerial for the falconers tracking device, in case the bird flies off (the falconry display and leeds castle said their falcon had this)

Words 26. August 2009, 08:41

Darko, there's a long debate going on at Wild About Britain. It seems most likely that this may be an escaped 'captive' falcon, and is most likely a cross-breed. No-one is able to identify the breed for certain. The wire is probably one of these.

Darko 26. August 2009, 08:45

But then why should it escape? I know they are trained and fed, usually not a wild bird, but grown up in captivity. Or...?

Words 26. August 2009, 08:48

Neil, yes the first one is almost certainly an escapee. Reminds me of my first close encounter with a raptor. We were living in town. I was leaving the house to go to work and, blow me down with a feather, an "eagle" was sitting on the front gate! A neighbour had a cat box and managed to get the bird into it. I then drove it up to the local RSPCA who reunited it with the owner. It turned out to be an escaped Harris Hawk. Still, it was my best ever excuse for being late for work, and still my closest encounter with a raptor (back seat of the car is close, especially when it started flapping in the box!)

Words 26. August 2009, 09:04

Darko, I'm not sure, but they do sometimes fly off. They are usually ringed or chipped so they can be returned to their owners if they turn up. It's possible the owner was somewhere in the area. I didn't see them, but the tracking devices can operate for up to 30 miles so they may be used to the birds travelling large distances and then following them to where they decide to come down.

Mark Jones 26. August 2009, 09:15

Very interesting :D i think its either a Falcon or an escaped (or set loose) predactor bird that goes on public shows. One show i went to long ago, the (think it was an eagle owl) landed on my arm and it felt quite heavy and strong and i wore one of those leather protective gloves.

Adele 26. August 2009, 19:33

Hmm, that's quite random. I think I've mentioned before that a red-tailed hawk (a buzzard-sized species that I often see in Canada) got loose in the North Downs once, and I even saw a green macaw on one occasion :eyes: Aviary keepers and falconers don't seem to be very good at holding on to their birds...

Words 26. August 2009, 20:26

Mark, I guess it must be difficult to keep track of falcons when you let them out to fly. A bit more tricky than if Benjie decides to wander a bit too far! Maybe it will find its way home ok (if it's a local bird). Nice to see it. I've never directly handled a falcon (just the hawk in a cat box in the back of my car). Sharp claws!

Words 26. August 2009, 20:31

Adele, birds must be one of the trickier 'pets' to take out for a walk. Those extendible leads just aren't long enough! Maybe they should start using radio controllers rather than radio transmitters :whistle:

Adele 26. August 2009, 20:53

:lol:

Anonymous 16. October 2009, 22:23

DaveABirding writes:

Just found your blog and this post after a similar experience with two Kestrels mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk here in Colorado on my mid-day walk.
I also didn't notice that there was a jess hanging from one of the Kestrels until I got back to look at the pics. I found your blog by searching for images of Kestrel jesses, glad I did! I will definitely check back.

Words 17. October 2009, 00:19

Dave, thanks for the comment!

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