Peregrine ID-finer points (1 Viewer)

[matt green]

I want to start a thread about identifying Peregrine falcons and seperating them from easily mistaken similar raptors,mostly kestrels.

Since early last month a male has been seen on a regular basis around some local farmland,a female has also been seen on one occassion so I'm assumming they are a pair.To find an unassociated male and female peregrine
in the same month in this area would I think be most unusual!

So far this month I have recorded 3 undisputable sightings of the male peregine and 1 of the female,however there are another 4 unconfirmed sightings where I have been unable to seperate a possible male Pere from a kestrel.

Apart from the colouration,jizz,size etc I'd like to hear about some of the
flight characteristics of the peregrine which sets it apart from other raptors.One aspect I'm particularly interested in is ''the stoop'',today was the first time I've ever seen this type of behavior.I've also noticed that the
wingbeats on the Peregrine appear more shallow and mechanical compared to the more ''flappy'' deeper wingbeats of the kestrel? (apologies for the poor terminology!)

I wonder if those with more experiance with these birds might like to add their own personal observations regarding behavior/flight characteristics etc.

Matt

 

[mike from ebbw]

the length of the tail on a peregrine is a lot shorter than the kestrel.the dark facial moustache on an adult peregrine can be seen even with the naked eye at some distance.a peregrines wings are broader than a kestrels in normal level flight.the wingbeats on a peregrine are a winnowing motion whereas the kestrels is a more familiar flap.when you see a peregrine in a full on stoop you will never forget it.drop your bins down because you will struggle to keep up with it.the only bird you could really confuse it with is a hobby (after some experience),but it is way to early for them.hope this helps,mike.

 

[Tri-Counties Birder]

the only bird you could really confuse it with is a hobby (after some experience),but it is way to early for them.hope this helps,mike.

But beware, Sparrowhawks stoop too!

 

[Steven Astley]

Aswell as what has already been said the basic things which should sort the ID out in most cases are:

Length of tail the biggest thing Kestrel being longer.

If its stoop is long and diagonal then its a Peregrine, if its more vertical then its more likely to be a Kestrel.

Kestrels purposefully hovers where the most Peregrine will do is stall.

As already been said in summer there is a bigger risk of confusing Peregrine with Hobby

 

[Okwaho]

Is it just me...or do kestrels and peregrine falcons look extremely different to anybody else.

 

[matt green]

Is it just me...or do kestrels and peregrine falcons look extremely different to anybody else.

Indeed they do..close up and in reasonable light..

But to ''correctly'' identify one half a mile away with just the use of 7x42 binoculars at 16.30 on an overcast british january afternoon is not quite so easy.

I hate to imagine how many kestrels have been falsely identified as peregrines over the years,I need to be 100% of such sightings if I'm to commit these sightings to my county recorder with a clear conscience.

Matt

 

[deborah4]

I hate to imagine how many kestrels have been falsely identified as peregrines over the years,I need to be 100% of such sightings if I'm to commit these sightings to my county recorder with a clear conscience.

Matt

No one else seems to have picked up on this, but beware of 'sexing' Peregrines too, Matt. As far as I know, there are no external clues to the sex of Peregrine falcons except their size. Like most birds of prey, females are about one third larger than males and in the field, and relying on 'size' of singular birds can be very tricky in the absence of a comparitive partner or other BoP sp. Even on the latter, there can be overlap ie. a female of a smaller species can seem as large as a male of a larger species. Wing shape in 'speed' flight of Perry cf. to Kestrel, I'd describe as more 'scythe' shaped ie. strong carpel bend, with generally more obviously pointed wing tips and wide wing base - length of wings is noticeably larger than Kestrel therefore, even in field, the tail is not so 'obviously' long in proportion to wing length as it is on a Kestrel - flightwise, (and this is probably subjective!) most confusions I've seen people make in field with Kestrel have been over feral/stock dove pigeon species bizarrely not other falcons, so this might say a little about wingbeat speed and size ie. with Peregrine, there's no doubt that you are looking at a falcon species even from a distance!

Good hunting!

D

 

[wally170]

In my experience Kestrels ALWAYS hover before stooping, if only for a few seconds, there is a distinct pause in flight before the stoop. This has come from watching Kestrels hunting last summer, from both Male and Females and when going after Birds and small mammals.

I have spent many hours watching Peregrines hunt waders over saltmarsh without ever experiencing a stoop, they can be very varied hunters. Fast low dashes, or circling high up waiting for the 'paniced' birds to get within range of a chase.

I have started find that Lapwings will 'go high' for a Peregrine, but 'stay low' for Merlin or Sparrowhawk. I have yet to see Lapwings disturbed by a Kestrel. For me this behaviour is strange as the Higher they go, the more prone they are to a stoop. If there is a flock of Lapwings circling up and up I know to look in the sky, and around the birds. If they are staying low to the ground wheeling and 'spreading' out then I know to look low, not much higher than the birds.

I have also seen Pereginre use the wind to hover over prey, by flying into the wind. I have witnessed this for 2 successfull kills and for 1 unsuccessful kill. The first kill, the Redshank the bird was chasing was using water for 'protection' it was caught 3 times by the Peregrine and managed to escape twice, but every time it was caught, the Peregrine flew into the wind to 'Hover' over the Redshank and force it to try and flee.

Of course this behaviour could just be down to 2 or 3 individual birds but they could be key pointers.

Wally

 

[matt green]

No one else seems to have picked up on this, but beware of 'sexing' Peregrines too, Matt. As far as I know, there are no external clues to the sex of Peregrine falcons except their size. Like most birds of prey, females are about one third larger than males and in the field, and relying on 'size' of singular birds can be very tricky in the absence of a comparitive partner or other BoP sp.

Absolutely agree,it is a risky business for the progressing learner to sex these
birds accurately.Fortunately the first sighting of the female was by myself and a much more experianced local birder who immediately confirmed it as a female.

Also agree with Mike and Steve about the tail length,everything else is pretty much consistant with what I have so far managed to observe in the field.
One other notable feature I have observed is the pure white under parts
of the male,compared to the more ''off white'' colour of the female.
Is this age related or a common male-female colour variation?

Matt

 

[mike from ebbw]

matt,sexing of peregrines will come to you in time.as it did with me.there is quite a size difference between the two in both overall size and build.as to your question about the off white of the female and the pure white of the male i cant really answer.all i can say is enjoy them,they are fantastic birds.

 

[bitterntwisted]

Is it just me...or do kestrels and peregrine falcons look extremely different to anybody else.

Hi, Okwaho. European Kestrels are much larger and more confusable with Peregrine than American Kestrels. Admittedly, with good views in good light, or with lots of experience, the two are readily distinguishable, but without those elements they are readily mix-uppable. Note also that Kestrels are much, much commoner still in the UK than Peregrines. Although Peregrines are making a comeback, there are still only around 1,300 pairs.

Graham

 

[John Eaton]

Keith Offord has a really good talk on raptor identification, which he gives to local groups. His photos are also exceptional.

 

[matt green]

there is quite a size difference between the two in both overall size and build..

Would you agree that the difference in size in male and female peregrines is roughly the same as in sparrowhawks?

Although very different birds I'm quite confident at sexing these more commonly seen raptors.

Matt

 

[RecoveringScot]

Aswell as what has already been said the basic things which should sort the ID out in most cases are:

Length of tail the biggest thing Kestrel being longer.

If its stoop is long and diagonal then its a Peregrine, if its more vertical then its more likely to be a Kestrel.

Kestrels purposefully hovers where the most Peregrine will do is stall.

As already been said in summer there is a bigger risk of confusing Peregrine with Hobby

These points are generally true, but juvenile Peregrine (at certain times of year) can look longer-tailed and -winged than adults, though normally size and overall darker appearance are evident.

Two things I've noticed:

Kestrels regularly 'pitch forward' losing height in direct flight, Peregrines rarely do.

In unhurried flight female Peregrines are slightly reminsicent in wing-action of Fulmar sometimes, the beats seeming fractionally slower than the male, and more from the wing-pit, involving the whole wing, than the 'elbow' joint. But there are many individuals that can't be assigned so easily.

Cheers,

 

[talon_dfa]

A good discussion...

I try to stay away from using "size" in the field unless there is a good size reference. (telephone pole (but see below), another species of known size, etc)

A few years back (when Peregrines were rare)...
I made a "U"-turn on the interstate for a "Peregrine" perched on a telephone pole - pole turned out to be only 4" (10 cm) diameter...
Silhouette was falcon - Bird was American Kestrel.

As stated by others, proportions and wing beat are the key to ID sex, but the ability to ID by proportion & wing beat is a perishable skill.

I haven't watched Peregrines regularly since August, so I would be hesitant to ID male/female today unless I had a good, long look...

I used to keep "tuned-up" in Winter by watching falconry birds, but now most of these (that I get to watch) are Gyr-Peregrine hybrids and not as comparable to pure Peregrines (though many male GP hybids have a wing beat that is close to a female Peregrine).

 

[deborah4]

Would you agree that the difference in size in male and female peregrines is roughly the same as in sparrowhawks?

Although very different birds I'm quite confident at sexing these more commonly seen raptors.

Matt

I'd say generally they probably are (subject to variation): ie. Females generally, as said above, are about a third larger than their male counterparts, like most BOPs and diet varies accordingly - Sexes of Kestrel are about the same, I think, but there is overlap between Kestrel and Female Sparrowhawk. Confusion betweem Female Sparrowhawk and Male Goshawk often occurs, I think, due to 'apparent' size similarities in field - here obviously confusion greater as plumage very similar (here overall structure obs, IMV are essential, especially distant/flight views) - however, with Kes and Spars, plumage is sex specific compared to Perry, so confusion with sexing is less reliant on 'size' - but again from a distance if plumage details not visible, size could be hard to judge with solo birds in view. Guess the only answer is just to keep spotting them and assimulating more and more details each time, eventually it gets easier. We are ALL on a learning curve!!!!!!

Btw: A car journey to Wiltshire for a family funeral today, produced 5 Kestrel, 9 Buzzards and 2 Sparrowhawk - Although many sightings had plumage details visible, what I find helpful when 'jizzing' accipitors/falcons, is to gauge size by comparing species when spotted with other birds in the field at the same time ie. Crows, Rooks, Gulls, Pigeons, Starlings etc then when you see one on it's own, there seems to be a bit of stored up information regarding size estimates. Cf. Spars and Kes from distance can be tricky but that's all in the flight jizz often, unless the diagnostic hover of Kes is seen.

Don't know whether any of this is helpful - we all have our own tricks

 

[luke]

Keith Offord has a really good talk on raptor identification, which he gives to local groups. His photos are also exceptional.

i have been to one of keiths talks and they really are superb! so much info on IDing raptors.

 

[matt green]

Btw: A car journey to Wiltshire for a family funeral today, produced 5 Kestrel, 9 Buzzards and 2 Sparrowhawk - Although many sightings had plumage details visible, what I find helpful when 'jizzing' accipitors/falcons, is to gauge size by comparing species when spotted with other birds in the field at the same time ie. Crows, Rooks, Gulls, Pigeons, Starlings etc then when you see one on it's own, there seems to be a bit of stored up information regarding size estimates.

A good point Deborah,and sits nicely with talon_dfa comment about using a size reference.

One thing I first noticed when seeing the female peregrine for the first time was how much larger and muscular it looked compared to our kestrel.

Considering male peregrines are almost comparable in size to kestrels could this be regarded as a usefull (if not strict identification criterior) size reference when sexing females in the field?,obviously an associated male peregrine would be preferable but this is not always possible.

Matt

 

[talon_dfa]

...when 'jizzing' accipitors/falcons...
.... flight jizz...

Sorry to be off point, but I have a question...

I have seen this term used many times on this forum and assumed that it is similar to "gestalt"...

Is this correct?

 

[deborah4]

Trying to sex Perries from 'absent' Kestrels (esp. if there's specie confusion in the first place) could get a little complicated! Seriously though Matt, I'd personally not get too hung up on sexing Peregrine, getting to grips with separating Kestrel in the field from Peregrine would be enough to enjoy your birding/views as Mike says! (and as you say, from a distance, as with many raptor species, there could be confusion.) Familiarity with all the ins and outs of any species only comes with experience in the field - (Unless you want to be a google birder and do your birding on ID threads of course )