Bird of prey behaviour

[watsthat]

Me and the wife were out along the Yorkshire Wolds escarpment on Sunday when she spotted a couple of raptors. They seemed to be following a large party of hirundines which were feeding over stubble on a brisk updraft. The raptors were wheeling about sometimes hovering on the wind, when one of them suddenly plunged very fast from a considerable altitude down to ground level. The discernible colouring seemed sandy brown on both birds with a pale rump. Their wings were pointed but the silouette did not at anytime show the serpentine Sparrowhawk shape but they looked bigger than Kestrels. Their general behaviour was not what we expected from our local Kestrel/ Sparrowhawk population. We are not too hot with BOP ID could they have been young Peregrines?

Pete

[aeshna5]

The behaviour seems consistent with them being Kestrels- definitely not Sparrowhawk.

[richyh257]

although its unlikely, could it have been hen harriers?
it does sound like their sort of behaviour, the right habitat, and the females are brown with a white rump
they are also abit larger than kestrels and do sometimes appear to have pointed wings.

like i said unlikely but surely not impossible

[nigel_b]

When I've seen hen harriers hunting its been at about one metre in altitude, sort of rocking from side to side, listening for prey. I dont know if they do hunt from high up do they?

[richyh257]

ooo must have missed that bit haha
well yeah i agree
but perhaps it wasnt like really intense hunting maybe it just saw something below and went for it, or maybe an inexperienced bird?
it isnt always clear cut with animals is it really haha
but if it did have a white rump then surely the kestrel and s-hawk are even less likely

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by richyh257

ooo must have missed that bit haha
well yeah i agree
but perhaps it wasnt like really intense hunting maybe it just saw something below and went for it, or maybe an inexperienced bird?
it isnt always clear cut with animals is it really haha
but if it did have a white rump then surely the kestrel and s-hawk are even less likely

I have seen kestrels trying to catch swallows on Anglesey so this would make sense. Kestrels do not have the speed or agility to catch birds in flight, as I have seen around the feeders at The Lodge but they cannot help trying.