Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Thursday 5 April 2012

Harris Hawk?

Driving back home this afternoon I saw this..........


After studying the image and trawling through the Internet, my conclusion is it is a Harris Hawk? Definitely not a UK species so what the heck was it doing in a roadside tree in sleepy Leicestershire???

My only conclusion is it must be an escaped bird, especially when you look at the suspicious looking branch in the lower left part of the image, a leather Jessie maybe?

9 comments:

  1. They're probably the most common escapee's from falconers, someone will be looking for it, I don't think they travel far.

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  2. Looks like a Harris Hawk to me. What a surprise. I hope it'll be ok. Lovely photograph too.

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    1. Hi Russel. I'm told that these are very adept at catching rabbits, so I guess that this one will be fine in Leicestershire!!

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    2. Aparently they are very adept at killing almost anything, including Buzzards!!

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  3. Yep, Harris Hawk, or something very similar. They're sometimes considered 'working birds'. Came across a couple once who were sending a Ferret down rabbit holes to flush the rabbits out, and the Harris Hawk to catch them.

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  4. Definitively a Harris Hawk! Beautiful picture!
    They occur in the Americas!
    Escapees in Europe are seen more often than one should think.
    I can also say that it is the only hawk brave enough to go for a Grey Heron on the ground!
    How strange: I saw one too the other day..... coming up on my blog very shortly!
    I was fortunate to watch it catch a Magpie and eat it, and have my camera with me!
    Cheers!

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  5. Glad to hear the Green beast is up and running mate

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    Replies
    1. Yep she on the road again mate, still waiting for what its going to cost though!

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  6. Hi Paul

    Yes, definitely a Harris Hawk. There was an escapee up in Lancashire last year. Excellent shot though and it must have been trilling to see such a cracking bird randomly.

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