Goshawk

Recent sightings of Goshawk

Date	Species	Site	Count	Observer
10/09/20	Goshawk	Pope's Meadow, Binfield	1	D A MacKenzie Dodds
05:55	I was going to call this large, powerful accipiter (indicative flap flap flap glide) "unidentified" as I watched it for a while, thought that MUST be a goshawk but HAS to be a large, silvery female sparrowhawk doesn't it.... but tbh it screamed goshawk to me this morning on an early walk. Size of a buzzard. Typical accipiter flight but more "powerful in nature" than that of a sparrowhawk. Noticeable white tail undercoverts (as in both hawks) but very noticeably silvery in colour. Couldn't see the head to see eyebrow or eye colour and sun wasn't quite up anyway even though it was light. Heading south, low ish. Was it a goshawk? Yes, possibly. Either that or the largest, most physically impressive, silvery female sparrowhawk I've ever seen with a shorter tail than I'd expect for a sparrowhawk. But still... a question mark over this one.
05/09/20	Goshawk	Crookham Common	1	P E Hutchins
18:02	Low west, scattering wagtails and pipits. Totally unexpected and a beast of a bird!
01/01/20	Goshawk	Langley, Slough	1	B D Clews
17:03	Notification for East Berks birders - a male Goshawk has escaped in the area over Christmas. The bird has jesses. Sightings might aid the owner in recovering the bird.
28/09/19	Goshawk	Roden Downs	1	M F Walford
15:34	imm. Relentlessly being persued by a flock of Magpies.
17/02/19	Goshawk	Searle's Farm Lane GP (W), Burghfield GPs	1	N J Bucknell
11:10	male. seen briefly - notes submitted to County Recorder.
21/04/18	Goshawk	Lavell's Lake, Dinton Pastures CP	1	J Taylor
	fem. Seen soaring with Red Kites and Common Buzzards at c.11:30. About the size of a Common Buzzard, but with longer tail and more rounded wings. Wings proportionately longer and tail proportionately shorter than in Sparrowhawk. Upperparts dark; underparts pale grey with whitish undertail coverts. In direct flight, showed flap-flap-glide action typical of an Accipiter species, although slower and more assured than Sparrowhawk. Edit: Wingspan about 3/4 of Red Kite wingspan; tail rounded at end when fanned.
25/01/18	Goshawk	Wishmoor Bottom, Swinley Forest	1	J W O'Brien
	seen and IDd by Devon birders (incl the writer of the WTWBI Cornwall). They made notes for me to send to Richard.
27/02/16	Goshawk	Jealott's Hill	1	M Jones
	On post and flew past us from the Syngenta site, as we cycled passed at 20m away. Right size and features but I've never seen one in Berks before. Back home I've just reviewed the features and still believe it was a goshawk as I've seen in the Forest of Dean; white eye brow, almost buzzard size etc. Not a female sparrowhawk. Would love someone else to confirm. Could it have been going through? SU874734.
03/05/15	Goshawk	Woodley	1	P Foulds
16:15	Flying over Woodley towards Dinton Pastures being mobbed by seagulls.
21/03/15	Goshawk	Lower Farm Trout Lake	1	N Cleere
	m. brief display flight over northern edge of Bowdown Wood before heading off northeast, at height, over Trout Lake towards Thatcham Marsh.

Past records of Goshawk

Year	Details
2020	Confidential, 5th September. *
2020	Confidential, 5, 14th June. *
2020	Confidential, 2, 1st April to 15th July. *
2020	Confidential, 2, 7th March. *
2019	West Berks, adult male, 25th December. *
2019	Confidential, 8th August. *
2019	Confidential, immature, 16th April. *
2019	Burghfield GPs, male, 17th February. *
2019	Confidential, 4, 1st January. *
2018	West Berks, 14th December. *
2018	Confidential, adult and juvenile, 17th July. *
2018	Lavell's Lake, female, 21st April. *
2018	Confidential, 11th February. *
2018	Confidential, 25th January. *
2017	Confidential, juvenile, 3rd September. *
2015	West Berks, female, 12th May.
2015	West Berks, female, 20th March.
2008	Streatley, adult fermale, 12th December.
2008	Windsor Forest, immature, 7th March.
2006	[Theale GPs, 18th February.]
2004	Combe Hill, adult male, 13th July.
2004	Theale GPs, immature, 4th April.
2004	[Tidmarsh, several times during Sep/Oct.]
2002	Farnborough, male, 12th October.
2002	Englefield, immature, 19th January.
1999	Englefield, female, 14th December.
1996	[Wraysbury GPs, 14th September, also 5th November.]
1994	[Wraysbury GPs, 6th November.]
1992	Combe Hill, male, 6th May.
1990	West Berks, adult female, Seen twice during April-May and 22nd July.
1989	Thatcham Marsh, 10th June.
1988	West Berks, male and female, February to end April.
1987	Thatcham Marsh, immature male, 30th December.
1987	Caversham Heights, Reading, 14th October.
1987	Earley, 19th September.
1983	Berkshire Downs, male, 4th April.
1982	Horton GPs, 14th February.
1980	[Wishmoor Bottom, female, 19th August.]
1977	Confidential.
1976	Confidential.
1975	Woolhampton, 22nd September.
<1974	Confidential, many records.