On 2014-03-12 17:42:23 +0000, Dave Liquorice said:

On Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:44:19 +0000, RustyHinge wrote:

We've just seen a bird perched on the back of one of the garden
chairs,

Fromthe forky tail it would seem to have been a kite, but in the air,
they appear a bit bigger than pigeons.

Just a bit!

If the garden chairs are the light plastic moulded things I don't
think a kite could perch on the back it would be too heavy or the
draft from it's wings would blow it over.

Kites are big, Around a 6' wing span, that's bigger than a Buzzard
which is only 4' ish...

Think I'd go for a Merlin.

Solid wooden chair. Not at buzzard or a kite. Again, we see buzzards
all the time, both circling way above us and perching on fence or
telegraph poles. Several people try to persuade me it was a
sparrowhawk but it certainly wasn't, even though it was perched right
below the sparrows' roosts in the eaves of the tea room! We've seen
lots of sparrow hawks round here and would know them instantly. Ray
has never seen whatever this was in his 30-odd years living here.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk