id

[derbi]

hello, this morning i saw a bird of prey flying about, it was bigger than a crow, was white underneath with black on the end of the wings and a grey color on top, watched it for a short while flying when it dived for a crow and chased it.
Ive had a search and the closest bird i could narrow it down to was hen harrier.
Can any one confirm this or is there another bird of prey that can match the description.
Will post photos later.
Thankyou

[MagpieMick]

Could be a Hen Harrier or male Marsh Harrier..

[snake]

A male Marsh harrier has the black wing tips leading into grey but none of the birds I have seen have had a white underside.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Montagu's Harrier?

Cheers,

Adam

[ChrisJB]

Sounds like one of the three male harriers anyway.

Regards, Chris

[John]

It would need that photo you mentioned to distinguish which bird it was.

Where was it you saw the bird?

John

[Ferret]

Could be a Male of any of the three harriers, most likely a Marsh Harrier as this is by far the commonest species, it is now even breeding out of the marshes and on to farm land, seems incredible that when I was a teenager in the late 60’s there was only four pairs breeding in the whole of the UK. my next choice would be Hen Harrier, a bit late as I would expect them to be on the northern moors by now but not to late for a straggler, last would be Montague’s Harrier, by far the rarest of the three, less than half a dozen pairs in the UK even in a good year, mainly breeding in Norfolk and Lincolnshire but could turn up anywhere in southern England and has breed in Scotland and could like Hen harrier still be on passage.

[derbi]

sorry its not a good picture at all you can make out the shape and color but it was to far away for camera to get a decant one. i have cropped it and zoomed it in abit.
The bird was in the feilds around heighington, lincs
cheers for the replys

[John]

I'm fairly confident that is a Hen Harrier. I think the underbody is too white for it to be a Monty's and it certainly isn't a Marsh Harrier. I can't make out any streaking on the underwing (which a male Monty's would have).

My only problem is that I know there are usually Monty's in Lincs but I haven't heard of them around Lincoln.

John

[snake]

A bit late on the year but my money would be on a male Hen Harrier.

[Steven Munday]

I don’t see a harrier species from the photo. The black on the wings is too extensive covering the whole hand and the end of the wings appear broad or paddled shaped with white tips. And the wings are low possible indicating a flappy flight. There's also a hint of rufous on the undertail coverts and possible a black band to the end of the tail (when photo enlarged).

From your description the bird in question was mobbing a crow; it's usually crows that mob birds of prey unless the raptor has a territory close by. I would be inclined, from the photo, to identify the bird as a Lapwing. They will nest in fields and can be very aggressive when defending a nest site taking on much larger birds and even animals, such as sheep, that stray to close.

Compare bird to the lapwing on the right
http://www.kimcomania.co.uk/Local%20walks/lapwing2.jpg

and this male Hen Harrier with its black, pointed wing tips and wing held high in a V shape
http://www.hawkridge.org/images/BRHK...2csc3w-(2).jpg

It’s very difficult to make a positive ID from the photo, maybe you could elaborate on its flight characteristics. Did the bird dive at the crow with its talons outstretched or was it head first?

I could be well of the mark though.

[John]

I see where you are coming from Stephen. At first I was going to challenge your suggestion (as it lacked the chest bar) but then I looked harder and instead of what I thought was a bird flying towards us I think it is a bird flying away so we are seeing the tail end. That is what threw me.

Well spotted Stephen. I have to throw my hat into that ID. My only concern is how on earth has a Lapwing been confused for a Harrier?

John

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Going by Stephens post, I would also say that it's a Lapwing

[derbi]

thanks for the id, i would have to agree lapwing as well. i didnt realise birds could be so aggressive towards each other.
john- after reading what you wrote i had a closer look at my photo and started to laugh at myself i didnt even notice it was flying away from it wouldnt stop flying thought the pic looked a little odd though. im still learning about british wildlife especially birds so i assumed as it chased the crow out the feild it was a bird of prey.
Thankyou for the proper id and sorry for the confusion

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by derbi

sorry its not a good picture at all you can make out the shape and color but it was to far away for camera to get a decant one. i have cropped it and zoomed it in abit.
The bird was in the feilds around heighington, lincs
cheers for the replys

My first reaction to the photo is one of a Lapwing flying away. Far too much black on the wings for any of the male harriers and the wings are too broad, short and rounded IMHO.

Cheers,

Adam