The Buzz #2
I’m still admiring the Stover Country Park Buzzard.
It’s a glorious bird and seems oblivious to the crowd of people on the aerial walkway who are fascinated by it:
It’s entirely focussed on the potential food below. There’s a mixture of mice, rats and Squirrels to tempt it:
It’s often covered by branches, has its back to us, is obscured by a tree-trunk or silhouetted against the sun in the most frustrating way possible. Luckily today it’s giving wonderful views.
Buzzards are routinely persecuted by gamekeepers employed by rich landowners in Britain, with illegal traps, poisoned bait and shotgun blasts. Here’s a classic example ‘Norfolk buzzard poisoning gamekeeper sentenced‘:
Here it is in Scotland, ‘Rare birds poisoning toll reaches 16’.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-26871358/rare-birds-poisoning-toll-reaches-16
And it’s not just Buzzards which are endangered by illegally kept poisons: ‘Dogs and buzzards die after being deliberately poisoned’.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-44039176
Why are they targeted? Mainly to increase the multi-million pound profits from shooting pheasant and grouse.
I think Buzzards deserve protection and not persecution. What do you think?
More Buzzards
Buzzard over the garden I'm currently chicken-sitting for my friends in Oxfordshire and enjoying an egg or two. Their enclosure is larger than my… read more
Landing precision The Common Buzzard is quite a large bird, with broad, rounded wings and a short neck and tail. We're waiting… read more
Buteo buteo Watching a Buzzard being mobbed is always a fascinating experience. This one has two Carrion Crows in close attendance. They… read more
The remains of a meal There's a Common Buzzard on the banks of the River Dart. We're enjoying great views of it from the small… read more
Fixed with a piercing stare I'm watching a Long-Tailed Bushtit's nest from 20 metres away when I notice a Buzzard heading straight towards me. Those… read more
A Buzzard with its Crow shadow Mobbing is something Carrion Crows manage to do on their own, without the need of a mob. There's little rest… read more
The Buzzard and its shadow Buzzards are regal. They must be, because they bring with them a retinue wherever they go. Here's one with its… read more
Pale There's a very pale Common Buzzard flying around me. Its breast and underwings are almost cream rather than dark brown.… read more
The waterworks Buzzard On a previous walk through the industrial estate I met a couple who said they'd seen a Buzzard at the… read more