Thursday 8 March 2018

Crazy Sparwhk

Had a couple of hours  on the lower moors today  , Loads of Chaffinch heading n/w at least 70 , 14 Stock Doves , 7 Oystercatcher , 6 Kestrel , 4 Buzzards .  A couple of accipiters over the moor were interesting one drifted right with slow wing beats (poss Gos) but was lost to view before I could get a good look.
The other headed left  and was a crazy bird it went into the middle of a Lapwing field and started chasing them about ,  then up into the sky for a scrap with a Carrion Crow , twisting and turning it was a large female sparrowhawk but very brown with little contrast between its head , back and tail of note ( no white coverts could be seen and looked very square at the edges and short ). It then headed onto the moors and picked up a ring tail Harrier it would not let it go , bombing it repeatedly it went on and on  seemed like 5 minutes before it gave up. It then drifted  down the valley and started at the lapwings again. I turned my attention to the harrier  it was going slowly low over the moor flushing grouse left right and centre , then went for a rabbit but was too slow , watched it for another 10 minutes before it drifted out of view and off to the roost no doubt  , a fully winged ringtail with dark secondries and orange flush breast looked like (6).

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