Bird ID required + Buzzards over The Sound of Sleat

[dinners]

Managed to snatch a few shots of these buzzards scanning the hillside beneath me on the lower slopes of Ben Sgritheall.

I know they're not the greatest but I was quite pleased with them given the distance and my precarious possition.

Apologies for the quality on this one but this was the bird I wasn't so sure about. I've seen plenty of Eagles on and around Skye over the years but I didn't recognise it as one. What confused me was the fact that it was considerably larger than the buzzards I was photographing at the time. Unfortunately the picture isnt much use although if it helps the bird is nearer the trees in the background than the purple hillock.

 

[jerry12953]

Is there an easy way of enlarging the pics on here? I'd like to see an enlargement of your mystery raptor....

 

[dinners]

Can't do much just now as in work but I'll have a go at making it clearer later on.

Cheers

 

[ringyneck]

Just had a VERY QUICK look in my old book ..... is it a juv golden eagle with white on the tail and wing ends.

Like the buzzard by the way.

Keith

 

[jerry12953]

Just had a VERY QUICK look in my old book ..... is it a juv golden eagle with white on the tail and wing ends.

Keith

I was thinking along those lines as well.... a bigger image would help, I think.

 

[Paddysnapper]

I was thinking along those lines as well.... a bigger image would help, I think.

I agree Jv. GoldenEagle

 

[dinners]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Red Kite was also mentioned but I know it wasn't a Red Kite.

 

[cosmix3]

Could it be an osprey, when I was at loch of the lowes last month, sore the male chasing of a buzzard and was sup prised how much bigger it was than the buzard.

 

[dinners]

Could it be an osprey, when I was at loch of the lowes last month, sore the male chasing of a buzzard and was sup prised how much bigger it was than the buzard.

Cheers but not an Osprey either I'm afraid. I'm at Loch of the Lowes a fair bit myself and know how they appear.

 

[RJL2005]

I'm no expert but have you dismissed juv.Hen Harrier

 

[dinners]

I'm no expert but have you dismissed juv.Hen Harrier

Thanks for the suggestion - not one I'd really thought of but again the size doesn't really fit.

I'm miffed that my photo was so poor and that it had gone so far away before I caught it.

The only reason it caught my eye was because of it's size in relationship to the buzzards. It just soared in from my left right accross my field of view when photographing the buzzards. I'd estimate at least 5 - 6 foot wingspan.

Kite and Osprey size (minimum) but I'm 110% sure it was neither of those.

That only really leaves me with 2 species of juvenile Eagles - Golden perhaps but not White Tailed Sea Eagle.

Guess I'll never know for sure.