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Post by scfcrmagic on Feb 6, 2015 9:11:39 GMT
I don't know if it's just me ......( maybe I'm driving a bit slower than usual ) but I've noticed a lot more birds of prey about ....not just in the country either ....by the motorway In fact all over the place ...or is the same bird and I'm being followed ? I hope it's not going to turn out like the Hitchcock movie (The Birds not Psycho) ...I'll watch out for them grouping .......
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Post by redstriper on Feb 6, 2015 9:37:58 GMT
I agree, there are loads more (buzzards in particular) than when I was growing up. And they're more visible in the winter of course with no tree foliage to hide in. I watched one eating a rabbit this morning.
I like them. From a distance!
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Post by ************** on Feb 6, 2015 9:50:41 GMT
I rode passed a great big eagle on a chain the other day. It had thigh muscles the size of Mark Hughes' in his playing days. Well that's what it looked like to me...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 10:13:23 GMT
When I was in Stone last year I saw loads of Birds of Prey, crossing the road by the Nun's retirement home. This lorry blasted his horn at them, Sister Mary said to Sister June " Show him you're cross"...." Stop blasting your horn you impatient cunt" yelled Sister June.
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Post by ************** on Feb 6, 2015 10:14:43 GMT
When I was in Stone last year I saw loads of Birds of Prey, crossing the road by the Nun's retirement home. This lorry blasted his horn at them, Sister Mary said to Sister June " Show him you're cross"...." Stop blasting your horn you impatient cunt" yelled Sister June.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 11:13:46 GMT
I don't know if it's just me ......( maybe I'm driving a bit slower than usual ) but I've noticed a lot more birds of prey about ....not just in the country either ....by the motorway In fact all over the place ...or is the same bird and I'm being followed ? I hope it's not going to turn out like the Hitchcock movie (The Birds not Psycho) ...I'll watch out for them grouping ....... B-|I was just cleaning my lads room and noticed a row of green crows along his headboard....its started Wend
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Post by Northy on Feb 6, 2015 13:52:29 GMT
Had quite a few visits into the garden off sparrow hawks recently, plenty more buzzards and recently kestrels about, the southern end of the M40 has loads of red kites flying along it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 13:58:05 GMT
Must be very windy down there....
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Post by wizzardofdribble on Feb 8, 2015 20:58:04 GMT
I've been woken up a few times in the last week by an owl and I've seen a couple of kestrels & buzzards up here on top of the moorlands ( snow hasn't cleared yet). Would be nice to see some hen harriers but I think they're very rare in the White Peak.
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 1:28:10 GMT
Since the late 80's the red kite has been reintroduced to Britain. There were just a handful of breeding pairs left in s wales, now there are thousands in england and wales and more recently scotland and ireland. They often use the thermals above roads, paticularly the M40.
Anyone remember the kestrels that used to nest at the top of Wolstanton Colliery winding gear? Used to love watching them hovering and stooping.
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 2:08:36 GMT
Had quite a few visits into the garden off sparrow hawks recently, plenty more buzzards and recently kestrels about, the southern end of the M40 has loads of red kites flying along it. That reminds me, birds often use roads as navigation guides. Saw a sparrowhawk flying along the M5 once, easily overtaking even the fastest traffic - quite an awesome sight.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 6:44:57 GMT
Since the late 80's the red kite has been reintroduced to Britain. There were just a handful of breeding pairs left in s wales, now there are thousands in england and wales and more recently scotland and ireland. They often use the thermals above roads, paticularly the M40. Anyone remember the kestrels that used to nest at the top of Wolstanton Colliery winding gear? Used to love watching them hovering and stooping. I hope they wiped their arses afterwards i used to to love to watch them swoop too
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 10:41:56 GMT
Since the late 80's the red kite has been reintroduced to Britain. There were just a handful of breeding pairs left in s wales, now there are thousands in england and wales and more recently scotland and ireland. They often use the thermals above roads, paticularly the M40. Anyone remember the kestrels that used to nest at the top of Wolstanton Colliery winding gear? Used to love watching them hovering and stooping. I hope they wiped their arses afterwards i used to to love to watch them swoop too Hahaha it is 'stoop' though honest mate! It's a special kind of swoop birds of prey do, where they accelerate down, faster than freefall lol
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 10:47:01 GMT
12 stoop1Line breaks: stoop Pronunciation: /stu?p / VERB[NO OBJECT] 1Bend one’s head or body forwards anddownwards:he stooped down and reached towards the coinLinda stooped to pick up the bottles[WITH OBJECT]: the man stoops his head MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 1.1Have the head and shoulders habitually bentforwards:he tends to stoop when he walks(as adjective stooping) a thin, stooping figure(as adjective stooped) a stooped old man MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 2Lower one’s moral standards so far as to do something reprehensible:Craig wouldn’t stoop to thievingshe was unwilling to believe that anyone could stoop so low as to stealfrom a dead woman MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 2.1[WITH INFINITIVE] archaic Condescend to do something:the princes now and then stooped topay a nominal homage MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 3 (Of a bird of prey) swoop down on a quarry: "we witnessed an eagle stooping on its prey" just to be pedantic (from Oxford dictionaries, sorry the copy and paste is untidy!)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 11:14:43 GMT
"One bends ones head forward" Agreed Then pushes out a log *to Stoop*
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 16:39:14 GMT
Yep, fair enough, agreed, lol you've stooped to conquer.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 17:51:15 GMT
Since the late 80's the red kite has been reintroduced to Britain. There were just a handful of breeding pairs left in s wales, now there are thousands in england and wales and more recently scotland and ireland. They often use the thermals above roads, paticularly the M40. Anyone remember the kestrels that used to nest at the top of Wolstanton Colliery winding gear? Used to love watching them hovering and stooping. There are quite a number of Red Kites on or around the Great Orme in Llandudno .....enjoyable to watch
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 18:34:14 GMT
Yes very enjoyable. There's a kite feeding station at Nant yr Arian near where I live, you can see up to 150 all at once, quite a sight. Saw an interesting 'event' one day at Craig y Fan. There were 2 ravens flying about the top of the crag, while in the valley below were upwards of 30 red kites with more arriving by the minute. Then one of the ravens flew straight through the middle of all the kites and away over Maen Arthur. Some time later said raven returned followed by about 40 crows and they all proceeded to fly around the crag. The kites all then fucked off! Anyway, better go as I've just got in and I've got to write a piece about Apollo 13
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Post by penkvillepotter on Feb 9, 2015 19:38:59 GMT
Hence the reason there's far less Garden Birds around.
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Post by davethebass on Feb 9, 2015 21:52:56 GMT
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Post by Billybigbollox on Feb 18, 2015 21:30:00 GMT
I don't know if it's just me ......( maybe I'm driving a bit slower than usual ) but I've noticed a lot more birds of prey about ....not just in the country either ....by the motorway In fact all over the place ...or is the same bird and I'm being followed ? I hope it's not going to turn out like the Hitchcock movie (The Birds not Psycho) ...I'll watch out for them grouping ....... Don't mention it to my mate Charlie. He's a twitcher ( I think that's what it's called) and points out every bird of prey on our way up from Kent. It's a bit disconcerting when he's driving and supposed to be keeping his eyes on the f'ing road.
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Post by Northy on Feb 18, 2015 21:46:19 GMT
Had quite a few visits into the garden off sparrow hawks recently, plenty more buzzards and recently kestrels about, the southern end of the M40 has loads of red kites flying along it. That reminds me, birds often use roads as navigation guides. Saw a sparrowhawk flying along the M5 once, easily overtaking even the fastest traffic - quite an awesome sight. I nearly head a head on collision with a sparrow hawk early Sunday morning when out in the countryside running, it came up and over a hedge that quick, saw me and disappeared just as quickly again, fantastic. Heard lots of woodpeckers on Sunday morning, first time this year.
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Post by davethebass on Feb 18, 2015 22:46:43 GMT
That reminds me, birds often use roads as navigation guides. Saw a sparrowhawk flying along the M5 once, easily overtaking even the fastest traffic - quite an awesome sight. I nearly head a head on collision with a sparrow hawk early Sunday morning when out in the countryside running, it came up and over a hedge that quick, saw me and disappeared just as quickly again, fantastic. Heard lots of woodpeckers on Sunday morning, first time this year. haha that's lucky that, never seen one that close lol Love the sound woodpeckers make, used to live somewhere where you could hear them through the window.
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Post by davethebass on Feb 18, 2015 22:56:47 GMT
Closest I've seen a bird of prey was halfway down Constitution Hill, Aberystwyth, saw a kestrel hovering about ten feet below me, so I was seeing it from above, brilliant seeing it from that angle, could see all the feathers clearly.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 23:03:58 GMT
The main A-road leading into Norwich (not sure what it's called) has a ridiculous amount of Buzzards along it. Buzzards are immense and as the OP said, seemingly miles more common nowadays, which can only be a good thing.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Feb 19, 2015 14:30:37 GMT
Hence the reason there's far less Garden Birds around. Not sure that is factually correct. Buzzards, despite looking awesome are far more likely to forage for frogs and worms, raid a rookery or alight on a bit of carrion than go for songbirds. The nests of songbirds are generally inaccessible to buzzards. The Sparrowhawk {the clues in the name} as a raptor has the necessary stealth to nail garden birds, but don't have a significant impact on numbers. Better to look closer to home for any decline in garden birds, rather than blaming the raptors: slug pellets, cats, weed free gardens, pesticides, insecticides, habitat destruction {both here, nesting sites and where they tend to migrate to.} etc etc. If you want a bird culprit then it's magpies and jays who can be cast as the villains. A couple of years ago I had the privilige of seeing a Little Owl 'working' a local hedgerow with the flight pattern similar to a butterfly, they hunt during daylight and tend to go for insects and very small stuff. Not seen it since unfortunately. There have been rumours of a large eagle type bird over the canal and golf course in Stockton Brook. One observer was certain it had the white head of an Osprey. There have been sightings of Ospreys on Tittesworth, and they do migrate, so it could have been one passing through, heading south. Buzzards have huge colour variations, so it could be just a funky Buzzard. The picture is often confused by escapees, so it could be some kind of Harris Hawk type thing, which have been known to take out small dogs. I'm keeping them peeled.
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Post by bathstoke on Feb 19, 2015 14:56:25 GMT
Let us Prey
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Post by Northy on Feb 19, 2015 15:28:19 GMT
I nearly head a head on collision with a sparrow hawk early Sunday morning when out in the countryside running, it came up and over a hedge that quick, saw me and disappeared just as quickly again, fantastic. Heard lots of woodpeckers on Sunday morning, first time this year. haha that's lucky that, never seen one that close lol Love the sound woodpeckers make, used to live somewhere where you could hear them through the window. Had a sparrow hawk on the back lawn a few years ago, ripping apart a collared dove, this one was a female s525.photobucket.com/user/northwichstokie/media/Sparrow_hawk_-_Collared_Dove_-Mediu.jpg.html?sort=6&o=159we regularly get the males sitting on the fence waiting and watching the bird feeders,
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