Raptor ID - Crete

[BillN_33]

Bird life out here is really hard to find at least on the East of the island

A few Raptors soaring high in the sky, a Great Tit in the hotel gardens, the odd Chaffinch and a few Hooded Crows, hardly any Gulls and just a few swallows.

All the small raptors can look the same high in the sky

Any idea what this is - soars on the thermals like say a Buzzard, flys in a straight line say like a Kestrel but much bigger than a Kestrel. There are supposed to be a few small Eagles out here, anyway here is the best image that I could get, any ideas?

Look like a (big) Sparrowhawk to me, (but do they soar and circle like a Buzzard etc.,) ......... but it could just be a Buteo Buteo, but I do not think so as it flew far too fast in a straight line

There are a few Griffon Vultures around very high in the mountains

again a long shot, they are not particularly pleasant birds

There are supposed to be the following Raptors in Eastern Crete

Lammergeier, Griffon, Golden, Bonelli's, Long Legged and Common Buzzard, Marsh and Montagues Harriers, Peregrine and Eleanora's Falcons, Kestrel and Lesser Kestrel, sparrowhawk.

 

[Kodiak Qc]

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I can't ID the raptor, sorry… but I clearly see that both shots need
DRL to render all their colours and details.

 

[boyfalldown]

I think the top one is a Levant Sparrowhawk

 

[BillN_33]

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I can't ID the raptor, sorry… but I clearly see that both shots need
DRL to render all their colours and details.

difficult to get anymore out of them Daniel - they are just dark images on the originals

they are just ID shots and #2 is a Griffon

Have a go - here are the original

taken with a 420mm lens

 

[BillN_33]

I think the top one is a Levant Sparrowhawk

Thanks .. just looked that one up Hugh ........ need to read a little more

 

[Kodiak Qc]

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What do you think?

 

[BillN_33]

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What do you think?

Thanks, looks good - I think that when I set the B & W points I found the blacks just a little too dark for the bird which has a streaky chest/body and has detail on the underwings

I think that the colours on mine are more representative .. maybe it needs local adjustments on the body and under wings ...... or even more clarity

But it is an ID shot and difficult to comment on any image looking at them on my Laptop

Thanks again

 

[DerekL]

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I can't ID the raptor, sorry… but I clearly see that both shots need
DRL to render all their colours and details.

I may be a bit naive but what is DRL?

 

[Kodiak Qc]

…what is DRL?

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DRL = Daynamic Range Levels = black and white points setting.

 

[mark richards]

first bird looks like honey buzzard...

 

[Cobra]

I think the top one is a Levant Sparrowhawk

I'd agree with that

Look like a (big) Sparrowhawk to me, (but do they soar and circle like a Buzzard etc.,)

They ( the spar) have a wingspan of over two feet, and from the genus Accipiter they the are true hawks,
as yes they will thermal, they are quite good at hovering too .

 

[jerry12953]

Levant Sparrowhawk -

Adult male "wing undersides are white or cream coloured with prominent black wing tips. The belly is pale with rust-red transverse stripes."
Female "with its prominent transverse belly stripes and bands on the flight feathers, ...is much more like sparrowhawk. However it also has prominent dark wing tips....."

I wouldn't rule out goshawk as it is difficult to judge size, but far more likely to be sparrowhawk, I suspect.