Today's Wildlife Encounter

Going up Pen-y-Ghent on Sat there was a guy exercising a large bird of prey at Brackenbottom . Black and white plumage with a huge yellow beak . When it landed back on the handlers' fist it shrouded its food and head with its wings as it ate . Anyone know what it was?

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Originally Posted by jodg

Time to revive this thread since spring is nearly upon us... :)

Not sure but I think I've heard a skylark the past two mornings... :confused:

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First Curlews in the fields near Queensbury today:)

A flock of wild parakeets in Hyde Park...escaped from the zoo I s'pose!
Plus a lot of VERY savvy ducks, geese and swans at Round Pond. Not at all fazed by a labrador....but labrador was very fazed by 'birds with attitude'!!:D

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Originally Posted by duracell

Going up Pen-y-Ghent on Sat there was a guy exercising a large bird of prey at Brackenbottom . Black and white plumage with a huge yellow beak . When it landed back on the handlers' fist it shrouded its food and head with its wings as it ate . Anyone know what it was?

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Try googling Harris hawk for some pics , very common bird for falconers to use.dark plumage with white bits and yellow beak.
darkhorse

Hi Duracell,sounds as if you've encountered "Sydney" the american bald eagle who after several years is in fact a "shiela" having produced an egg last year!Take a look at www.hawkexperience.co.uk. I've been on the handling course and also the rabbiting with Harris hawks,highly recommended.

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Originally Posted by duracell

Going up Pen-y-Ghent on Sat there was a guy exercising a large bird of prey at Brackenbottom . Black and white plumage with a huge yellow beak . When it landed back on the handlers' fist it shrouded its food and head with its wings as it ate . Anyone know what it was?

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why didn't you just ask the handler what it was...then you wouldn't need to ask the question on 'ere.

Hehe, I've seen the guy with his frigging great bird a couple of times. Although the bird actually swooped low over me, the handler was over in an adjacent field and asking the handler anything would have meant oooh.... a 200 yard detour :rolleyes:.

In the lane there in Brackenbottom you'll often see (at about 9 am on a Sunday) a chap 'walking' his pet ferret - he lets it rummage around in the nooks and crannies of the dry stone walls. I've once or twice asked him about his ferret but all I've got in reply have been grunts :(

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Originally Posted by Fnstein

First Curlews in the fields near Queensbury today:)

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Spotted my first one of the year near home today :) I can hear them sometimes in the morning with my bedroom window open :cool:

Seen on this morning's run: several dozen Curlew, four or five Oystercatchers, a pair of Goosander and the first Treecreeper I've seen in a while :cool:

This morning before work (all at the same time) - 4 squirrels on the bird feeder, 2 pheasants looking on waiting for their turn, a heron flying overhead and 2 deer feeding in the vicinity of the heronry at the bottom of the field in front of the house. Beautiful.