Bird ID ?

[SmartWombat]

It's now definitely NOT summer here in Europe.
And I think the first guy here belongs to the genus "little brown thing"
Spotted on the Moseltalbruecke, several hundred feet above the valley of the Mosel.
Kept darting out to catch flies and then returning to the bridge.
Too easy to say it's a flycatcher

Second one I looked up, saw the movement, and tried to keep the 400mm on it.
I think this is the only one that might be useful for an ID.
I'm not at all familiar with German birds of prey.

[paulnj]

Sorry can't help with birds in that area, but the raptor looks very much like a roughlegged hawk buteo lagapus or possibly a long legged buzzard buteo rufinus.

[readingr]

Paul,

Just got my bird book from Amazon and it has a picture of a Buzzard Buteo buteo which identical to this bird.

The little thing looks like a Garden warbler or a juvenille Robin. Possibly but highly unlikely a Nightingale by the colouring but the tail looks all wrong from these shots - it should stick up according to my book.

Roger

Roger

[paulnj]

I do believe you're correct on buteo buteo, but dark morph roughlegged hawks look very close to that, as do the other buzzards. I couldn't find the birds of germany to check what raptors live there.

[SmartWombat]

but the tail looks all wrong from these shots - it should stick up according to my book.

Tail definitely didn't stick up.

[readingr]

Paul,

In my European book it shows the Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus to have a lighter underwing than that photographed and that the light foward patches going across the body from wing to wing is only on the Buzzard Buteo buteo .

Spent some more time reading last night and another possibility for the little one is the female Stonechat which has more of the feeding habit you describe.

Roger

[Tonny]

it's interesting.the little one is like a sparrow,.