Goshawks?

[neutron619]

Hello chaps,

 

Quick question for those in the know on the subject of raptors / falconry.

 

I'm about 95% certain that a female goshawk landed in my crow decoy pattern this morning, but I've always been under the impression that the majority of the birds in this country are kept by falconers as working birds and that they're rather unusual in the wild?

 

Whatever it was, it landed about 20-25 yards from my hide, was about 2' tall and looked like the bird on this page:

 

http://www.avibirds.com/nahtml/Northern_Goshawk.html

 

Whatever it was, it was a magnificent bird. It spent about 2-3 minutes inspecting the decoys, turned one of them over to have a play with it and then revealed a beautiful pattern under its wings when the crows (the non-plastic kind!) turned up to intimidate it away.

 

Can anyone update my knowledge? Are goshawks now seen in the wild? Have they always been? Have they been rarer in the past? I'm basically certain that no-one was working a bird this morning, so this was wild, whatever it was.

 

Whatever it was, seeing it made my morning (and was a lot more interesting than the 38 million sealandgulls and lapwings that have turned up on the farm in the last month or so).

 

Thanks for any input.

[Good shot?]

More likely to be a Buzzard IMO. But great to see if it was a Goshawk.

Edited October 21, 2017 by Good shot?

[JDog]

It is quite likely that it was a buzzard. However there are lots of goshawks out there as keepers who rear poults will attest.

[Benthejockey]

Ive seen Goshawks round and about on the Powys/Shropshire border.

[neutron619]

More likely to be a Buzzard IMO. But great to see if it was a Goshawk.

 

I did wonder whether it would have been - we aren't exactly short of buzzards in Cambs - but it was very definitely bluish grey on the back and head with white speckled / patterned underparts, which is why I did a double-take when it landed! A definite WTFIT moment!

 

A shame that, at that point, I wasn't shooting with a decent camera, as I'd love to have captured a picture of it faffing around with the decoys and I could have put it up here for someone to identify.

 

I suppose I'll never know - but I confess I'm hoping that it was a goshawk all the same!

Edited October 21, 2017 by neutron619

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Quite possibly a Goshawk, in the past i have had buzzards take dead birds from the pattern and have had a female sparrowhawk have a go at a plastic shell decoy!

[7daysinaweek]

if it was a working gos of that size would be a female and would have more than likely a set of jessess on, more likely to be a buzzard as other very knowledgeable pwers have noted, but also acknowledge that there are small healthy polulations of these wonderful raptors to be found in different parts of the uk. more than likely it was a buteo buteo and not a accipter Gentilis.

But ye never know you may have been lucky glimpsing one.

 

flew a female finnish of me mates for several years in his company and only because she was used to me, fastest thing i have ever seen leave the fist. Sheer speed, agility, determination and a lot of the time downright bloody stubborn mindlessness that would test mettle of the most placid and diligent austringer. Harris hawks have a lot going for them.

 

atb

7diaw

[sako751sg]

Loads of Goshawks out there and as said i big annoyance to keepers now.

 

They are a lethal killing machine and have been lucky to see them strike twice on a pigeon and frenchie.

Explosion of feathers and job done.

[CharlieT]

Quite possibly a Goshawk. We have them breeding in Devon.

[Mice!]

There was a nature prog on BBC two Thursday night on goshawks, I've recorded it, sure to be on I player take a look.

 

There out there but they like woodlands so often go un noticed, fantastic birds but yet to see a wild one not on the telly.

[scotslad]

We had to abandon a newly built release pen pruely due to a Gossy hammering it, and we're lucky not usually many in this area, further east is absolutely polluted with them

[Whitetail]

Like you say there's to many buzzards around Cambs not to be familiar with them including the different colour phases. Your more likely to mistake a goshawk with a outsized sparrow hawk. This time of year anything could turn up ,I've seen a female goshawk in the last couple of weeks it might even be the same bird. Last autumn there was one in the cherry hinton area for a week or so . Last weekend there was a peregrine stirring the pigeons up on the field I was decoying

[neutron619]

Like you say there's to many buzzards around Cambs not to be familiar with them including the different colour phases. Your more likely to mistake a goshawk with a outsized sparrow hawk. This time of year anything could turn up ,I've seen a female goshawk in the last couple of weeks it might even be the same bird. Last autumn there was one in the cherry hinton area for a week or so . Last weekend there was a peregrine stirring the pigeons up on the field I was decoying

 

Thanks for these observations - much appreciated. I suppose with the colouring it could have been a peregrine falcon, but I'd initially discounted that out of hand because I thought it was so unlikely. I've only every seen them a long way north of here - or so I thought. However, a Goshawk in Cherry Hinton does put sightings of what I think I saw within a mile or two of where I was shooting, so that's probably as near as I'm going to get to a confirmation. As you say - could even be the same bird.

[Whitetail]

You wouldn't mistake a peregrine for a goshawk, a peregrine for a hobby maybe or a goshawk with a female sparrowhawk . Falcon wings and hawk wings are different. There are peregrines around the Cambridge area though

[hawkfanz]

ive seen two goshawks in recent years in yorks,then a few weeks ago near bedale a peregine attacking my full bodied decoys.

[neutron619]

You wouldn't mistake a peregrine for a goshawk, a peregrine for a hobby maybe or a goshawk with a female sparrowhawk . Falcon wings and hawk wings are different. There are peregrines around the Cambridge area though

 

Well you can tell I'm no expert I suspect, though I think I follow your comment about the wings - hawk being basically straight, falcon sort of "V-shaped"? I'll go with Goshawk if I've got that right.

 

Thanks again to all who have contributed opinions / information - much appreciated.

[Loki]

Hi

 

More Sparrow Hawks and Goshawks around than we think as dont see them often at all. Terrible, but beautiful at the same time, 'killing machines'

 

A local Spar (I suspect lives between two Bone-yards) has emptied my garden of the Collared Doves, Wood Pigeon and garden birds (Sparrows, Bluetits, Blackbirds) that I have diligently encouraged by keeping cats and squirrel out.................

 

L

Edited October 22, 2017 by Loki

[anser2]

I have had buzzards walking around in my decoy patten. Goshawks are rare , but becoming more common in the wild and you are not far from a goshawk stronghold in the Brecks so your visitor could well be a goshawk.

[scotslad]

I was told that many of the uk resident goshawks were just released by falconers and eventually started breeding to where we are now.

Might sound far fetched with the numbers we now have but look at the red kite numbers, only a few released13 yeas ago locally and now over 100 at the feed centre and spreading further and further every year

[Rim Fire]

There are lots of Goss Hawks here in Wales see them all the time when out you can actually call them in using a rabbit squeal when they are feeding young i flew and bred them for 20 yrs so it could well be a Goss you seen

[Uilleachan]

Goshawks' are present in the UK all year, they're not common though. Their UK range is the southern half of England, the Scots English borders and the north of Scotland. Associated with stands of trees.