What bird of prey is this?

Jessey

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2004
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Suffolk, UK
Saws rather large, rather fab bird last night out riding, but I’ve no idea what it is
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my new phone is really annoying, if you try to edit, even if you cancel out of it, it overwrites the original image ? so this is now the best picture I’ve got. He was 10-12” tall and pretty substantial, white breast, tawny on the top.
 
Yes, that's a buzzard. We used to have a lot of them round here, but as the red kites have moved in they seem to have been driven out :(
 
Deffo Mr B. We have a pair who nest in the woods below my paddock, and their baby sits on the fence posts most of the summer crying to be fed. We've got red kites moving in now and sometimes I see them sparring on the wing!
 
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I never seem to see our buzzards at rest, only in flight or diving.
 
All the buzzards we normally see here have brown breasts, thats what threw me :)
I've never seen one with such a white breast either, but then I did a research project on birds of prey and still occasionally (often) see a gull and for a second think it's a red kite. It's just something about how they fly
 
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Buzzards do vary tremendously in colour (and size). That one does have an unusually white breast though. The pic is too blurry to be sure what it is, but I'd guess your forest ranger friend knows what they're talking about. The only other thing I could think it might look like is an Osprey, but I don't think you'd get them round where you are, unless you happened to be extremely lucky enough to see one passing through. Extremely doubtful, but still a possibility! There's a Bearded Vulture in the Peak District at the moment!
 
No I don’t think we get ospreys here, unless like you say one is passing through. There is a known population of goshawk but that would be very rare to see. Gaw I wish I’d have tried to get a bit closer now :)
 
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looks like buzzard or red kite, if you can see it on the wing, check tail if its a V shape its a kite. we have loads of both round us, they sit on the electric poles at the field .
 
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