Aplogies for the terrible photos as this bird surprised me and my fellow birder while we were in the birdhide at OP waterbird refuge. It flew in and rested briefly until the ravens chased it away. A very short period of time but all the waterbirds were frantic.
I don't think it can be ID'd from these but I think it was a Collared Sparrowhawk as slim build, not that large (maybe Kestrel size) and the wings are upturned in the photo. Grey back, yellow legs and barring evident on front.
Seems unusual for the area. A Brown Goshawk was been reported in 2014. Comments?
Sue
Brown Goshawk or Collared Sparrowhawk. I'm leaning towards Goshawk because the head looks big & the tail looks like it might be rounded, but hard to tell from those photos.
Thanks Steve,
not suggesting we can ID it as the terrible pictures are not informative enough. The tail could be rounded and the head largish and I note that the tail also looks a bit long. All seems more suggestive of Brown Goshawk and one has seen there in the past. Are the upswept wings helpful as suggested by Pizzey & Knight? Just wanting it mentioned.
Thanks
Sue
Cant help with the BGH vs CSH, other than to say I have photos of Brown Goshawks at SOP in 2014.
I then checked in a Sydney Birds book (2009) I have for Collared Sparrow Hawks and it says 'uncommon ... more likely to be seen in the Blue Mountains and Illawara districts and Olympic Park' .... so CSH obviously been sighted there too
HI Sue
I have recently moved across the river to Ermington and have seen Brown Goshawks and Collared Sparrowhawks in the area.
Based on the initial size of your bird a BG appears more in line with ID. However, it's always helpful to get many pics (in focus too) to aid in ID.
Thanks all, I was caught unprepared and just could not focus on this bird. However I will keep an eye out for the raptors in future. I should have picked up on the agitation among the Stilts.
Sue