First calendar year Buzzard, Tralee, 1st December 2016 (M.O'Clery).
This approachable bird has been present in hedgerow close to an industrial estate on the outskirts of Tralee for two weeks now. It is actively hunting by perching on low bushes, gates and trees and dropping down to the ground and seems to be mainly after rats, though there are also plenty of rabbits in the area.
Buzzard, Tralee, 1st December 2016 (M.O'Clery).
Buzzard, Tralee, 1st December 2016 (M.O'Clery).
It can be aged as a first year on a number of features, such as the uniform age of the wing feathers (i.e., no moult 'gaps'), and the pale tips to some coverts, as well as the finely barred tail tip (darker band at the tip on adults), and on a face-on view, the more vertical streaking on the breast (more horizontal barring on adults).
Buzzard and Hooded Crow, Tralee, 1st December 2016 (M.O'Clery).
'Continental' Cormorant, Blernnerville, 1st December 2016 (M.O'Clery).
Looks to be the same individual as seen on 12th October 2016 at the same spot - see post HERE.
