Bird ID advice

WWA

WWA

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First off, I'm sorry but I've no pictures...

I'm in Scotland at the moment, near Loch Earn on the edge of the Trussacks national park.

This afternoon I was looking at the hill that shadows the village I'm staying in, watching the distant dots that are red deer. Suddenly I notice this bird of prey, wings stretched like a soaring buzzard. It wasn't soaring though, it was just hanging in mid air. No flapping of wings like a hovering buzzard and no circling like a soaring bird. Just wings out, still, a flap of the wings every 45seconds minimum, staring at the ground far below him. Suddenly he dived but not straight down, in a 360 twist dive all the way to the tops of the trees which is when I lost sight of him.

This happened three times and then another bird came along, it looks the same but slightly smaller, they had a play/chase and then disappeared over the hill.

I couldn't pick out colours as the sun was behind the bird but it had broad feather tipped wings. A broad fan tail and was big but I don't know how big as it was so far away it was hard to gauge scale.

I would normally say buzzard but the almost motionless hover and twisting dive has confused me.. Quite near a village and so surely nothing MEGA?! Any ideas??

Sorry for poor grammar and spelling, typing on iPhone.

Thanks.
 
Have I seen an Osprey and mate playing about? Very near a loch. They were at the top of the nearest high hill?
 
I think that you are describing a Buzzard .....

they will hang around with other Raptors

did it look like this

Buzz_1.jpg
 
Thanks for your reply. I see Buzzards all the time (daily) and I've never seen one hover without flapping and I'm sure I've never seen one twisting when diving?? Maybe I've got tourist fever.

The front of the wings were flatter than a buzzard (where as a buzzards wings stick forward) and the flight seemed completely different. Maybe it's all the midgy bites making me delirious.
 
I see a lot of buzzards and often see them "head to wind" soaring at a standstill. Also see them spiral diving, especially in the breeding season.
 
ok thanks guys.

Defs not an osprey then? They are fairly common in the area.
 
I can honestly say that in my years of watching buzzards I have never seen on at a stand still hover or some spiral dive, I've seen them twist in a (play) chase but not spiral to the ground as if hunting. So I'm very happy to have seen some 'new' behaviour.
 
WWA said:
I can honestly say that in my years of watching buzzards I have never seen on at a stand still hover or some spiral dive, I've seen them twist in a (play) chase but not spiral to the ground as if hunting. So I'm very happy to have seen some 'new' behaviour.
Click to expand...

i have seen Buzzards just stop for 10 or 15 secs ...... see it quite a lot in the valley opposite - they wind up on the thermals and will them "stop" - people say they "hover" but they do not like Kestrels

and I have seen Buzzards just drop ..... again quite often in the valley opposite

If you are saying that they drop "upside down" that's different
 
I think it is unlikely to be an osprey. Even against the light the large area of white on the underside shows up well.

Dave
 
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