Copyright monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Alpes Maritimes, France • Sep 2010

Bird name: Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Latin: Accipiter nisus
Other: Epervier d'Europe (Fr) • Gavilán (Es) • Sparviere Eurasiatico (It) • Sperber (De)
Family: Accipitridae • Sparrowhawks, Birds of Prey
Range: Europe, Asia, Middle East
Similar:

The Sparrowhawk has a very characteristic wing shape, when seen from below: deep, short, curved wings, tapering at the end (see “more photos” below). The underside is fully barred. Colour is grey or brownish. The only other similar bird in Europe is the Goshawk.

Early September is a good time to see Sparrowhawks along the coast in the Alpes Maritimes. Although they are present all year round in much of Europe, northernmost Sparrowhawks will migrate locally further south.

As the name suggests, they prey on smaller birds.More photos...

Copyright monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Alpes Maritimes, France • Sep 2010

Bird name: Eleonora's Falcon
Latin: Falco eleonorae
Other: Faucon d’Eléonore (Fr) • Halcón de Eleonor (Es) • Falco della Regina (It)
Family: Falconidae • Falcons
Range: Mediterranean islands mostly and some Mediterranean coastline

A couple of indistinct distant shots of what was probably quite a rare sighting of an Eleonora’s Falcon, three days ago, flying along the coast in the Alpes Maritimes.

Although Eleonora’s Falcon is thought to have a worldwide population of only about 4000 breeding pairs, and in Europe is found mostly on Mediterranean islands, with 650 pairs counted on the small Greek island of Tilos alone, about half a dozen Eleonora’s Falcons are recorded migrating near the French coast in the Alpes Maritimes in September every year. They head towards Spain and then Africa and spend the northern winter in Madagascar.More photos...

Copyright monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Verdon • August 2009 Sep 2010

Bird name: Griffon Vulture
Latin: Gyps fulvus
Other: Eurasian Griffon Vulture • Vautour fauve (Fr) • Buitre leonado (Es) • Grifone (It)
Family: Accipitridae • Old World Vultures, Birds of Prey
Range: Southern Europe into Middle East and northern India
Similar:

The Griffon Vulture is a very large old world vulture with a two-and-a-half-metre wingspan - so quite a bit larger than a Golden Eagle.

These magnificent scavengers have been successfully reintroduced in the Gorges of Verdon, in the South of France. In the summer some of the Verdon vultures move a little further east to the Mercantour region.

They are scattered throughout southern Europe, having been successfully reintroduced in several locations, and are found in larger numbers in central Asia and northern India.

The Griffon Vulture can be distinguished from the Black Vulture by its light coverts, the triangular area from the shoulder along the frontmost part of the wing. The tail of these European vultures appears proportionally short when compared to the Golden Eagle and other smaller birds of prey.

More photos...