Bird of prey with golden chest

[Becky B]

Merlin would not visit a garden as it's a moorland bird and very unusual for a peregrine too, so best bet would be sparrowhawk - seen a few in my garden over the years.

 

I'd agree with this - much more likely to see a sparrowhawk than a merlin in a garden!

Did it look something like this?

 

---------- Post added 27-02-2017 at 11:42 ----------

 

Merlin would not visit a garden as it's a moorland bird and very unusual for a peregrine too, so best bet would be sparrowhawk - seen a few in my garden over the years.

 

Look about the same size here

 

And here

 

And here

 

One is smaller, one is further away...

In weight and length a merlin is smaller than a magpie, though they do have a larger wingspan. Not that you can see that on those pictures...

[steroc]

I'd agree with this - much more likely to see a sparrowhawk than a merlin in a garden!

Did it look something like this?

 

---------- Post added 27-02-2017 at 11:42 ----------

 

 

 

 

One is smaller, one is further away...

In weight and length a merlin is smaller than a magpie, though they do have a larger wingspan. Not that you can see that on those pictures...

Yes but over half of the Magpies noted length is its tail so going of average length measurements is not an accurate way to compare sizes.

 

---------- Post added 27-02-2017 at 12:30 ----------

 

Merlin would not visit a garden as it's a moorland bird and very unusual for a peregrine too, so best bet would be sparrowhawk - seen a few in my garden over the years.

 

Maybe a rare occurrence but it is not unknown for Melins to be seen in peoples gardens. Birds do occasionally stray out of their usual habitats and is the reason threads like this exist.

 

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/b/wildlife/archive/2012/03/22/could-i-have-seen-a-bird-of-prey-in-the-garden.aspx

Edited February 27, 2017 by steroc