Large bird about the size of a buzzard seen over fields above the loch at Nerston East Kilbride. Was being harried by crow. As it came in to land on a tree, white bars were seen on underside of wings near tips. Seen two days in a row hovering. Haven't seen a bird of this size hover.
As Robbo says Common Buzzard will hover especially if it is facing into the wind,not as good as a Kestrel at hovering but it will do it.Another,much rarer raptor that hovers is the Rough Legged Buzzard,normally a winter visitor to the U.K.it makes a better job of hovering than its common cousin.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
Red kites can also "hover" the same way as buzzards.
They have large areas of white under their wing tips.
I've seen them doing it next to the M40 and on the Long Mynd in Shropshire.
:-)
Andy
Seriously thinking about trying harder!
Probably its an Osprey. An Osprey can hover and it has white on its underwings. They do like eustaries.
Hope this helps!
Birdlova
The Best Birder is The One That Enjoys It Best.
ospreys and red kites are much larger than buzzards and both are easily identifiable by their markings and colouration. Ospreys soar like buzzards but I don't think they can hover as such.
Most likely a common buzzard - the crows love harrassing them.
TBH with that description, it could be any of the above, and with the right conditions(not just wind but warm days help too)
they can all appear to hover, it's usually hanging on a thermal or riding the wind (not true hovering like a kestrel powered by its own wings).
Again corvids will happily mob all the birds listed above, they're not backwards in coming forwards.
A buzzard is still the most likely answer though, being the most common.
It's both what you do and the way that you do it!
You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren. William Henry Hudson (1841 - 1922)
mpiekp said: they can all appear to hover, it's usually hanging on a thermal or riding the wind (not true hovering like a kestrel powered by its own wings).
Sorry mpiekp, but kestrels "hover" in the same way as all the other species mentioned. They all need a head wind. Some air is directed down to give lift. Depending on the air speed the bird can hold stationary without flapping or will need to flap.
In fact the hobby we saw at Barnes on Tuesday 3 May was seen to "hover" too! It held station in a head wind and wasn't flapping at all for most of the time.
Hummingbirds can hover in still air because of the special wing flapping pattern and by the number of wing beats per second being very high.
We've been through all this before ... !
If you are getting sightings of Hen Harrier in your area it may be worth reporting it to the RSPB on henharriers@rspb.org.uk Going back to the original o.p. Common Buzzard would be the best bet going on population numbers alone but by now the bird will have flown