Help with bird of prey ID?

Had a great day at FDL, never seen so many Redwings and Fieldfare, lovely to see - I hadn't realised how pretty the Fieldfare's markings were. My query is the bird of prey we almost drove past on the driveway in - we stopped to see if there was anything in the bird box on the right, only for mu husband to point out the bird sitting on a haybale pretty much right next to us! Much panic ensued in grabbing the camera, and then frantic photo taking before it of course flew off just a few seconds later! Hopefully I have managed to upload the best pics, but wondered if anyone would confirm whether it's a buzzard or a harrier? My guess was a juvenile buzzard, but whatever it was, we felt very fortunate to have spotted it and manage to capture a few hectic pictures :)

Hi - not sure where your photos are, but very likely a Common Buzzard: there's usually one hanging around the entrance road and they like to sit on hay bales. Cheers Richard

In reply to Richard T:

Hi Richard, I've tried again on a different computer and now the pics have loaded. Thanks for your reply, still think it's a buzzard?

In reply to demon69:

That's definitely a common buzzard! :-)

In reply to AndyC:

:) I did suspect as much, but we usually only see them miles up in the sky! The only other one I've seen was in a zoo, and it was much darker all over, do you think the one in the pics could have been a juvenile? Oh, and thank you Andy :)

In reply to demon69:

Yes, this is a juvenile as it has a heavily streaked breast. You will often see them perched on the straw bales or fence posts in the mornings, waiting for the day to warm up before they can fly higher up. They rarely soar at high altitudes in the winter. You will also often see them on the ground, feeding on worms or carrion.

In reply to AndyC:

Indeed - very nice photos of a young Buzzard! Richard

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