I was out in the fields near work yesterday. There were fieldfares and redwings hugging the tree line, and a small flock of black-headed gulls searching for worms in the fast-melting snow.
Black-headed gull with worm
Other than the gulls it was relatively quiet, until a flock of rooks raced into view, followed by a flock of smaller birds which wheeled off to the right. Something had caused them to behave like this and sure enough a large raptor came into view. It wasn't a kestrel or sparrowhawk, nor was it a buzzard. My first instinct was that it could be a peregrine (as much on the basis of eliminating the species I knew it wasn't, and taking account of what the local wild raptor population is). It was only when I got the photos home that I had my doubts.
I don't have an absolute i.d., but the consensus from some on-line discussion is that it's a Barbary or Barbary/peregrine hybrid. It's a captive falconry bird that has escaped. The general opinion was also that the bird – unfortunately – does not look in good condition. Clearly it is still hunting as it chased the rooks into the woods and only emerged several minutes later. Whether or not it was successful I don't know.
Anyway, I will post some of the shots I managed as it flew overhead.
Back out on the paths (still with some snow on them) I came across some tracks. I think this is a badger, but I'm sure someone here will confirm or correct me on that.
Badger track in snow?
I'm going to miss the snow now that it's gone, particularly as it's been replaced by constant mist and drizzle, so here's a reminder of how things were earlier this week.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, with the exception of the badger (?) track and the fox which were taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.
SittingFox
16 Jan 2010Oh dear, it looks like someone in your area is having problems keeping their birds in sight! Isn't this the second exotic falcon you've seen? We had a red-tailed hawk loose around here once, as I'm sure I've told you :eyes:
Lovely photo of the fox 🙂 I'm certainly missing the snow; I can hardly see to the back of the garden now! :right:
As for the track, I would have thought that all five badger toes would register in snow of that depth :confused: Do you have a photo taken directly above it?
Ukwildlife
16 Jan 2010Wow that is one weird looking raptor, colouration Ive never seen!
Nice photos, especially the fox
Words
16 Jan 2010Adele, I should have taken more photos but I needed to get back to work. The track was probably a couple of inches across… smaller than a large dog (which I guess could make it a small dog, but it was much deeper than the surrounding dog prints. I'll try to remember to get better shots in future. Thanks for the link!
SittingFox
16 Jan 2010I got a badger track in the first snowfall. The toes are usually in relatively straight line. I agree that it's not a fox track, but it might be a dog or even (given the breadth) a stray cat; it's tough to judge the size. The shape of the heel pad is the easiest way to tell all the tracks apart :sherlock:
Talking of exotic birds, I'm wishing now that I'd thought of looking for the parakeets in the snow! Oh well, we'll probably have more falls before the winter's out :right:
Words
16 Jan 2010Anon, thanks for that suggestion. I've just emailed one of the local groups and given a fairly precise location.
anonymous
16 Jan 2010Anonymous writes:
I'm resonably sure that's a badger – too broad for a fox print.
Might I suggest firing off an email to local falconry groups/enthusiasts to see if anybody recognises the bird and/or wants to try and catch him or her? If s/he's been trained with a standard lure then it could be quite easy, particularly if it's hungry and feeling amenable to letting a human do all the work of providing food.
Words
16 Jan 2010Adele, yes I saw a saker (?) a little while back.
I don't have any better shots of the track… most of them were mixed up with other tracks (dog walkers use the path). This looks too splayed to be a dog, but I could very easily be wrong.
I think I prefer the snow to the mist and rain, which is all we've had since. Tomorrow might be better. Sun is promised 🙂
Words
16 Jan 2010Neil, yes it's indeed a strange looking bird… and the local birds were of much the same opinion, scattering as fast as they could! It was nice to get one last chance the photograph the vixen against the snow :smurf:
CedarFox
17 Jan 2010Great pictures, the Bold Vixen looks quite fine in the snow. 🙂
That's as rather noticeable notch taken off the falcon's right primaries.
cakkleberrylane
17 Jan 2010Very intereting bird! It's great that you got such good shots of him.
Beautiful fox, the snow provides a perfect background for her.
gdare
17 Jan 2010That bird surely looks in a bad condition, on a first photo I thought it don`t seem to get much of a food lately. Also there could be seen that thin rope (?) near the tail, so it could be something from its captivity….
Words
17 Jan 2010Eric, thanks. I've always thought that foxes and snow are made for each other. The feather condition on the falcon isn't good, but it's difficult to know whether that's the result of poor care or hard fights.
Words
17 Jan 2010Lois thanks! The falcon flew directly overhead. I was ready for it simply because the other birds were behaving so oddly. I'll probably have a long wait before I get any more chances to see foxes against the snow. I'm so glad she did show up a couple of times while it was there.
Words
17 Jan 2010Darko, the thin 'ropes' you can see are part of the radio transmitters fitted to the birds to help keep track of them, but it's easy for them to fly out of range. A couple of falconers have advised that the fittings all look ok. I've contacted a couple of falconry centres in case they can locate the owner.
Flying Red Fox Blog
18 Jan 2010Wow nice photos, i do miss the snow now its gone but yesterday was nice and sunny. 🙂
Flying Red Fox Blog
18 Jan 2010That will be good yay! 😀
I was wondering why no one could see my post from last week……………..until i finally realised that i had it set on private view only :doh: you can see my snowy Squirrels from last year now. 🙂
Words
18 Jan 2010Mark, thanks. There may be a bit more snow on Wednesday, around lunchtime 😉
Words
18 Jan 2010Mark, LOL! I'll take a look now. Happens if you close the browser while you're still posting it. But at least it saves it.
Ukwildlife
18 Jan 2010I forgot to mention the footprint, dont think its a badger as they have 5 toes (at least on one pair of their feet)
Words
18 Jan 2010That could be a crucial point!