Noisy bird... not what you think

[Stay Frosty]

Anyone have an idea what bird of prey this was on next doors chimney earlier.
I was out in the back garden and heard a loud chattering as the bird appeared to have aborted a charge into I guess some garden birds and turned the charge into an untidy landing onto the chimney.
It sat there for probably two minutes, certainly long enough for me to get my phone from indoors and dash off a few quality stills
Looked at the phone to check the pictures which are pretty bad but I reckon, well Google does, that it might be a juvenile female Peregrine rather than Sparrowhawk, the eyes were definitely black rather than yellow and the bird was really vocal just before it landed... might have been swearing?
Having added the pictures now it definitely was bigger than a Kestrel by a lump and not a Buzzard or Kite both of which are common here probably due to the allotments opposite.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

My guess would be female sparrow hawk.
Here’s a male I spotted on my neighbours roof. It was hiding behind the stack watching the spuggies (sparrows for you southerners)

 

[TeeCeeJay]

100% Kestrel.

Bars / stripes on the chest are going the wrong way for Sparrow Hawk. Moustache not clear enough for Peregrine. Nothing else has that chestnut colour on the back

 

[gilesjuk]

I tend to see more buzzards around here than other birds of prey. You see them circling about high in the sky.

 

[Noddy996]

Yep, female kestrel.

 

[sparkzer]

Check out the app - Merlin Bird ID. My parents were hearing a bird song they were not familiar with at dawn most mornings, but couldnt see the bird. That app allows you to upload audio or images and it identified the bird. It identified the birdsong perfectly, gave info about their bird, examples of similar birdsong and pictures etc...most interesting.

As a test, I just took a photo of my PC screen of your bird, dispite the quality/reflections etc it also itentified it as a kestrel (Eurasian Kestrel to be exact).

 

[Stay Frosty]

Cheers for the thoughts team but this bird definitely seemed chunkier than a Kestrel Garry and there was no yellow around the eyes.
When it initially caught my attention it looked like it had just skidded to a halt by the Laburnham tree with the wings and tail flared as it regrouped and flew the 20ft or so up to the chimney.
I really wanted it to be a juvenile Peregrine as there is an adult one that flies across here regularly although that one is always high up with a distinctive curved wing outline and quite vocal.
I'm going to have to get a better camera/phone at this rate.

 

[Ali-G]

Check out the app - Merlin Bird ID.

+1, great app, been using it for a while now.

 

[sparkzer]

Cheers for the thoughts team but this bird definitely seemed chunkier than a Kestrel Garry and there was no yellow around the eyes.

This is what the app told me...also an example photo which looks pretty similar.

 

[Howzat]

Well this is a bit surreal. I started reading A Kestrel for Knave (Kes) yesterday after first reading it at school some 40 odd years ago then this post pops up.
According to Casper the young 'uns are a bit plump after leaving the nest and the fact it failed to catch it's prey may be testament to that.

 

[Bigsidavies]

Kestrel.

 

[Cuffy]

Eeee! That's proper bo that is!

 

[Stay Frosty]

I think that second picture looks to be pretty similar Garry and the sound the bird made plus looking a bit lost when it sat on the chimney means it was probably as the team think and a young Kestrel.
I'm a bit disappointed as Kestrels are pretty common throughout Northamptonshire and it being a young Whitetail Eagle was never really on the cards but one of the things that has improved in this more tolerant and connected age we live in and that is the amount of Kites, Buzzards and Barn Owls that can be spotted daily, when I was a kid it would have been Kestrels only.

 

[Bigsidavies]

barn owls are struggling for food and so they are becoming more common in daylight hours now.

 

[DaveD]

barn owls are struggling for food and so they are becoming more common in daylight hours now.

We often walk a field of rough old pasture that we have, at dusk, and often see a barn owl hunting the many mice that live in the long grass , we have a barn owl box in a big old oak tree that we know is used .
But recently we have also spotted a Jack Snipe in our garden too, and last week we've seen Stonechats, also quite rare in our area.
I provide the right habitat for these birds, I don't want to go to a zoo to see them.

 

[Kind of Blue]

I have been fortunate here in Wales. Every day I see Buzzards and Red Kite. Both very common now. Occasionally see Merlin. In fact one landed on my head years ago. It was a very strange occurrence. We live on very hilly land and while down the bottom near to our woodland we where picking slows and rather strangely a frog land by my foot. I was very puzzled, was not aware that frogs climb bushes or trees. Then as I stood erect, something landed on my head and started scratching about, obviously mistaking me for a tree stump. I panicked, not understanding what it was and brushed this thing from my head.. Oh dear it was a Merlin, I was very concerned and worried but it just stood up flapped its wings and was off, feuwwww. We even had a visit from a Golden Eagle in our rear garden. Huge only about 20 to 20 feet away just watching me for a few moments, then launched its self off. I believe it was probably a once captive bird that had escaped and was developing a range. Unfortunately it was shot by a farmer a bit further north than Tregaron.

Unfortunately there is a lot of wild life crime here . We have had our badgers wiped out and fox hunting is still practised. It has been a battle. The police are useless, infract 20 years ago or more many of us believe that the local bobby was involved as were a few others from surrounding areas. Lamping common on one occasion while keeping a watch on them some one came all the way over and at point blank range pointed a rifle in my face. I could go on but I will leave it there.

 

[DaveD]

I have been fortunate here in Wales. Every day I see Buzzards and Red Kite. Both very common now. Occasionally see Merlin. In fact one landed on my head years ago. It was a very strange occurrence. We live on very hilly land and while down the bottom near to our woodland we where picking slows and rather strangely a frog land by my foot. I was very puzzled, was not aware that frogs climb bushes or trees. Then as I stood erect, something landed on my head and started scratching about, obviously mistaking me for a tree stump. I panicked, not understanding what it was and brushed this thing from my head.. Oh dear it was a Merlin, I was very concerned and worried but it just stood up flapped its wings and was off, feuwwww. We even had a visit from a Golden Eagle in our rear garden. Huge only about 20 to 20 feet away just watching me for a few moments, then launched its self off. I believe it was probably a once captive bird that had escaped and was developing a range. Unfortunately it was shot by a farmer a bit further north than Tregaron.

Unfortunately there is a lot of wild life crime here . We have had our badgers wiped out and fox hunting is still practised. It has been a battle. The police are useless, infract 20 years ago or more many of us believe that the local bobby was involved as were a few others from surrounding areas. Lamping common on one occasion while keeping a watch on them some one came all the way over and at point blank range pointed a rifle in my face. I could go on but I will leave it there.

Oh I can only dream of seeing Merlin and I have to go to Scotland to see Golden Eagle, I settle for what I can encourage to live near me, which has been very successful.
Fox shooting is very much legal in the UK (so is lamping), unless Wales has separate laws?
We have many badgers here, I see them on my CCTV almost every night.
Sadly the UK is no longer wild and it's no good having an ecosystem dominated by apex predators, I have no wish to kill anything (except rats, I've shot loads!) but foxes and badgers have no natural predators.
Mankind has upset the natural balance and if we wish species like hedgehog to survive, we have to intervene, or we will lose them. We feed hedgehog in special feeders and provide hedgehog houses that badgers can't get into. For people who don't know, the badger is the only animal that can uncurl a hedgehog and eat it alive. And they do.

I love nature, as I suspect you do, it's about balance.
The worst thing you can do to a field is put a housing estate on it, IMO.

 

[Kind of Blue]

Oh I can only dream of seeing Merlin and I have to go to Scotland to see Golden Eagle, I settle for what I can encourage to live near me, which has been very successful.
Fox shooting is very much legal in the UK (so is lamping), unless Wales has separate laws?
We have many badgers here, I see them on my CCTV almost every night.
Sadly the UK is no longer wild and it's no good having an ecosystem dominated by apex predators, I have no wish to kill anything (except rats, I've shot loads!) but foxes and badgers have no natural predators.
Mankind has upset the natural balance and if we wish species like hedgehog to survive, we have to intervene, or we will lose them. We feed hedgehog in special feeders and provide hedgehog houses that badgers can't get into. For people who don't know, the badger is the only animal that can uncurl a hedgehog and eat it alive. And they do.

I love nature, as I suspect you do, it's about balance.
The worst thing you can do to a field is put a housing estate on it, IMO.

Fox Shooting is legal but they have traditional fox chased by hounds with horses and terrier men also. It is illegal here also. It been a battle the whole time living here near 30 years. I have been threatened on numerous occasions and suffered lots of damage to fences trees felled over trackways etc, nails in tyres, cesspit trashed and loads more, Recently they seem a bit scared perhaps because of some prosecutions but the are very underhand and persistent. I have badger sets but are empty now. Badgers have been taken out on adjoining land at night possibly crossbow and probably snares also. Snares are openly sold in farm shops. I know some of the people involved, local farmers and sons and youths from surrounding villages. Procedures have changed, they have night vision which is much better than it was. Often the project a huge light into the sky, this gives night vision a better ability over a longer range and larger acreage The police are an absolute joke here. I too have hedge hogs and feed them. Not quite sure exactly where they live but it is close. We bought a couple of hedge hog homes but have not found them in them. I suspect the cold weather made the sleep in because they have not taken any food for a little while.

 

[DaveD]

I've never been on a fox hunt and I support the ban on hunting with hounds, but we allow religious no stun slaughter in the UK so we've no right to pretend to be a country of animal lovers.

 

[Kind of Blue]

I do not allow them on my land hence the retributions I will not give in I would take a private prosecution. I have no public rights of way of any type but one is watched and when away or the know where I am.