Thought yo guys might help.... Buzard at night?

[The Big Lebowski]

DOH! you

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but i thought someone could help...

Just been driving home and around 1.15am as i approched a roundabout with a large patch of tree's in the centre, in a pretty rural area a large bird swooped down along the tree line of the roundabout. I thought it an owl at first, but the wing span was huge, and the feathers jet black... It landed on a post right in front of me as i drove past, and looked like a large buzard, well actually huge with really broad shoulders, a very pointed beak with an orange tinge an wide piercing eyes!

The whole bird was pretty much jet black (well lit under street lamp) with larger individual black feathers sticking out of its coat.

The reason i posted is because in all my years of driving at night, hunting at night ect, I've never seen a buzard, let alone a black one that looked like it was doing some serous weight training?

Maybe a foot and a half tall, wingspan at a guess 4-5 feet.

Whatever it was, it made the mundane drive home something special, thats for sure!

al.

 

[locum76]

It could be a raven.

They're massive, black and scruffy looking. I got a confirmed sighting of one recently because there is a pair nesting in a quarry near where I live. When I saw it the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It's not surprising they were persecuted in days gone by.

Rob

 

[robin wood]

It could be a raven.

OP specifically mentioned beak which is always a good diagnostic and rules out raven.

I am at a loss. First thought as I read through was short eared owl, very similar size to buzzard and when you see them close the thing that always stands out is huge wingspan. I have never seen a dark one though, bit of googling might show if they come in dark phases. The other option is escaped/naturalised eagle owl, again bit of googling on birding sites might show if that is a realistic possibility.

 

[tobes01]

It sounds rather like a rook - we've got flippin' thousands of them around us, and I often mistake them for buzzards (of which we've also got thousands, well a few dozen anyway) if I glance one silhouetted.

 

[locum76]

Orange beak could have been a reflection from a light. Especially if there was street lights on the roundabout.

Tricky ID huh?

 

[JonathanD]

I immediately thought Raven. But it could well be an escapee like a Harris hawk or something.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

It was deffo some kind of hawk... The face was wide enough to make me think it was an eagle? The head wide and flat but the feathers/head jet black, with tuft's- or you could say large individual feathers randomly sticking out the ploom all over the back of the bird (raven like, but deffo not a raven, I've seen a few over the years)

I didn't get a have to look at the legs or talons- as we where literally looking each other straight in the eyes.

I've never seen anything like it before?

And, thanks for the input, appreciated!

al.

 

[Lynx]

Could be a Red Tailed Kite. A large breeding program has resulted in dozens of them being released all across the country now and I see them all the time on my way to work. Maybe it just got disturbed which is why it was flying at night and they would look black in the dark although they actually have a creamy and brown flecked colour to their coat. Look huge too and certainly have a sharp pointy beak!

 

[The Big Lebowski]

You might be right lynx... Just had a look at some of the features and the head is very similar. wide, flat, eyes, very pointed sharp beak.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern-Red-Tailed-Hawk.jpg

This was deffo black though or at least charcoal, and scruffy/raven like. The feathers sicking out looked gloss black and reflected the light as it settled.
It landed under one of the street lamps illuminating the roundabout, and i could clearly see it against the green of the trees.

The way we made eye contact pretty much distracted me from everything else, i wish i had gone around for another pass now.

al.

 

[Lynx]

In the wild they do look dark in colour it's not until you get right up close and they catch the sunlight that you can really see the flecked creamy bits. I spotted what I thought was a pheasant in the middle of the road a while back and as I got closer it took off and was one of these hawks. Absolutely beautiful birds to see and at least twice as big as a crow I would say.

 

[Justin Time]

The pic you've linked to isn't a bird you'd see in the wild here, it's from North America, and they use the word Hawk slightly differently than we do. I think Lynx might have meant the Red Kite which is native to Wales and is definitely spreading south from Mid Wales, even near Bridgend. Don't know how common they are in the Gwent Valleys yet, certainly seen them occasionally on the Heads of the Valleys road towards the Merthyr end. Buzzards, Kites, Eagles are generally not night flyers. The bad weather seems to have pushed Harriers etc into South Wales.
Colour is a bit of a problem under street lights, so I'm stumped!

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I know its not native to this country... But I'm almost certain this is what i saw!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_eagle.jpg

Just been through dozens of different species, and this looks near identical. from the 2-3 seconds i saw it once landed, even the plumage. when i seen the image above, it gave me a flash back to the eyes and the way it was looking at me, almost staring me out. I have a photographic memory of sorts, and I'm 99% positive.

As i watched it come in to land, i could see the whole rear of the bird and the wings had a lighter tip along them, as did the tail. Black all over.

How weird..!

al.

 

[Barn Owl]

If it were an eagle spp it would be an escapee and to be found in such an environment it must be acclimatised to same.

In all probability it sounds like a British hawk spp such as a dark morph Buzzard.

They love using roadside fences to hunt the verges and in the recent weather hunger makes all spp behave out of character and use all hours of the day and night to find grub.

 

[scottforsythe1]

it sounds like a buzzerd to me gowing by the descripion your saying

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I guess it just fall's down to one of those 'who knows' scenarios...
I know buzzards well enough, we had a family on our land spring/summer and I've sat yards away watching them out hunting time after time.

This was 'way' bigger seated and wing-span wise than even the most generous specimens I've seen. Enough last night to make me think 'eh?' and that doesn't happen often.

Thanks for all the input though, its genuinley appreciated

al.

 

[scottallan]

i am a falconer and judging by what your saying, my first thoughts were eagle owl, there is a couple of breeding pairs in britain. i can rule out black eagle for you as to have a wingspan of 5 foot, each wing must be 2.5ft which is too small for a black eagle. there is every possibility it could have been a red tailed hawk (not kite, as a member stated previously) i cannot see it beeing a red kite as they have relatively small heads and are not broad shouldered. my female harris has a wingspan of around 4 foot (guess) and if i go in my garden of a night with the security light on she appears black, but so does my white gyr x saker falcon so this bird was not neccesarily black. it could however be an eagle of some sort as a lot of fox hunters bought them to dispatch foxes during the hunt, they had no experience and inturn failed to train them, resulting in a lot of escapees who will never be reclaimed. i once saw a bonnelis eagle in cheshire! personally, by your description i believe it is an eagle owl (eurasian) they have a 5 foot wingspan and wide eyes.

 

[Harvestman]

Dark buzzard is most likely. We might be back to the old "I know it was a black panther and not a domestic cat because it was too big" argument, wherein the surprised observer sees it as bigger than it actually is.

Not saying it wasn't what you say, just that the odds favour a buzzard. As you say, we'll never know.

 

[21st century pict]

Looks like a Buzzard to you Sounds like a Buzzard to me they do vary greatly in colour from a light scruffy brown to very dark and some are very big.
The other option maybe a marsh Harrier

 

[blacktimberwolf]

anything like this ?.....http://africatraveljournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/GA-Verreauxs.jpg

 

[21st century pict]

Perhaps not as dark as blacktimberwolfs image, but you did say it was at night.