A family of raptors have been a noisy feature of the neighbourhood over recent days. There are at least three and possibly four birds, the parents and two juveniles, with the youngsters calling enthusiastically whenever the adults are about, in anticipation of a meal.
As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, Brown Goshawks and Collared Sparrowhawks are not only closely related raptors, they can be devilishly difficult to tell apart. These are, I’m pretty certain, Collared Sparrowhawks – some of the distinguishing features are shown in the photographs below. The adults are much warier than the youngsters and I’ve been unable to photograph them properly to date.
Juvenile Collared Sparrowhawk, Wyndham Street Newstead, 23rd January 2016
A stare as opposed to a glare
The elongated middle toes
Bold chest and belly barring – both species share this feature
Notched as opposed to rounded tail
Not so elegant!
A great sighting, Geoff!
Certainly sparrowhawks Geoff. They have quite a different call around the nest also. Quite unlike the goshawks’ usual call.