What sort of bird is this?

[Clitheroekid]

I was wandering through the back lanes of Flintshire on Street View, when I noticed this large bird sitting on a rock. It's obviously a fairly large raptor of some sort, but I wondered if any of the resident ornithologists might be able to identify it.

This is the Street View link, though you'll have to zoom in to see the bird properly - https://goo.gl/maps/AunVVMALPhdNSGx99

[PinkDalek]

Hard to see clearly but my immediate uneducated guess was a Peregrine Falcon:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Falco_peregrinus_good_-_Christopher_Watson.jpg

I'm bound to be wrong!

[bungeejumper]

The tail seems quite short (if viewed from a few yards further up the road). I'm guessing at a juvenile kite, although I wouldn't completely rule out a kestrel, which can grow to 32 cm tall. (There any many variants, and I've seen them like that in France.)

I notice that the picture was taken in June. Does that help? The cows look bored, anyway.

BJ

[Breelander]

... guess was a Peregrine Falcon...

...I'm guessing at a juvenile kite, although I wouldn't completely rule out a kestrel...

Could be either, they both have strong populations in Wales.
Peregrine Falcon:

They reach their highest densities in upland areas of Wales, southern Scotland and northwest England.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildl ... nd-trends/

Red Kite:

There are probably around 1,800 breeding pairs in Britain (about 7 per cent of the world population) - about half in Wales...

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildl ... tion-size/

My vote is for Peregrine Falcon, mainly because the Red Kite is rarely seen on the ground.

They are quite often reluctant to land, snatching up their food from the ground and either feeding on the wing or taking it into a tree, to feed on whilst perched.

http://www.yorkshireredkites.net/genera ... ing-habits

[orangepekoe]

common buzzard

[AleisterCrowley]

Difficult to say, but buzzard was my initial thought (I see loads of kites)

[Rhyd6]

I'm not sure what you're doing wandering around the highways and byways of Flintshire CK but the bird is more than likely to be a buzzard. I live in Flintshire and although both Red Kites and Caper Callies have been introduced into N. Wales - some in Denbighshire I believe, I've never seen hide nor hair of either. Buzzards on the other hand are ten a penny.

R6

[sg31]

The breast appears too dark for a Peregrine falcon, there can be significant variations between different individuals but I've never seen one as dark as that. My guess would be a Common Buzzard or a Kite. I note the previous comment on Kites rarely being seen on the ground so Buzzard would be my bet.

(I've owned both Buzzards and Peregrines)

[colin]

It' a buzzard.

[Clitheroekid]

Thanks for all the replies. Having looked at various pictures it's too big to be a peregrine falcon or a kestrel, and I think I agree with the consensus that it's a buzzard, though on the pictures I've seen of buzzards they all seem to have pale feathers on their chests - perhaps this one was an ill eagle immigrant!

I did momentarily hope that someone might have jumped the gun ...https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47284528

[colin]

Buzzards eat worms (among other things) so it's not unusual to see them on the ground, especially early in the morning.