[Help] Bird identification

Thunder Bolt said:

Last week, between Newhaven & Beddingham, we saw a large bird of prey hovering. My first thought was a buzzard but the wing span seemed larger.
I've since found out that 6 white tailed Eagles have been released on the IOW, & one of them, Culver, made his way to Essex, and back to the island, having been tracked via satellite. They've all been ringed and have transmitters. He was definitely tracked over Polegate, so now I'm wondering if it was him we saw.
White tailed Eagles are being reintroduced into southern England.

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Arthritic Toe said:

Are you sure it wasn't a red kyte? They are increasingly spreading into Sussex. Bigger than a buzzard and have a distinctive forked tail.

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Arthritic Toe said:

Are you sure it wasn't a red kyte? They are increasingly spreading into Sussex. Bigger than a buzzard and have a distinctive forked tail.

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CheeseRolls said:

People Google LENS is your friend for stuff like this.

https://lens.google.com/#!#download

If you use google photos you may already have it installed, the icon looks like this.
View attachment 115311

It uses artificial Intelligence to highlight the area of focus in the photo and then compare it to known images and their descriptions. For identifying plants and animals it is really useful. It identifies this as a pheasant by the way.

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highflyer said:

I wondered about that, as the description of the flight (low to the ground and sitting into wind) sounds much more like a kite. But she also said the wing tip feathers were spread out like fingers, which made me think definitely buzzard. Also kites are smaller/slighter than buzzards?

Buzzards are suprisingly big when you see them up close!

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Thunder Bolt said:

No, it definitely wasn't a red kite. I can identify them easily, as you say, from the tail. We have friends who live near Abingdon who have red kites flying over every day.
This bird was almost twice that wingspan.

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Arthritic Toe said:

Fair do's. Kytes are a bit bigger than buzzards though.

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highflyer said:

I hadn't realised that, they always seemed smaller to me! But you are right, bigger wingspan and slightly heavier weight.
NSC is all about learning.

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jasetheace said:

Am I the only one disappointed that this thread has not degenerated?

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jasetheace said:

Am I the only one disappointed that this thread has not degenerated?

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WATFORD zero said:

A menopausal pheasant ? Could be a bit dry, and you certainly wouldn't want to roast it.

https://www.femal.co.uk/

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