Hiya ;o) i'm ereee

[robin-rachel]

Hello everyone... I'm rachel, and i'm not sure if i'm posting in the right area here but here goes. You can tell me off later. I'm a bird lover and have been since i don't know when. I don't know an awful lot about them but i'm mainly a spot a different one and look them up kind of person..lol Hence the reason why i'm here.
I've just had a beautiful holiday down in Somerset. In the middle of nowhere in a gorgeous little village called Winsford. While i was there we travelled out to quite a few places and on one of these trips we went across exmoor. Now a lot of these roads are winding and you have to keep a sharp eye on all the bends etc.. While i was doing this (even though i wasn't driving myself) i saw something move in the hedgerow way up in front of us. As we got a bit closer i thought it was a pheasant getting off the road. But then as we neared it the bird stepped back slightly so i could see it properly. I was gobsmacked.. It looked like an eagle.. I've been looking everywhere i can to see if i can identify what it was exactly. My first instincts was that it might have been a golden eagle but after seeing pictures of those now i don't think it was. Maybe you can help ? I'll describe it to you because that's the only thing i've got to go on. It looked as if it would be about 2ft tall, maybe 2 and a half foot. It had a mottled back like a reddish ,orangey brown, a slightly paler head with a definate eagle like face and white legs. Any ideas ? It was definately after something in the hedgerow. Shame i couldn't stop and take a picture. Incidently, we went to coombe martin afterwards and seen the falconry show there. They had a harris hawk there and it wasn't one of those . This bird was twice the size.(or so it seemed)... Sorry for the essay lol.. I should have just described the bird and asked who knew what it was.. ha ha ha .. Hope to find out what it was soon. xXx

[jdurbo]

Hi rachel
Hello and welcome from me!
jen xxx

[goosey]

Hello robin-rachel. I don't know what your mystery bird could be but I do know it definitely wasn't a golden eagle as there is only one in the whole of England in the wild - and that is in Cumbria. Why not pose this question on the bird forum where you will find the bird experts . Any way welcome to WAB and I hope you decide to stick around once you have your answer .

[Deer Stalker]

Hi Robin-Rachel.

Buzzard?

[Tursiops2]

Hallo rachel, welcome to the forum
Your bird was very probably a buzzard, they're plentiful on Exmoor, although there's an outside chance of a red kite, they seem to be everywhere these days.

ATB
T2

[ron1863]

Welcome to the forum Rachel. I would think that it was a Buzzard. We now have them in large numbers where I live in central Scotland, which wasn't always the case as they were a rare sight until about ten years ago. We now see them sitting on telegraph poles by the roadside on a daily basis. Their lovely to watch when they are riding the thermals

[stirling]

Welcome rachel,hope you enjoy WAB.
Best from mike.

[clover green]

Hiya Rachel welcome to WAB, I'm sure you will like it here? I do hope someone can help you with your question? Do as Goosey says and ask in the "Bird Forum". Good luck. See you around!

[buzfuz8149]

Hi Rachel,

A warm welcome to WAB, looking forward to more of your (essays ) posts.

Carol.

[rlchew]

Hello Rachel

Welcome to WAB.

I am sure your "Golden Eagle" was a Common Buzzard .... loads of those down in the south west but no Goldies

Richard

[robin-rachel]

Awww thanks for the welcome everyone xXx And thanks for the advice and input too. So it seems my rare(wanted) sighting was only a pesky buzzard .. lol He looked lovely though i must say. I tell you something too, travelling around exmoor and surrounding areas is a real treat. (more of an essay coming now especially for Carol ) lol.. The Exmoor ponies are lovely, gorgeous colours.(i missed them on a previous trip) Just to see any animals in the wild these days is great. To wake up early in the morning and see horse riders going past the front gate really warms the heart. Now im back home in Birmingham, i'm waking up to see a bus past my gate instead .. tut tut.. ;o) .. OOohh i tell you what else we seen too and it was the cutest little thing. We took our oldest daughter who's 3 fishing. (i use the word loosely as it was a fishing net with a huge hole in it) So anyway we caught a few stones and leaves and there were a couple of young country boys with 'proper' fishing rods nearby. The one shouted over had we ever seen a Vole? We said no and he brought it over. (he must have known we were townies.. Probably had something to do with the dress code.. we looked like we were in spain for a week lol) awwww and it was the dearest little thing. Sooo cute. I just wanted to 'mother' it ha ha ha.. Doesn't nature melt your heart sometimes. xXx

[emmz]

Hi Rachel,

I joined only yesterday, and it is a fabulous, freindly, forum. Enjoy.
emmz

[robin-rachel]

Hiya Emmz ;o) welcome too .. This does feel like a friendly site ... I came across it by accident as i was mooching around the net on my quest ... Everyone seems really helpful and welcoming... It will be interesting to see what other people have seen and what else i can look out for in the city.. ;o) It's nice to know there are so many other nature lovers. xXx speak soon xXx