Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Buzzard Feeding

Just a quick note from North Wales. Just had my best ever view of a Buzzard around 30 feet from the kitchen window. The bird (juvenile) has just spent 20 mins plucking and eating one of two dead Magpies I bagged from the local farmer yesterday. I chucked these out into the field last yesterday in the hopes a fox or badger would come along last night for me to watch, but nothing appeared and the dead birds were untouched this morning. Just as I was making my lunch today in the kitchen the Buzzard glided in and after a quick wary look around started to pluck and then scoff one of the Magpies no more than 30 feet from me. I had fantastic views through the scope of its plucking behaviour and feeding, all rather clumsy due to the bird being a juvenile I assume ? The bird tried to stand on the Magpie but kept falling off when it tugged at the feathers :-)) Surprisingly to me it started on the head and back of the Magpie rather than the breast which I would have assumed it would start with first. The bird also consumed quite a few feathers deliberately with no meat attached this I assume is for roughage ? The bird eventually took off clutching the Magpie in one foot as some live Magpies where starting to mob it. A question on this, do Buzzards have a favorite plucking post like some other birds of prey ?

Its all very strange round here with the farmers and wildlife (or at least the ones I have spoken to so far) most kill every fox on their land as most have sheep and free range chickens so I suppose its understandable even If I don't like it. Most of them also blast any Carrion Crow or Magpie they spot, not as might be thought because of possible stock losses but due they tell me because Crows and Magpies take the small birds they like to see nesting on their land. But unlike most gamekeepers they seem perfectly happy to live and let with birds of prey which is great. The local farmer I got the dead Magpies off yesterday asked me to tell him if any foxes appeared but was perfectly happy if Badgers or Buzzards took the dead Magpies. At least I don't have to tell him any porkies about no foxes appearing.

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