This was spotted this morning in Blyth Northumberland in my friends garden. I’ve tried looking online to see if I can identify it and closest I could find was a Harris Hawk.
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
Having seen and handled a Harris Hawk, it looks very much like one to me.
They're not native to the UK, so almost certainly an escapee.
It does happen where a bird of prey that is used for falconry displays or hunting, to go AWOL, they are basically a wild bird and the desire to hunt can become a little too strong. Many are GPS tagged, and there is a good chance the Harris Hawkes handler is missing the bird.
There are various registers where missing birds can be reported, and while you won't have seen the birds ID tag, it could be wise to report it as there may be a falconer who is either in the area or has done a falconry display in the area and missing a Harris Hawk.
Quite a few organisations came up when I put "reporting missing falconry birds uk" into a search engine. Make sure you include UK, or you could end up with global lists.
If you do report the Harris Hawk, please come back and let us know how you got on and which organisation contacted, it could be useful info if someone else has a similar sighting.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler