Is This a Hen Harrier...

Jason Green · #1 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 02:20 PM

I have been lucky to see this BoP again and got a better photo this time - further to my earlier post, I would like to hear your views on the similarity.

The Original

Using Auto Adjust

Further Enhanced

A Comparison

Is my ID correct - Hen Harrier??

Pigeon feather · #2 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 02:29 PM

Yes I'd say you were correct, I can see it has a white rump similar to your comparison picture of a hen harrier.

Dogghound · #3 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 02:42 PM

Yes either a female or a juvenile.

JeffH · #4 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:11 PM

and hence the nickname 'ringtails'

Jeff

ChrisJB · #5 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:16 PM

Not 100 per cent, but looks a lot like a female Sparrowhawk (I eagerly await being shot down in flames!).

Regards, Chris

Dogghound · #6 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

Not 100 per cent, but looks a lot like a female Sparrowhawk (I eagerly await being shot down in flames!).

Regards, Chris

Female sparrowhawks arnt brown, they are mainly grey, the underside is grey and white speckled and they dont have a white bar.

ChrisJB · #7 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Female sparrowhawks arnt brown, they are mainly grey, the underside is grey and white speckled and they dont have a white bar.

Perhaps it's my 'mince pies', but I just can pick out the white rump (apart from on the actual Hen Harrier comparison pic'!

I thought I could smell burning!

Regards, Chris

The Black Rabbit · #8 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:29 PM

I'm getting confused here.
Was this the "Harrier" flying over a London Park, some time ago?
Or did I just dream that after I polished off a whole edam t'other night?

Doug

ChrisJB · #9 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

I'm getting confused here.
Was this the "Harrier" flying over a London Park, some time ago?
Or did I just dream that after I polished off a whole edam t'other night?

Doug

Ooh yeah! Well remembered B.R, I'd forgot about that.

Regards, Chris

GuyF · #10 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

Not 100 per cent, but looks a lot like a female Sparrowhawk (I eagerly await being shot down in flames!).

Regards, Chris

To me it looks like a Sparrowhawk as well, and although a Hen Harrier isn't impossible in a London park, a Sparrowhawk must be a more likely option.
Guy

paulchandler6 · #11 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 08:24 PM

Would Sparrowhawk not show white undertail coverts?

The overall colouring of the underparts appear to be a cinnamon brown or is this due to enhancing the image? Also the 5 "fingered" primaries are quite distinctive for Hen Harrier.
Cant make out much more on the pic though.

Paul

MagpieMick · #12 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 09:27 PM

Well i've tried to lighten the shadows to bring out some detail...
Was the original shot of the bird heavily cropped ?

See what you think now......!!!

cannylad · #13 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 09:54 PM

My vote goes for a Sprawk, the base of the wings against the body is very wide.

aeshna5 · #14 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 04:59 AM

As I said in previous posting I'm pretty sure it's a Sparrowhawk. We also have to remember that Hen Harrier is a real London scarcity + though I can believe 1 passing over a London park is possible, the odds of one over again in such a small time are slim (though not impossible!).

Andy Warne · #15 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 06:04 AM

Another vote for Sparrowhawk.

paulchandler6 · #16 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 06:21 AM

Had another look at the pics this morning and my vote goes for Sparrowhawk.

Paul

The Black Rabbit · #17 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 06:53 AM

HERE is the original post (roughly 10 days ago), and what people made of it then...
Doug

coasty · #18 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 08:01 AM

Well I am not at all sure on this but I would go for sparrowhawk, and Cannylad what on earth is a sprawk? , YOu havent been reading our Dougs posts have you....????

Adam Cheeseman · #19 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 08:14 AM

Looks like a Sparrowhawk to me.

Cheers,

Adam

Gill Catton · #20 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 08:24 AM

sparrowhawk for me too..

the wings and body proportions don't seem right to me for a harrier - plus in the last thread the white patch appeared to be more on the side than on the top.

I think the colours are pretty badly affected by the lighting and difficult to be definative about but also there's no indication of the darker area around the face/throat that ought to be visible

Lance Morgan · #21 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Female sparrowhawks arnt brown, they are mainly grey, the underside is grey and white speckled and they dont have a white bar.

Female Sparrowhawks are larger than the male and have brown upperparts, a white stripe over the eye and dark barring underneath. Males are grey.
My bet is a sparrowhawk too.

Dogghound · #22 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance Morgan

Female Sparrowhawks are larger than the male and have brown upperparts, a white stripe over the eye and dark barring underneath. Males are grey.
My bet is a sparrowhawk too.

grey/brown upperparts

. The female is far paler on the underside than the male. Yes your quite right males are smaller, and females have a white stripe over the eye although both these features dont help with ID on this photo. This bird appears mainly brown. Also hen harriers tend to have a southern distribution over winter, meaning birds around london and passing over is not to far fetched. However it is hard to gage bird size and its a very cropped image so who know's.

Jason Green · #23 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 11:52 AM

Hello, thanks for the reviews. I still think its too brown for Sp., though in London it is more likely.

The bird initially chased after a small bird overhead, then shot off at high speed after something in the other direction, then I heard the screech of a jay... again it was unsucessful. It then rested in a tree though it was too quick for a photo, then it went after some pigeons, again unsuccesfully!

Probably too impatient or hungry.

Gill Catton · #24 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Green

Hello, thanks for the reviews. I still think its too brown for Sp., though in London it is more likely.

The bird initially chased after a small bird overhead, then shot off at high speed after something in the other direction, then I heard the screech of a jay... again it was unsucessful. It then rested in a tree though it was too quick for a photo, then it went after some pigeons, again unsuccesfully!

Probably too impatient or hungry.

I once saw a very brownish sparrowhawk in my village at the bottom of my drive I remember being very suprised and my brain whizzing as to what it was but as it flew off again it was clear that it was a sprawk.

Again one zipped over my roof and into the fields beyond and again the overal impression was brownish rather than grey ish.

The behaviours you describe are typical for a sparrowhawk. I havn't spent a lot of time watching hen harriers but those that I have seen have those very clear markings around the head that make the face look almost owl-like you ought to be able to see these markings.

I have spent a great deal more time watching marsh harriers and they don't seem to actively chase birds they appear to drop onto them from above often seeming to taking a bird from the ground (in a swooping fashion rather than a peregrin type stoop) - though as I said I haven't watched hen harriers and perhaps their behaviour is different.

Pigeon feather · #25 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 01:37 PM

I have now changed my mind, going by the fact this photo was taken in London (which I wasn't aware of) and the way the bird behaved whilst chasing it's prey I now believe it to be a Sparrowhawk. The white feathering that appears to be on the rump may just be a trick of the light.