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27 February 2012

Pied or Hen Harrier? 27-2-2012


Hi all,

Yesterday Wayne and I saw a female harrier (1st cy, I guess) on Red River Island.
First impression, female Pied. But then we noticed that the bird appeared to be a bit stronger, broader/shorter-winged. The markings under its wings seem to be right for Hen Harrier which is an extremely rare bird in the region.
Any comments very welcome...
There was a birding group there as well, and I thought I'd spotted Hung, so maybe some further comments from them (if they've seen this bird, and didn't only watch the male Pied!).

Other than that, 1 Pintail Snipe, loads of Red-throated Pipits, a few Citrine and Yellow Wagtails plus the resident Black-shouldered Kite.

Cheers,
Falk


Hi All!

We all think that is the female of Pied Harrier. I was there with some very skeen birders of birdquest's group. I am in Misty Tam Dao now, having a good view of Blue-naped Pitta along the water tank trail. No Laughingthrush and Parrotbill.

Cheers!

Hung Le

7 comments:

  1. Falk oi,

    Could you send back the shots, but one by one please.
    On my computer, they have the size of a stamp :)

    Sebastien

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sebastian

    They are the size of a stamp. My big lens in Bangkok getting fixed, and the bird was a fair way away. Next time...

    Wayne

    ReplyDelete
  3. oops, SabastiEn sorry

    Wayne

    ReplyDelete
  4. Uh, 1st year, not 1st cy obviously. Xin loi.
    Falk

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hmmm, also I don't really see a whitish belly, and the underwings look right for Hen harrier.
    That'd be a very interesting record.
    Falk

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for your comments, Hung - very appreciated!
    Could you please give a few details (or even better, pictures!) why you think this bird was a female Pied? Obviously, chances favor female Pied over Hen Harrier, given the latter's status in the region but I'm not fully convinced yet...
    Cheers
    Falk

    ReplyDelete
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