In our parish we can see a good number of the UK’s spectacular birds of prey: red kites and buzzards soar overhead; sparrowhawks occasionally visit our gardens; kestrels hunt over the open countryside; and peregrines use tall buildings as their vantage points. If you are really lucky you may also see other raptors passing overhead. The hobby, which I always think is a cross between a peregrine and a kestrel, is a summer visitor that can be seen hunting over the heath-land to the south and the river Thames to the north.
In addition to the possibility of seeing a passing hobby as you watch the sky, there is a faint chance that you could see Britain’s largest bird of prey the white-tailed sea eagle. I have been fortunate to see one of these magnificent birds in the Orkney Isles and the best description of them really is a flying barn-door. A release project is underway on the Isle of Wight and the satellite-tagged birds have already been seen to roam widely. Last summer one hung-out with the red kites in the north Chilterns and was tracked passing over our parish.
While sky-watching a couple of weeks ago we saw another of the UK’s birds of prey, an osprey, probably on its migration northward. These fish-eating birds will sometimes stop off to re-fuel and have been known to visit some of the larger fishing lakes in the area. A project is underway to encourage ospreys to nest on the south coast after an absence of almost two hundred years. Starting in 2017, young birds from Scottish nests have been released in Poole Harbour every summer. In autumn ospreys migrate to sub-Saharan Africa and young birds tend to stay there for a couple of years. When they are old enough to breed they will return to Poole and search for a mate and a suitable nest site. You can find out more about this project and where to see the birds here - https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/osprey/
If you don’t want to spend hours staring at the sky, or travelling to one of the places where ospreys can be found, you can still follow the osprey soap opera on-line. There are blogs and web-cams dedicated to different nest sites and there is a growing band of osprey followers who wait for news and views of their favourite bird. Individual ospreys have become celebrities in their own right, probably due to a combination of the suspense of will they return from migration, their longevity, the fact they tend to be faithful to a mate and a site, and the day to day challenges of nesting and raising young. Some of the most popular osprey websites relate to Rutland Water in England, Loch Garten and Loch of Lowes in Scotland, and Glaslyn in Wales.
So, have a go at sky watching, perhaps with a glass of something chilled by your side. Or if the weather isn’t good enough for that you can find your own favourite osprey online and see how they are getting on raising this year’s young.
(The image of an osprey is taken from Birds of Britain and Europe by Rob Hume, my favourite bird guide)
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