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Saturday 4 August 2018

Intriguing falcon: Eleonora's or Red-footed?

Just as Linda and I were saying goodbye to our good friends Jane & Jason this afternoon, I glanced up to see a very long-winged, darkish falcon swooping about high above our heads. The camera was in the boot of our car, so I grabbed a few distant shots. Linda and I independently picked out some intriguing features:

1) The bird had very long 'pointy' wings
2) It was swooping around in a very Swift-like fashion: it resembled an Alpine Swift in many ways
3) It had an obvious mask and cap, and there was some orange on its underwings and vent region.

It wasn't a Kestrel, Hobby or Peregrine: I've never seen an Eleonora's in the wild, but my thoughts were immediately drawn to the species by its behaviour, size and coloration.

Informed opinions most welcome!





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