A raven in Leicestershire

[Grandad]

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, never seen one here before, anybody seen one in the east mids before? Funny how some birds are thriving in places where they've never been seen before. We get buzzards too, never seen them in Leics except in recent years, quite common now.

[Stephen Blair]

i cant see the Ravens behind my house because the buzards get in the way:laugh1:

 

we have loads round here, their numbers have went up noticably.

 

Good to heat you have some too:001_smile:

[born2trot]

Theres definetely odd sightings going about. Apart from having mature blackbirds with black beaks up here ( as highlited on autumn watch ) I have seen a crow with white underwing coverts , no it wasn't a magpie ! Was a wierd sight.

There is ALBINO buzzards in Aberdeenshire aswell, Not light variation.

Will post a video on here soon of the amazing thriftyness of buzzards soon !

[NI Tree]

Theres definetely odd sightings going about. Apart from having mature blackbirds with black beaks up here ( as highlited on autumn watch ) I have seen a crow with white underwing coverts , no it wasn't a magpie ! Was a wierd sight.

There is ALBINO buzzards in Aberdeenshire aswell, Not light variation.

Will post a video on here soon of the amazing thriftyness of buzzards soon !

 

thats cool an albino buzzards

were are they as i would love to see them

ps ther is a crow with white on it at uni the other week though we also had one at home too

[born2trot]

thats cool an albino buzzards

were are they as i would love to see them

ps ther is a crow with white on it at uni the other week though we also had one at home too

 

I came across the albino buzzards on a local wildlife blog. It gave a grid reference as to where they were , i noted it down and if i recall correctly it was near Ellon ( i am a big bird of prey fan and would love to see them aswell ). I thought at first they were talking rubbish and that it might have been an escapee gyr falcon, but the photos confirmed it was indeed a buzzard.

I'll try and see what i can dig up ( you could aswell ) as this must be extremely rare.

 

I'm really pleased that someone else has seen the crows aswell ( and before anybody says anything there not hooded crows.

[Grandad]

Albino Buzzards??? Wow, you win with that one Born2trot. I remember seeing a Blackbird with white patches once, never seen a fully albino one though. I wonder if your buzzards have pink eyes? Albinos have poor eyesight, that would be a serious handicap in a raptor and as they do exist, (white buzzards), I wonder if they are true, pink eyed albinos?

John.

[Fungus]

Albino Buzzards??? I remember seeing a Blackbird with white patches once, never seen a fully albino one though. I wonder if your buzzards have pink eyes? Albinos have poor eyesight, that would be a serious handicap in a raptor and as they do exist, (white buzzards), I wonder if they are true, pink eyed albinos ?

 

John,

These are not albino, but leucistic birds, which implies they have normal eyes and vision.

[born2trot]

Sightings at cairnhill, west of Ellon apparently a regular visitor.

There is also a good picture of one spotted in Galloway which you can see online at ' wildaboutbritain.co.uk' .

Interesting about the blackbird grandad, its supposedly one of the commonest birds to show bits of white ( there is a good shot of a white headed one on the same site) and leucocytes aswell.

[Grandad]

Leucistic eh? I didn't see how an albino raptor could survive, this explains it. Thanks.

 

Edit: Thanks too for the links, very interesting, will pass these on to my grand children who are being home educated.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Grandad