Mystery raptor... reveal ! (Wild Bird Wednesday)

The mystery raptor from the photograph was in fact a common buzzard (buteo buteo). The common buzzard has a very varied plumage. The reason that this one was particularly white could be one of two things (I must point out that this was after substantial research :) ).

Firstly it could be simply a juvenile as they have paler plumage, it is its full size but may not have developed its adult plumage yet.

The second and in my opinion more like reason for the large amount of white on its chest could be that it is a visiting buzzard from Scandinavia, where the buzzards there are in general a lot paler in appearance due to the more snowy habitat they live in. However they cannot hunt in permanent thick snow cover and so some migrate to relatively warmer places such as here in the south of England for the winter.

Apologies for the poor quality photo, but it has been edited to make it as clear as possible :).
(Information from the BTO and RSPB).

The Mystery Raptor?

I haven't posted much on my blog recently as i have been very busy, college, life etc. However due to the floods my train route now has a bus replacement service and takes me and my friend who i commute with (Megan) past a overflowing river. On one journey back last week we saw a large white bird.

Usually i would accept i have no idea what something is when i see it and look it up when i have the time, but this really bugged me. Especially because i had been trying to learn all of Britain birds of prey in detail and i still didn't know what it was. All we (me and megan) could really remember after seeing it from the bus window was that it was white on its chest with dark wings and it was very very large.

Therefore this weekend when my girlfriend Debby was visiting we went to look for it. When we arrived we got amazing views of a common buzzard. We watched for quite a while as it used a dead tree to spot movement below and ambush its prey.

However unknowingly to me Debby had sneaked off, determined to beat me at my own game and spot the mystery bird (which me and Megan had narrowed down to either a honey buzzard or osprey by now). She pointed out the smallest white patch in the thickest trees which to me, in all honesty seemed like a clearing, but as i was telling her that it moved.

At this point i became, admittedly a little over excited. As it was white, and a little bigger than the near by common buzzard. Even though this was our only view (below). A couple of minutes later however it shuffled along its branch and gave us a better look.

Have a guess at what you think it is, comment or keep it to yourself. I will post an clearer image with I.D by this time next week. I know its a bad image, and the reveal is not of top quality, but its just a bit of fun :). Also well done to Debby for the spot :D.

Common buzzard

The common buzzard is one of my favorite British animals. However attempts to get a photograph have been victim to sods law on numerous occasions. Every time i seemed to get an opportunity to photograph one it turned out as a silhouette or blurry. I know this photo isn't perfect but to me it is evidence that i am making progress. I achieved this with a iso of 1600 and a high shutter speed on a fairly overcast day. Hopefully i will get a more satisfying photo of the magnificent common buzzard sooner rather than later.