20/02/2021- my first ever Common Buzzard sighting. Now I know this may not seem like much of an exciting sighting for some birdwatchers, but it was certainly thrilling for me!
My mother and I had decided to go on a longer walk than usual to some neighbouring woodland, and this woodland had many more bird species than my local park, and one I was aware of was the Common Buzzard. We had never seen the Buzzard on our walks.
It was just as we were walking through some open fields, staring upwards in eager anticipation with my camera that just out of the corner of my eye I could see a larger shadowy figure gliding across the sky. Immediately I knew this wasn't a crow as this bird took many less 'flaps', and had a greater wingspan. This bird flew into view and I couldn't believe it- a Buzzard, not one but 2 as another shortly followed.
I had only ever seen birds of prey (like hawks) on the side of the motorway, so to see 2 Common Buzzards directly above was incredible. This was a breeding pair of Buzzards that have lived in the area for quite some time, and today they were hungry. The Buzzards began to fly above an area of woodland bordering the open field, one would swoop downwards in order to scare their prey (pigeons etc) into the open field, exposing them whilst the other hung back to attack. We didn't see the Buzzards catch or kill any prey, but by watching their movements you could tell how well adapted they were to dominate the sky.
The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) actually has 28 sub species, and is often called the Tourist's eagle as many think they've spotted an eagle when in fact it is the Common Buzzard, fooled by its large size.
15- 22 inches in length, and with a 42-53 inch wingspan and brown mottled feathers, this makes Buzzards easily camouflaged and large enough to overwhelm their prey, securing a hearty meal. Interestingly though, the male weighs less than the female meaning the males have a slightly better speed advantage than the females even though both weight roughly 1-3 lbs.
Common Buzzards eat mice, voles, reptiles, pigeons and carrion crow, and the pair I saw will soon be entering breeding season, which is March to May. The male Buzzard builds the nest on the edge of woodland usually from twigs, branches, leaves or heather if available and the pair breed for life and use the same nest each year, reinforcing its strength each breeding season. The female lays around 2/3/4 eggs that have an incubation period of 33 -38 days, and then once hatched the chicks gain feathers at 50-60 days old, and by 14 -16 weeks the chicks are ready and strong enough to fend for themselves. I hope that if this pair does have chicks, they will can live up to 25 years (normally around 12 years though)!!
However, the Common Buzzard doesn't have a set migratory pattern meaning it is a partial migrant as the individuals migrate depending on their habitat and its conditions. Buzzards are often found temperate climates from woodlands to cities, and sub species of Common Buzzard have their own patterns, meaning it is a bit difficult to predict exactly where a new pair of Common Buzzards will or won't migrate to, but Common Buzzards in the UK can be seen all year round. So hopefully I'll be seeing much more of my Common Buzzard pair throughout the year!
Thankfully, the Common Buzzard is of least conservation concern with 60,000 to 70,000 resident pairs, and has a stable population even though it still faces threats. Threats faced are other predators such as foxes (and eagles and wildcats in the appropriate areas), but across the UK the most threat they face is eating poisoned bait meant for foxes and habitation loss due to woodland deforestation. This demonstrates how human involvement is straining even the Common Buzzard species and countless others indirectly. Another source of concern that shows our need to maintain and preserve our environment is that if the Common Buzzard prey population falls, then this could lead to starvation and a fall in Buzzard population as there is less prey for them to consume. Now although this isn't an imminent threat, this could be a real concern in the future!
But it wasn't always like that, in the early 1900's they killed by gamekeepers as the Buzzards would hunt they would their pheasants and grouse, leaving as few as 1,000 breeding pairs in the UK. Killing Buzzards is now illegal, but activity does still continue and organizations are campaigning and surveying the countryside to stop the illegal culling of Buzzards, as well as other raptors that are seen as threats as they endanger young pheasants of farmers or kill grouse that are used in game hunting.
Another threat the Buzzards have overcome is the spread of the myxomatosis virus. In the UK in 1953, it wiped out 99% of the population of rabbits, cutting off the Common Buzzard's main food supply resulting in a sharp decline in Buzzard population too. The use of organochlorine pesticides in the 1950's to mid 1960's affected the Buzzard's ability to reproduce and meant the Buzzard population was a sixth of what it is today!
This is an incredible bounceback for a bird species, and there is hope that further 'rewilding' of other bird and mammal species can increase e.g beaver numbers in the UK etc.
Appreciate Buzzards, that's my message!!
Outdoorsy Anna