I managed to take the day off today due to working this weekend so I decided to tour a couple of Hampshire woodlands. More than happy at one of them to come across this Honey Buzzard. It flew above me not overly high at first but unfortunately quite close to the sun but I managed to get a few shots before it spiralled too high and disappeared from view. I am not 100% whether or not the bird is male or female. It does seem to show the grey head of the male and at this time of year you would expect to see more males out on the wing. However the bird is showing fully dark wing tip fingers and seems to have plenty of barring under the wing. Hopefully someone will know for sure. I did consult Dick Forsman’s cracking book: The Raptors of Europe and the Middle East, when I returned home but I am still not certain.

Not the best of images, but it does show the classic Honey Buzzard silhouette.

Honey Buzzard, Hants, 3 Jul 2009

Honey Buzzard, Hants, 3 Jul 2009

Steve Copsey