#Bluetail hours full#

With the weather becoming colder and murkier, a halt at the premier Goshawk scanning point on the way home produced only a Kestrel. With Doug needing Crossbill for the year, we heard but failed to see a 'flyover', found a perched Brambling while scanning from the vehicle, and eventually on parking and perusing the distant tree tops from another vantage point, found a vocal party of 4 Crossbills which conveniently landed to give good though distant 'scope views. Scanning further, we noted a single third soaring Common Buzzard, but a mewing call off to the east behind a screen of conifers indicated the presence of a fourth individual.

#Bluetail hours full#

We scoped it and stayed on it a full 10 minutes as it eventually became little more than a speck, high in the sky. Its rather rounded tail corners and broad tail base, 'wrap around' whitish undertail coverts, quite bulging secondaries and full breast confirmed it as a Goshawk, (on size almost certainly a male). We moved on and soon parked up again at a different vantage point to scan above a long hill top covered in mature conifers.Ī solid looking accipiter was soon picked up flying towards us, before starting to circle and to gain height over the wood. Two Common Buzzards were soaring and gaining height in the distance to the north. to the west of here, in similar clear-felled habitat. Interestingly it, or another individual, wintered 2 years ago about 1 1/2 k. The first stop at Neighbour Moor quickly produced the overwintering Great Grey Shrike which has been ranging over an expanse of clear-felled forest here. Out today with Doug and Tony, (the latter doing raptor survey work).

east of the Cumbrian border and approx.12 K.

Another fine start weatherwise and a morning out, this time not quite so far - to Hamsterley Forest (which covers about 30 sq.