Black Shouldered kite

I'm back blipping this one as I have had a message regarding this bird, which I thought was a hen harrier - already a fairly rare bird.

Best viewed a bit bigger

Thanks so much for Ceridwen for the message from a friend - this was the message, for which I am very grateful:


Hi. A friend of mine who looks in at Blip but cannot be persuaded to sign up (!) greatly admires your wildlife images and has asked me to pass on the following.

His cracking raptor blip for March 16th isn't a (male) hen harrier, it's something rather more unlikely - a black-shouldered kite, Eleanus caeruleus.

I have, in the past, covered a fair old mileage in SW France with binoculars at the ready, but have never seen black-shouldered kites there. In fact, the sort of bird books I have on my shelf don't even show this species as a French breeder. They must have colonised from Spain and Portugal quite recently. (Have just checked: 'Birds of the Western Palaearctic', published in 1980, shows the species as breeding in central Spain - and no further north than that!).

Hen harriers are a different matter - they're well established in many areas in France, and I've often seen them there. The male hen harrier is similar in colour to the kite in Combi31's picture, but the shape is different (the tail is much longer), and it doesn't have the little 'mask' about the eyes. The hen harrier's flight is often low, gliding, quite stealthy. They may hover briefly when about to drop on prey, but they don't go in for the prolonged hovering that gave Combi that cracking picture. I've never seen a BSK, not even in Spain, but I can say for certain that the hen harrier is a substantailly bigger bird.

The French name for Combi's bird is Elanion blanc. He should definitely look out for 'le busard St Martin' in similar habitat, and also 'busard cendré', Montagu's harrier. Both can be found hunting over farmland or rougher country (causse, heathland). At about this time of year nesting harriers can be quite conspicuous, as the males throw themselves around, up and down all over the sky. (Incidentally, male and female élanions are both grey/white/black, while that's true only for the male hen harrier. The female is brownish, much less conspicuous).

How well established 'l'élanion' is in France these days I just don't know. They may not yet be known to the bird protection people. I don't know what to advise - if the birds are free from disturbance then it might be best to keep quiet about them. But if disturbance or interference seems likely, then it might be better to contact whoever looks after such things in France.

Anyway, good luck to Combi - I'm looking forward to more wildlife blips.

Here is more on the black shouldered kite

Je suis gobsmacked!