I live out in the sticks,  last night driving home I saw 6 quite large birds of prey all sitting on the ground in a field.  This morning there was just one sat there, my dads been over to look today and he counted 5, all on the ground.  Im not sure what birds they are, they are tawny coloured, about the size of a large hare (one was sat next to a hare ) with a bit of white on their front. 

I was just wondering if anyone knew what birds they were and why they would be sitting on the ground so often ? I know they sit on the ground to feed but these were just sitting there with pheasants and hares running all around them.

Buzzards are the most common bird of prey :-)  We've got a few out where I am (keeps the seagulls at bay lol)

Oh it's exciting to see a bird of prey :)  I spotted one on the way to school with my boys, it was in the same place on the way home, and the next day... and the next day. The next day I took my camera, I wanted a pic to help me identify it and it wasn't there :( The next day, without my camera - it was back!!!! It went on like this for a few weeks - if I had my camera it wasn't there, it drove me 'round the bend. If I didn't have my camera it would be there, either sat on a fence post or sat on the ground next to the fence post.
I had been looking on-line to try to figure out what it was, I'm pretty sure it was a Buzzard but I really needed to take a pic of it to be sure. I haven't seen it for a while now :(

I'd imagine the birds are on the floor as they have thier eye on something or know there are animals on the ground they can get. BUT that is only me guessing and I know next-to-nothing about birds!

Sounds like a Buzzard, we have heaps of them up here, sitting on the fence posts etc down the lane, beautiful birds.

Never seen so many together before - must have been something tasty on the ground.  I think the RSPB have an identification section to work out what bird you saw. 

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/

> Buzzards are the most common bird of prey :-)  We've got a few out where I am (keeps the seagulls at bay lol)

Lots of Buzzards here too, I love to watch them :-) I don't know about keeping seagulls at bay though, from their behaviour Buzzards seem almost placid to me, I often watch gulls or crows harassing one and the Buzzard always flies away.

Not sure why they would be sitting on the ground, They're usually in trees around here and only on the ground to feed. Is it possible there was something in the field they were eating? It seems unlikely to see pheasants, hares and Buzzards all in the same patch unless they're all eating something?

Asked an expert and per below he agrees with everyone else on here!

From what you describe it's highly likely that they are buzzards.

This is typical behaviour for buzzards who will flock to exploit opportunity - such as food source. Buzzards are scavengers and will catch & eat the vast majority of there food from the ground - this would also include beetles, earthworms, grubs, etc...

They are buzzards then, thats what they are up to, sitting looking for beetles I expect !!

I love seeing birds of prey, we have a few kites out the back of my house who all call to eachother, and quite often there is a kestrel hovering outside my kitchen window (first floor).

Thanks for all your replies, will have to give my dad a call.

hi they are buzzards...I have counted 20 in one field doing just that.....they are looking for worms or small vertebrates to grab. Being a highly social species they are attracted into groups.....when Im flyimg mine we often attract wild indiginous ones!

Im learning loads today, thanks :)

Did they look like this?

I cant open that :(

I can't now either :-O  Try this shot of them.

lol, I love vultures, I was more excited about seeing vultures in Africa than lions !!

My OH is a bit of a bird freak. We breed alsorts but he also has a massive interest in falcons and hawks. He reckons, like most of the other girls that it would be Buzzards, they feed mainly on carrion, they will group and they are one of our most common hawks.

We're lucky enough to see sparrowhawks around here and there's a guy that regularly flies a Harris in the fields next to us

I photographed a sparrowhawk in my parents garden a few years ago, they come down and pick off the birds that she feeds !

Sadly that's what they do, they are quite light themselves, I've seen one brought down by a pair of Magpies, mind you it made a mess of one of the 'pies' with it's claws.

Sparrowhawks chase their prey down, that's why they're so good at swooping on a bird table :(

Around where I live I see quite few red kites and they will sit on the ground and follow the tractor. When my old dog was alive they would sit on the ground right by her while she dug for mice. She would usually miss the mouse completely but they didn't move even when she gave up and moved off, instead they would wait until she started digging again and move to where she was again.. One of the most wonderful sights I saw was when I was driving through Stokenchurch, there were hundreds of kites all swooping low over the road and then wheeling back up.

I picked up an injured female Peregrine Falcon on the corner of my street early one evening, a couple of years ago.   She was sitting in the gutter and I knew something was wrong because she didn't really move & I've never seen a Peregrine in the area and I knew it was getting late for her to be out.   I maanged to get her into a cat carrier and took her to the Scottish Raptor Centre the next day (Because the SSPCA couldn't be bothered to shift their derriere's) where she was diagnosed with a broken wing.