Wandering Red Kites may turn up almost anywhere in Britain, especially in spring. However, this species has a very distinctive deeply forked tail, not fan-shaped. Also, it is not much of a killer, feeding mainly on carrion and rarely tackling live prey larger than an earthworm... It is lightweight and not very powerful for its size - I would seriously doubt it would be strong enough to instantly kill a bird the size of a Woodpigeon, let alone carry it away. A large female Peregrine or a Goshawk might manage such a feat. Alternatively, it could be an escapee falconer's bird, perhaps one of the large falcon hybrids.
By the way, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a seriously amazing garden visitor!
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Hi furbag
The red kite doesn't have a fan shaped tail, it has a forked tail. That is the clear difference when you see the red kite and the buzzard up in the sky. They are very large birds and both normally feed on carrion.
I would try the RSPB Bird Identifier, but it might have been a female harrier of some type, or possibly a female sparrowhawk. The females are always larger than the males. It sounds more like a sparrowhawk type of behaviour than a kite or a buzzard. It would take quite a long run of garden for a red kite or buzzard to get back up into the air with a pigeon as they measure about 4 feet across.
Best wishes Chris
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Hey Woodpecker,
Sparrowhawk is a good bet, but I'm a bit doubtful that even a big female could instantly kill and then take off with a Woodpigeon! (also the OP says they have seen Sprawks in the garden many times before).
Hi there
Red Kites can turn up almost anywhere. According to the BirdGuides website there have been sightings in Kent and East Sussex recently although nothing in Hampshire.
Like the others I seriously doubt that it could have ben a Red Kite attacking a pigeeon. They are mainly carrion eaters and are not noted for attacking live prey. Perhaps more as a process of elimation here's a photo of a Red Kite coming into my garden for chicken scraps.
Difficult to know what to suggest it could have been. Certainly, female sparrowhawks are capable of killing a woodpigeon but whether it could carry it off immediately seems doubtful. Of course, peregrines are big powerful birds of prey and pigeons are most definitely on the menu but they usually catch them in flight.
Not much help I'm afraid.
Regards TJ
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Tony
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The reintroduction of Red Kites within the UK has indeed been an ongoing proactive project run by the RSPB since 1989. Red kites were persecuted to extinction throughout the UK, with the exception of Wales, during the 19th century. In central Wales, during the 20th century, the small population was carefully protected, and red kites have slowly increased in numbers and range since the Second World War.
However it was noted that this gradual re colonisation was taking longer than expected hence it was decided that specific sites should be selected and stocked with birds from the mainland continent.
The current population for the UK is estimated to be in the region of 1500+ breeding pairs in Britain - 600-800 in central Wales, 600 in England and 100 in Scotland.(All figures are a annual average estimate) at present the ongoing reintroduction continues in Northern Ireland where 50 birds are being released between 2008/10.
Wales is still the most established stronghold in the UK for Red Kites. The other main areas in England including the Chilterns, Gloucestershire, Bucks, Northants, North Yorkshire, Gateshead and localised parts of mainland Scotland. In testament to their success as aiki mentions Red Kite have now sighted (on passage not breeding) in every county of the UK!
However, from the details of your email I suspect that the most likely candidate would indeed be a buzzard. The buzzard can be found in a variety of habitats in the UK, and is rapidly returning to natural and historical numbers of equilibrium. Buzzards are most commonly associated with woodland and scrub habitats and are steadily returning to historical numbers and continuing to return to eastern lowland counties where they were lost altogether over 150 years ago now - mainly as a result of persecution by man. They are distributed across all parts of the British Isles except for Southern Ireland, parts of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. So you can certainly expect to sight them in and around Hants.
Within Europe the population is somewhere in the region of 600,000 breeding pairs with 35-40,000 residing in the UK. They are opportunist feeders and will take small mammals such as voles, birds, rabbits, reptiles, amphibians, insects and worms.
The buzzard is fairly compact medium sized soaring raptor with a wingspan of around 120cm (approx 4ft). It has a short round head and a thick neck, thick set body, broad large wings and a short tail. The plumage is variable from uniformly dark to mainly white individuals, making identification often very difficult. Dark patches under the leading edge of the wing are visible in most plumage variations - the darker the plumage the more apparent the white stripe would be. Buzzards can be confused with most other large raptors, even with golden eagles. Females are, on average, larger than males.