Find out more about our daily events and activities at The British Bird of Prey Centre and the National Botanic Garden of Wales. Come rain or shine there's loads to do for the whole family! Birds of prey in the field : a guide to the British and European species / by Roger Harkness and Colin Murdoch; illustrated with drawings by the authors and photographs by Eric Hosking, Lennart Norstro?m and Arne Schmitz Hen harriers inhabit upland areas during the spring and summer. During the winter they retreat to lower areas such as farmland, marshland and coastal environments.

Other than size, they differ in the buzard by having a longer tail. They'll fly with their wings in a 'V-shape' and flight from perching, or at low altitudes can seem laboured, with long, slow wing beats until they gather momentum or hit the hot air column. This RSPB-licensed A5 fold-out ID guide features 50 artworks illustrating 21 of Britain's bird of prey and owl species. Artworks are printed on one side of the fold-out chart with species grouped taxonomically and helpfully labelled to assist with species identification. On the reverse of the artworks, informative and engaging text is provided about the species, as well as helpful advice on the best reserves for watching birds of prey. Information on RSPB and other campaigns to support these species is also included, as are details of successful UK raptor reintroductions, which of our raptors are currently facing persecution and advice on what to do if you see anything suspicious. Red kites have been saved from the brink of extinction, with sucessful reintroduction projects up and down the country. They are almost unmistakable, with their deep red/orange colours and their distinctive forked tails. Tailor made lesson plans to suit your Key Stage. Topics such as flight, predators & nocturnal animals combined with flying demos & hands-on activities really bring your lesson to life! Hobbies are summer visitors to the UK, and time their arrivals to coincide with the migrations of swallows and martins. They are extremely agile, and their main sources of food are small birds and dragonflies whilst in the UK.With a diet of fish and birds, they nest on the coast and are rarely seen inland. They are similar in shape to a golden eagle, but they are bigger and have a much shorter tail. The tail is white, and the head is pale. Like the golden eagle, it's hard to mistake for another bird because of it's size. Whilst similar in shape to female sparrowhawks, goshawks are much bigger and generally a lot more powrefully built. They have broad, short wings and a shorter tail than a sparrowhawk, and females can reach a size comparable to that of a buzzard. They are much harder to see than a sparrowhawk, and are extremely secretive birds. Listen for the alarm calls of other birds, and look for a flash of grey as you walk through known goshawk woods. Sparrowhawks were almost extinct in the UK after centuries of persecution and pesticides which caused their eggs to break before they could hatch. After sucessful conservation efforts, these birds are thriving now, and there could be as many as 40,000 pairs breeding in Britain. At The British Bird of Prey Centre, you can take a stroll around our aviaries and learn all about the different birds that live and holiday here in the UK. Hobbies are about the size of a kestrel, but they have longer, narrower wings. A good way to identifiy a hobby is that it looks almost like a giant swift. They don't hover, instead they'll perch on a favoured tree or post, and scan their surroundings. When they see a potential meal they'll dash off, showing immense arial prowess in chasing down their prey. They can even eat on the wing - truly a master of the skies. Look for the orange underparts and facial moustache if you get close enough, a hobby is a great sighting for any bird-lover.

The merlin is our smallest bird of prey in Britain. They stay mainly in the uplands, breeding on moors and hillsides. They are resident to the UK, which is on the southern edge of their range and numbers increase in the winter as more birds from Icleand and northern Europe arrive to escape the colder winters. The goshawk is a powerful, large and deadly predator. They are often called big sparrowhawks, but this does not do them justice. They were once extinct in the UK, but escaped and released falconry birds have recolonised the land. If you are looking for even more excitement, you can have a go at flying a bird yourself, on our award-winning private and group experiences!

Closer up, you can see their massive, broad wings have long fingers to them. Their feathers are generally a dark brown, gradually building to a golden brown colour on their heads; from which they get their name. The Golden Eagle. There's no mistaking this bird, down to its sheer size. As a naturalist once said; 'if you're in two minds as to whether it's a buzzard or an eagle, then it's a buzzard.' You just know when you've seen an eagle.

The white-tailed eagle, also known as the sea eagle or the 'flying barn door,' is our largest bird of prey. They're on the red-list for endangered species, and are mainly confined to the coasts of northern Scotland. Hardcover, 1971). 1971 1st edition. 8vo (134 x 204mm). Pp208. B/w photographs, drawings. Blue boards, gilt titles to spine. Very good in slightly frayed dust-wrapper. "Designed for use in the field, this book gives much practical advice to the observer on the identification of British and European birds of prey. .The authors have included a valuable series of pencil drawings which have been specially prepared to assist in identification, and the photographs have been chosen to show mainly birds in flight." . First Edition. Good cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-torn (with some loss) and dust-toned dust-wrapper, now mylar-sleeved. Remains quite well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; 208 p., 24 plates; illus. 21 cm. Notes; Bibliography: p. 12. Subjects; Birds of prey. Birds Europe. Birds of prey Europe. Birds of prey Great Britain. Raptores Europe Spotters' handbooks. Genres; Bibliography. Illustrated. 1 Kg. Hardcover, 1992). 1992 1st edition. 4to (200 x 270mm). Pp192. Colour plates by Alastair Proud, colour and b/w photographs, b/w illustrations, bibliography. Grey boards, spine titled in gilt. Very good in slightly used dust-wrapper. "The first specialist book on all British raptors to appear since 1976. [the author] examines the history of our twenty-three regular breeders and visitors, and gives full details of their natural history .current status and distribution, diet, behaviour, field characteristics, habitat, breeding, migration and movements." Includes information on vagrants. Many illustrations including paintings by Alasair Proud. All species discussed are illustrated, including their eggs. . The peregrine falcon. Famed for its speed, its power and its sheer deadly attitude, these are the fastest things in the animal kingdom. A peregrine falcon can exceed speeds of 200mph in full stoop, although they don't often do this in the wild. Hitting a pigeon at that speed wouldn't be too good for either bird...FIRST EDITION - VERY GOOD - NO DUSTWRAPPER. PREVIOUS OWNER'S NEAT INSCRIPTION ON F.E.P. A USEFUL GUIDE OF THE BRITISH AND EUROPEAN SPECIES. ILLUSTRATED WITH DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHORS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ERIC HOSKING, LENMART NORSTROM AND ARNE SCHMITZ. This book is a celebration of British raptors (including owls), with 200 stunning colour photographs.

Hardcover, 1971). 1971 1st edition. 8vo (134 x 204mm). Pp208. B/w photographs, drawings. Boards slightly dented but very good in frayed dust-wrapper. "Designed for use in the field, this book gives much practical advice to the observer on the identification of British and European birds of prey. .The authors have included a valuable series of pencil drawings which have been specially prepared to assist in identification, and the photographs have been chosen to show mainly birds in flight." . Whilst mainly brown, they have light patches on the underside of their wings, which can help to distinguish them from ravens or large crows at a glance. Their primary wing feathers also give the appearance of long fingers. A good way to spot buzzards is to listen for their distinctive and iconic 'mew' call. Stephen Message is one of the UK's foremost bird artists as well as an experienced birdwatcher. He studied Graphic Design, then specialised in natural history illustration at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and has worked as a freelance artist ever since. Stephen has twice been runner up for the Bird Illustrator of the Year, and he was the Birdwatch Artist of the Year in 2017. Stephen painted the beautiful cover artworks for all four editions of the RSPB Handbook of British Birds. He has illustrated many books in his career, including Waders of Europe, Asia and North America, Bill Oddie's Birds of Britain and Ireland and the Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia. Hardcover, 1971). 1971 1st edition. 8vo (134 x 204mm). Pp208. B/w photographs, drawings. Blue boards, spine titled in gilt. Adhesive plastic to slightly frayed dust-wrapper. Slight browning to edges but good clean copy. "Designed for use in the field, this book gives much practical advice to the observer on the identification of British and European birds of prey. .The authors have included a valuable series of pencil drawings which have been specially prepared to assist in identification, and the photographs have been chosen to show mainly birds in flight." .Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth Sparrowhawks are adapted to hunting in woodland, taking birds from blue tits to pigeons and everything in between. The females are much bigger than males, which effectively creates two different hunters in their area. Sparrowhawks have short, blunted wings with their primary feathers creating 'fingers.' These short wings allow them to fly between trees and small spaces at speed. Their tails are long and squared at the ends, giving them the skill and agility to manouvre tight corners. An authoritative text examines the biology and ecology of each species, following their fortunes as British breeding birds from historical times to the present day. They are often communal birds, and in places will gather together in great numbers to scavenge for food. Look for them circling, with their long, broad fingered wings in a v-shape. Red kites eat mainly carrion, and will often follow farmers plowing fields to get the earth worms that are exposed. BRITISH BIRDS OF PREY: A STUDY OF BRITAIN'S 24 DIURNAL RAPTORS. By Leslie Brown. Collins New Naturalist No. 60. First edition.