Ellie Crane was enjoying a lunch break with colleagues from Upper Hill School in Portslade yesterday (April 23), when a large bird of prey landed behind them.
The 22-year-old said one of her colleagues first spotted the “majestic” bird.
“There’s a spot outside the school where we all congregate for lunch”, Ellie said. “Suddenly, one of the teaching assistants said ‘what the hell is that? That is not a seagull.’
“We all turned around, and there was this big majestic bird, flapping its feathers.”
‘That is not a seagull’, as one of Ellie’s colleagues put it (Image: Ellie Crane)
Ellie is unsure whether it was a buzzard, or perhaps a red-tailed hawk, but says she and her colleagues were amazed to see it sitting there so calmly.
“It was incredibly domesticated”, Ellie said. “We were sat right next to it and it didn’t move.
“It had a tag around its leg as well, so it’s likely someone’s pet, or it got out from a local animal sanctuary.
“It seemed like an escapee for sure.”
Ellie was on a lunch break with colleagues from Upper Hill School when she saw the bird (Image: Ellie Crane)
The bird then experienced a typically Brightonian encounter, when it became perturbed by a group of seagulls.
“It got bothered by some seagulls and flew away”, Ellie said. “It flew away, my break ended, and I went back inside.
“Still, it’s not every day you see a buzzard on your lunch break!”
Ellie said the bird seemed ‘incredibly domesticated’ (Image: Ellie Crane)
Believing the bird to have escaped from somewhere, Ellie posted some pictures of it on Facebook in the hope that its owner might see them.
In response, some suggested the bird might be a rare hybrid known as a ‘Ferrutail’ – a cross between a red-tailed hawk and a ferruginous hawk – though no one has got in touch with her so far to claim it.
“It’d just be nice for it to get home – whether that’s in a sanctuary, a wildlife centre, or as somebody’s pet”, Ellie said.
“It’s a beautiful bird.”