We arrived, around 5 pm and parked up on the track just off the road. The resident Kestrel was showing well as it searched the moor from easdt to west. I love the colours of the Dowrog under a lowering sun it is a truly magical place in the autumn/winter.A little while later a Peregrine passed by heading SW. Next, what i took to be a juvenile Sparrowhawk shot across the moor and landed on a roadside fencepost about twenty yards away to my left.
I have been birding for fifty odd years, would have bet a large sum of money that I could identify any native British bird of prey with ease had I a decent view, but this one flummoxed me. It was a pretty good prolonged view. What really stood out was the pure white underside,/breast/throat marked with heavy black teardrop blotches, not the light barring of a typical Sparrowhawk. The primaries almost extended to the tip of its tail, but even more curious was the fact that it appeared to have dark eyes set in a black mask with just a hint of a white supercillum above. Juvenile Hobby almost fits the bill (excuse pun) though i would have expected a tad more primary projection and more obvious mustachial streaks and anyhow early November seems a bit late. It was incredibly tame as i got out of the car, paying me no heed, nor of a car passing just a few feet away from it.
After a few minutes it shot off across the road on a low level run where it had a go at a small passerine probably a Pippit which it flung up to catch, but just missed, continueing on its way, and away!
A week or so ago, I had a similar /closer view of a 1st summer Musket (male Sparrowhawk) at the same place and that was obviously a Spar' staring at me with its bright yellow eyes. I am pretty sure having looked through books etc this must have been a juvenile Sparrowhawk but the seemingly dark eye still irks me. Maybe its that my eyes are not what they used to be!
The light was beginning to fade when I was scanning out to the SW and a large raptor appeared to be coming my way. It soon became apparent that it was a ringtail and quite a dark one, (perhaps one another birder i did not know had mentioned a couple of days previously). It kept on coming with deliberate wingbeats at about fifty feet as if on a mission rather than hunting. It passed on by, and over the willow carr and then I noticed a smaller Harrier convergeing on it from the north west. The smaller harrier then dropped down and i saw it was a pale bird, eg a male, meanwhile another harrier a slightly smaller ringtail approached the the first ringtail which then turned and a started heading back towards the moor.followed by the second ringtail.
The male bird by now had come back over the willow carr and was hunting low over the moor in front of the carr. From its broad black wingtips i am pretty sure it was a Hen Harrier which were obvious despite the waining light. It was then briefly joined by the two ringtails. The male still showed quite well but the in the dying light it was difficult to keep a track on the ringtails and i lost the smaller one which had probably gone down. The larger ringtail sort of associated with the male for a minute or two before plonking down in the reeds in front of a wooden gatepost. The male continued hunting, droppuing down possibly on some small prey item where it remained for a couple of minutes before coming back up, and flying slowly towards the gate post where the big ringtail had gone down in the reeds. After a short while quartering the area, he also dropped down, presumably to roost, as the light was fast fading.. I hung around for another few minutes but it was by then, properly getting dark.
All in all, a wonderful hour of Raptor watching, sadly i had no camera with me, this image is from a couple of years ago!
