Sorry I’ve entered this debate late. Thanks for the great photos of an adult male Northern Goshawk.
I think we watch birds for several simple pleasures
1. The aesthetic pleasure derived from seeing a bird
2. The intellectual pleasure from categorizing /identifying it
It is clear to me that these 2 objectives are competing for the same (usually) brief window of opportunity particularly when viewing an unfamiliar raptor (you don’t need me to tell you they move quickly and don’t usually hang around).
So much of it is dependent on shape and size; difficult things to be definitive about.
If you are familiar with the raptor you can probably do it easily, most of the time.
If you are abroad, or the raptor is uncommon/rare you are likely to fail in nailing the identification without a photo. The reason being that you are not getting prolonged views and you are extremely unlikely to be prepared adequately because even the best of field guides are not good enough for the complex plumage moults and subtleties of field characteristics.
Take this series of photos of a Harrier I watched on and off for 90 minutes in Northumberland in November. On closer inspection of the photos it seems to have mixed features of a juvenile Hen and Pallid. Subtleties that were impossible to be definitive about in the field.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eye ... 217/in/photostream/
The bottom line is simple. If you really want to id an unfamiliar raptor you are better off getting a digital image.
a. If you are alone and you think you have something good and not barn door (like a Black shouldered Kite) , you are never really likely to take good enough notes unless you really have a photographic memory and the record is never going to be more than a probable unless you produce some sort of digital evidence.
b. If you are lucky enough to be in a group where other people are keen to capture a photographic record; a lot of us would opt to enjoy the moment and let our kind people with the big lenses do the hard stuff, which allows us to id it unequivocally later.
This is clearly progress - in the very old days, the bird would physically just be blasted out of the sky! Times have thankfully moved on.
Eric
P.S. Mr T - I hope you’re still out there in cyber space. You’ve clearly had your feelings bruised from the debate, just another sign of the passion we share for our pastime. We’d all hate not to hear your slant on things.
