Raptor ID please

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stevehapp
stevehapp's picture
Raptor ID please

Sorry about the appalling quality of these pics.
They were a long way off.
I think these are whistling kites. But I have no real idea.
They were circling high over the Hunter Wetlands Centre to the south west today.
1.

2.

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Once again, sorry for the appalling quality.. doh!
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cheers,
steve

stevehapp
stevehapp's picture

I found another pic that is a bit better.
I am leaning towards the whistling kite even more with this pic.
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cheers,
steve

DenisWilson
DenisWilson's picture

Hi Steve
Yes, I am very confident of Whistling Kite ID. More from the top photo - with droopy wings and relatively long tail.
The 3rd photo, though clearer, shows the bird flying down wind, and away from you, so the relative length of the tail is less prominent. Even so, it still shows the "open fingers" which is quite typical of a Whistling Kite, and distinctly NOT of a Little Eagle.
May I suggest that you have a look at my blog posts:
http://peonyden.blogspot.com/2008/07/little-eagle-circling-on-breeze.html
and
http://peonyden.blogspot.com/2008/01/birds-of-prey-how-to-tell-them-apart.html
Cheers
Denis

stevehapp
stevehapp's picture

Thanks Denis,
the blog post about how to ID raptors was very useful and informative.
*thumbs up*
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cheers,
steve

Owen1
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i reckon its a little eagse
very similar to whistling kite

Cheers, Owen.

Owen1
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i got a photo that looked like that

Cheers, Owen.

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