Question about identifying raptors (1 Viewer)

[JayFeatherPL]

Where abouts in Poland are you? If I recall somewhere just north of Warsaw?

There should be a reasonable mix of species of raptors in your area, eg Marsh Harriers in wet areas, Lesser Spotted Eagles especially a little further east, etc etc

Maybe check ebird for some localities near your home. Always good to ask questions here on the forum, but actual field observations will really assist you - eg Honey Buzzard and Goshawk are not in reality very confusable with a little practice 👍

I'll try checking ebird, thanks for the advice And from your experience (because I suppose you practise a lot) how do you tell these two raptors apart? Is it the flight or maybe you have some more useful features?

 

[Patudo]

I'd like to, but I completely don't know where I can find raptors other than buzzards in my area...

Actually it's not a bad idea to get really familiar with buzzards and all the more common species (kestrel, sparrowhawk - you probably also have a decent chance of seeing hobby and peregrine, both of which are worth following around) somewhere close to you, where you can go frequently and see them regularly, at different distances and from different angles. That way, when you see something more uncommon (goshawk, honey buzzard etc) the differences will stand out.

 

[JayFeatherPL]

decent chance of seeing hobby and peregrine

That's good advice, thanks But as for the peregrine...here, in Poland it's a very rare bird and it can be found only in big cities, so I think I'll focus on the other falcons
Cheers!

 

[Jos Stratford]

I'll try checking ebird, thanks for the advice And from your experience (because I suppose you practise a lot) how do you tell these two raptors apart? Is it the flight or maybe you have some more useful features?

At a beginner level, my advice is to not rely on one feature alone, but a combination of everything - structure, flight pattern, plumage, habitat etc. If you see a distant bird and can only see structure for example, no problem if you can't distinguish. Wait till you see closer birds where you get all features, then the identification is easier - as you develop, you'll get a feel of the species and slowly you'll get better at distinguishing them at bigger distance or when only a few features are visible. Even then, all of us will sometimes see distant raptors that we don't identify.

If you're looking to distinguish Goshawk from Honey Buzzard specifically, I'd say start with the skill you have ...you are familiar with Common Buzzard, I assume you are familiar with Sparrowhawk. Look through Birdforum and you'll find there are very rarely questions asking for help separating these two ...but there are often threads asking if a bird is a Sparrowhawk or Goshawk, or if a bird is a Common Buzzard or Honey Buzzard. Thus, these are the confusion species - if it +/- looks like a large Sparrowhawk, it is not going to be a Honey Buzzard, but might be a Goshawk. Same with a potential Honey Buzzard. Learn the differences (not only structure, but as much as possible) between these pairs and then start intensively watching Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks. Eventually something will look a bit different, then concentrate 🙂

If all else fails, take a bus up to Vilnius, I'll give you a weekend training for free 🙂

 

[Patudo]

here, in Poland it's a very rare bird and it can be found only in big cities, so I think I'll focus on the other falcons

well, I've never visited Poland, so I should be very careful when making these comments, but ... there's some very interesting info on the recovery of the population of tree-nesting peregrines in Poland (see link about birds in Pomorze). It could be that looking around places with large numbers of heron nests could yield some interesting surprises. At this time of the year, young peregrines in London are ranging quite far from the nest and it isn't as easy to see them at nest sites than a month ago, but there's still a decent chance of seeing them. And of course the young peregrines may turn up almost anywhere as they explore the wide world beyond their nest area. So if you can find a good viewpoint, with a good view of the sky, your chances of seeing one might be better than you think. You just need to make sure that what you are looking at isn't a hobby ... which I always thought wasn't too difficult, but which has been giving me problems all summer!

 

[Jos Stratford]

well, I've never visited Poland, so I should be very careful when making these comments, but ... there's some very interesting info on the recovery of the population of tree-nesting peregrines in Poland (see link about birds in Pomorze).

Pergrines are also quite rare in Lithuania directly to the north of JayFeather's location, mostly a moderately scarce migrant on the coast.

 

[JayFeatherPL]

At a beginner level, my advice is to not rely on one feature alone, but a combination of everything - structure, flight pattern, plumage, habitat etc. If you see a distant bird and can only see structure for example, no problem if you can't distinguish. Wait till you see closer birds where you get all features, then the identification is easier - as you develop, you'll get a feel of the species and slowly you'll get better at distinguishing them at bigger distance or when only a few features are visible. Even then, all of us will sometimes see distant raptors that we don't identify.

If you're looking to distinguish Goshawk from Honey Buzzard specifically, I'd say start with the skill you have ...you are familiar with Common Buzzard, I assume you are familiar with Sparrowhawk. Look through Birdforum and you'll find there are very rarely questions asking for help separating these two ...but there are often threads asking if a bird is a Sparrowhawk or Goshawk, or if a bird is a Common Buzzard or Honey Buzzard. Thus, these are the confusion species - if it +/- looks like a large Sparrowhawk, it is not going to be a Honey Buzzard, but might be a Goshawk. Same with a potential Honey Buzzard. Learn the differences (not only structure, but as much as possible) between these pairs and then start intensively watching Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks. Eventually something will look a bit different, then concentrate 🙂

If all else fails, take a bus up to Vilnius, I'll give you a weekend training for free 🙂

Well...for me the sparrowhawk and the goshawk look significantly different. The same goes with the common buzzard and the honey buzzard - they look completely different. For me there's no chance to confuse the sparrowhawk with the goshawk or the common buzzard with the honey buzzard. I really don't understand why people always compare the goshawk to the sparrowhawk, and they've never compared the goshawk to the honey buzzard! In my opinion their silhouettes look exactly the same (unlike the silhouettes of the goshawk and the sparrowhawk): short "fingers", long + rounded tails, long necks, wings held flat. There are many features that separate the goshawk from the sparrowhawk and there are many features that separate the common buzzard from the honey buzzard and there are no/very few features that seperate the goshawk from the honey buzzard! And personally, I don't like identifying birds "by the feel". I prefer to have a few features, which I rely on. If someone asked me "How did you identify that bird"? it would be very weird to answer "Because I had a feel it was it!". Anyways, thank you for giving me some advice
Cheers!