Requesting ID this bird of prey

[Lorrilia]

Hi guys need your help on ID this bird of prey. My hubby thought it was a Sparrow hawk. It's too white on the chest to be one. I've also caught it in flight, It was taken in the UK in the east Anglia.

Any help is appreciated thank you.

 

[480sparky]

Osprey

 

[Lorrilia]

It can't be cos they are mainly in Scotland and I don't live in Scotland. This was captured in east Anglia in UK

 

[480sparky]

Um.... I see them all the time here in the States.

But it sure looks like one.

osprey - Google Search

 

[Soocom1]

Uhhh..
Not a Brit. But it looks very much like a Falcon to me.

 

[Derrel]

www.thespruce.com/osprey-identification-details-385985

LOOKS NOT to be an osprey, as I read the identifying features,

 

[JonFZ300]

My guess would be a Common Buzzard

Edit to add: Three raptors common in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire counties this time of year are the Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, and Common Buzzard. There are others that are obviously not this bird so I've ruled them out. If you go to eBird and click on explore and click on bar charts and put in your county, it will show you what is most common month by month in your area. Cheers

 

[Fujidave]

Buzzard.

 

[Derrel]

Yes, the Common Buzzard (not the USA's common Turkey Vulture--AKA "buzzard" in USA-speak) is a strong contender...

 

[Soocom1]

What? Not his bunch?

 

[Overread]

Yep that's a common buzzard! You can see them coasting around the whole of East Anglia now. They are a fantastic conversation story because go back 25-30 years ago and to see one in the air in this region would have prompted a flock of birders and been quite a sight. Now you can often hear them calling (they've quite a loud keying call that carries well) and you might sometimes see two or three in the same area very easily. They've repopulated very well!

If you can get hold of a copy of the Colins Bird Guide for Britain and Europe. It's a detailed neat guide with very clear drawn plates of the birds alongside common features, regions they are seen in, habitat and basic info. It's a very popular guide with many birders because its simple and easy to use and most times it will get you the bird or very close to it.


With this bird you can discount quite a few of the eagle, vulture, osprey such birds by the beak shape and colour alone. The legs are also a good sign as they are long, clear of feathers on the lower part and yellow (in the Colins book the osprey has greyer legs). Tail shape, feather pattern and underwing are all important aids in identifying, though when you get younger birds they can be a far more mottled plumage which can make them look quite similar to several species at the same time - mature adults are often far easier.
You can also discount the sparrowhawk because its mottled pattern is far neater and in more ordered lines across the body

I'm no expert at all but I'd say this could be a young lighter bird common buzzard based on the pale forewing of the underwing.

 

[JonFZ300]

I'm no expert at all but I'd say this could be a young lighter bird common buzzard based on the pale forewing of the underwing.

Totally agree. This is also a tough time of year because adults are going from non-breeding to breeding plumage and immatures are changing as well.