19.02.2026 - Indoor Meeting : Raptors

Speaker: Steve Cale
Report by: Steph Plaster

​Over sixty members and guests were treated to a fantastic talk from local artist, bird guide and
conservationist Steve Cale. Steve has spoken to the club on many occasions and this evening’s talk did
not disappoint, in fact I go as far as to say it was one of his best with unbelievable images and plenty
of in-depth knowledge relating to these fascinating birds.

Steve kicked off the evening talking about the mythology of raptors going way back to ancient Egypt where birds of prey, especially Falcons and Vultures, were venerated and recorded in their art and
culture. Ancient Egyptians worshipped animals and birds, and the Griffon vulture was portrayed on Tutankhamen’s golden mask, whilst the god Horus was represented as a Falcon. Other cultures similarly held raptors in high esteem as they are powerful predators and the Roman’s marched under the Eagle emblem. Today these magnificent birds are depicted on many national flags and the national bird of the USA is the Bald eagle.
Steve looked at the distinctive features of Raptors, the hooked bill and the talons which are essential for these birds to be able to catch and dismember different prey species. Kestrel and Merlin have smaller hooked beaks as their prey species consist of small mammals, birds and insects. Larger species such as vultures and eagles have massive, hooked bills which are needed for tearing into larger carcasses. Even eagle species bills differ in size from the smaller Lesser-spotted eagle, which predominantly hunts for mice and frogs in damp woodlands and so does not need a huge bill, to the large Pallas’s fish eagle (from Central Asia) which has a large hooked bill for dealing with large fish and waterbirds. Virtually every species described by Steve was accompanied by superb images and a wealth of information during the presentation.
Steve spoke in great detail about vultures of which there are twenty-three different species including the large Lappet-faced vulture and the Cinereous or Eurasian Black vulture.
The large Lappet-faced and Cinereous Vultures are often the first species to find carrion and dead mammals and with their huge bills can ‘break’ into animal carcasses, whilst the smaller species tend to eat roadkill or feed on the remains leftover once the larger species have all fed. The smaller Hooded vulture, for example only has a 1.5 metre wingspan and a long thin bill and feeds on smaller carrion and even domestic animals in Africa.
Steve mentioned the famous ‘Lammergeier’ or Bearded Vulture that was seen in Norfolk in September 2020 and he managed to get a fantastic photo of it as it was being mobbed by seven Common Buzzards over the North Elmham area. This was an immature bird, probably from the Alps and was massive (compared to the Buzzards) - they have a 2.5 metre wingspan when fully mature. This species of
vulture has an unusual method for feeding as it drops large animal bones from great heights onto rocks below where they break into shards. The birds eat the splintered bones and extract the marrow
from the larger pieces. Steve said they have very strong stomach acid that can dissolve bone! 
The shape and size of a bird’s bill is an important factor as to what
they feed on and there are many variations that have evolved over
time to avoid competition between species. Snail kites (left) for
example have an extremely thin, long hooked bill as they feed on
two species of freshwater ‘Apple snail’ found in the Pantanal region
in South America. Likewise, the ‘Hook-billed kite’ from the same
continent live in and around tidal mangrove forests as its bill is
adapted to feeding mainly on crabs. The talons too on raptors are
essential for being able to catch and kill their prey and this was the
next part of the birds morphology that Steve looked at.
In South America, the nine species of Caracara are classed as raptors but are mainly scavengers that feed on carrion, dead fish, worms and the Striated Caracara from Tierra del Fuego even eats penguin poo! Consequently, this species has feet that are used for digging as opposed to catching or killing prey like most species of raptor. Fish eagles have large, hooked talons and the Osprey has zygodactyl talons with two toes facing forward and two at the back to be able to grip slippery eels and large fish. The Harpy eagle is a massive forest eagle that is found in southern Mexico to northern Argentina and feeds on monkeys, sloths and small deer and has huge talons that are
around the size of a Grizzly bear’s claws and are extremely powerful.
The Eurasian Short-toed eagle will feed on snakes and lizards and has feet adapted to catching these creatures and the Harrier hawk from Africa has an unusual adaptation to its legs with a double knee
joint. This species searches for prey in holes in trees and rocks and the legs and feet can bend upwards and downwards whilst trying to extract small birds, mammals and insects from holes. Peregrines have
long narrow toes with sharp hooked talons and soft gripping pads beneath for grasping hold of small birds.
Steve also looked at the eyesight of raptors as this is an important factor if you are a predator. He noted that soaring birds such as vultures and eagles have a different ‘rod and cone’ arrangement
within their eyes meaning their sight is ten times better than humans and enables them to see prey a long way off. The colour of a bird’s iris can change with age, which is a useful feature when trying to
age a bird and the ‘nictitating membrane’ is a vital ‘third eyelid’ that helps protect raptors eyes when hunting prey. Honey buzzards for example will feed on the grubs and eggs of bees and wasps so this
additional eye protection helps repel angry insect attacks.
Flight and the method of hunting was also looked at as different species have varying wing types and methods of hunting their prey. Sparrowhawks are ambush predators and will patrol hedgerows in the
hope of flushing a small bird, whilst Kestrels hover facing into the wind to search for voles below. Steve said the mortality rate for Sparrowhawks was high with 85% of young dying in their first year, mainly from starvation, as only one in twenty hunting attempts are fruitful. They use their wings to ‘mantle’ the prey and this is thought to help shield the prey from other birds and makes them look larger - no
doubt to put a would be thief off from trying to pinch it.
Hobbies and Eleonora’s falcons are fast and agile and can catch insects in mid-air and the powerful Peregrine falcon is the World’s fastest bird when it stoops onto its prey from great heights. Steve
showed images of large ‘Arctic-type peregrines’ including one that was found dead at Great Ryburgh - it had a one-metre wingspan and was heavily barred on the breast and body feathers. It was taken to our very own Alan Hughes to see what it had succumbed to (natural causes it transpired), and it really interesting to see its unusual, barred plumage close-up.
Other topics Steve concentrated on connected to flight was aerodynamics and he had several slides showing how air passes over a bird’s wing to give it lift and how birds utilise thermals and updrafts in order to gain height for soaring. He also illustrated the use of the ‘Bastard wing’ or ‘Alula’ which is small free-moving digit that can be flicked out by the bird to give extra manoeuvrability. This flight mechanism can be found on modern fighter jets too. A Ruppell’s griffon vulture was sucked into a jet- engine over Africa at around 38,000 feet - asking the question why was this bird flying this high - although vultures have been recorded as flying to around 22,000 feet!
As for their feathers, he demonstrated how birds can have prolonged moulting whereby the feathers can take from 18 months to 2 years to complete a moult cycle. The age of birds can also be ascertained
by moult and feather types and raptors must look after their feathers and extensively preen them to maintain them in good condition. I’ve watched a male Sparrowhawk sit for ages in our tree delicately
preening each tail feather by running the bill along the feather - which Steve explained ‘zips’ the barbs back together.
Steve looked at migration routes for raptors as there are many areas of the world, especially within Europe, where huge migratory bottlenecks can occur. He listed some famous migration watch-points:
1) Falsterbo on the tip of South-west Sweden
2) Gibraltar - the shortest sea-route between Europe and Africa
3) The Bosphorus in Turkey connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara
4) The Straits of Messina (between Sicily and mainland Italy)
5) The Pan-handle of Cyprus
Steve has been to many of these migration hotspot sites and he said that on one day at the Bosphorus crossing observation area they’d seen 400 Lesser-spotted eagles and the same number of Levant
Sparrowhawks flying over. Other species you can see here are Imperial, Steppe, Booted and Greater- spotted eagles. He mentioned that a group of Swedish birders counted around 37,000 Honey Buzzards crossing in a single day together with 40 to 50 Red kites and 200 to 300 Buzzards - so this is a major route south for many raptors. Other species recorded are smaller birds of prey including Peregrines,
Sakers, Lanners, Lesser kestrels and Red-footed falcons. Whilst in Falsterbo (looks similar to Norfolk he says) one year and with an easterly wind blowing around 2800 Honey Buzzards flew over and other species seen regularly migrating south are Ospreys, Rough-legged buzzards, White-tailed Eagles, Goshawks, Kestrels, Sparrow hawks and Pallid harriers.
At the Gibraltar observation point you are likely to see Black kites, Booted eagles and Short-toed eagles, Honey Buzzards and potentially around 28 different species of raptor have been recorded crossing this short stretch of sea as they head towards Africa.
In all this was a fascinating talk from Steve and his knowledge is truly amazing and his photographs clearly illustrated the range of different raptors around the world. I think we all learnt a great deal more about these birds but as time was getting on we could not ask many questions but we did find out that his favourite raptors are Hobby and Goshawk - I think one or two members find these birds pretty appealing too!
Many thanks to Steve for such a fantastic evening and luckily for us he’s agreed to come and talk to the group next year too - so look out for further information later this year.