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Raptors


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I'm always fascinated by the raptors (buzzards, kites, or whatever they are) circling as singletons or pairs (or more), riding the thermals, and drifting with the wind. I suppose their prey is smaller birds and ground-based mammals, but I've never actually seen one swoop or drop for the kill - anyone witnessed this spectacle?

Chris

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Yes I've had first hand experience ,when a buzzard came down into the garden to take one of our chicks. Not a pleasant experience,but I wouldn't be without them. Now we keep the chicks enclosed until they're big enough. I've also seen them flying off with quite large snakes in their talons.

W Rat

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My OH and I were sitting on our terrace watching a little covey of partridges when a buzzard plummeted out of the sky and caught one of them. It was amazing to see its huge wings spread out and acting as stablisers while it was on the ground. My OH ran at it and shouted and clapped his hands and the buzard left a lame partridge behind. I've no idea whether or not it survived long term though.

Hoddy
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[quote user="Hoddy"]It was amazing to see its huge

wings spread out and acting as stablisers while it was on the ground. [/quote]

If you mean the buzzard hunched over the partridge and surrounded the bird with

its wings, that is instinctive behaviour and is called mantling – it covers the

kill and prevents other birds or animals nipping in and nicking it.

I'm with Steve, though. There's no logic in your OH's behaviour (which I’m sure

you know). If your OH didn't want the buzzard to eat it follows that he'd be

unconcerned if it was starving to death in front of him? Buzzard catching a

meal is the natural order of things, and it takes patience and effort to catch

something. It’s a shame that effort was wasted. On the other hand, stopping well-fed

cats killing birds is fine! [;-)]

Kites, buzzards etc certainly are scavengers and around

here, dependent somewhat on the season and the weather conditions, I’m as

likely to see buzzards looking for worms in fields as sitting on a telegraph

pole awaiting a passing rodent.

Probably the most exciting natural sight I’ve seen was a

peregrine falcon stoop (dive) from a great height, knock a pigeon out of the

sky and then retrieve it from the ground. It was absolutely heart-stopping, thrilling.

The birds can reach speeds of more than 175 mph and then pull up to land safely.

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Why did he do it ?

He's a softie - as my French neighbour put it, "Il es plus delicat comme vous !"

Mostly I think it was just that we were enjoying watching the partridge and he reacted without thinking. I gave him the necessary talking to at the time.

Hoddy

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I was talking to my wife a few days ago saying in all my years of watching kestrels I had never seen one plummet to the ground only ever hovering. Then I saw one dive but I couldn't tell if it had caught anything. A couple of days later I was driving the car when a kestrel dived on something on the side of the road. And this time I saw it fly off with its prey. I also am fascinated by these birds, I love watching the buzzards around here, they hardly ever flap their wings and on days like today they fly so high they are practically out of sight.
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I know we shouldn't be too pink and fluffy about la France profonde, but in England the most exciting birds (or wildlife of any sort) I see is a Bullfinch. In France I see loads. In fact there was a pheasant wandering about our garden a few weeks ago. According to my neighbour it had escaped, they are bred for the chasse. Dopey birds, often seen wandering along the roads.

Also see red squirrels, which is nice, all sorts of birds (including our own cheeky Robin) and on one occasion two escaped cows.

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"One day last summer I saw seven buzzards in a group for a period of about 10 minutes before they dispersed, normally there are only two or three together at most.  Was the large group unusual?"

I've only ever seen 2 or 3 together, but the area isn't particularly prey-rich, I suspect, unless they learn how to gang up on cows.

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[quote user="water rat"]

 I've also seen them flying off with quite large snakes in their talons.

W Rat

[/quote]

Unlikely to be a buzzard, more likely a Short-Toed Snake eagle  - Circaëte Jean Le-Blanc. Similar looking to a buzzard and as variable in colour, although slightly larger

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I don't think that seven European Buzzards soaring together in a thermal is unusual. Here in the Combrailles I rarely see more than three or four in one thermal, even though we have a lot of buzzards in the area. Seven together on the Hampshire/Wiltshire borders was quite commonplace. On one occasion we watched six European Buzzards and one Honey Buzzard soaring together in a thermal. One of our greatest thrills was a few years ago near the Cévennes, where we estimated a flock of Black Kites we were watching to contain over fifty individuals
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[quote user="Dick Smith"]I know we shouldn't be too pink and fluffy about la France profonde, but in England the most exciting birds (or wildlife of any sort) I see is a Bullfinch. [/quote]

I'm surpised you don't have a bigger variety of birds visit in the UK, Dick.  Despite being rather suburban we have a good variety and also have the pleasure of watching the red kites soar on the thermals. Last night we watched a  fox just saunter down the road......

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[quote user="Dick Smith"]I know we shouldn't be too pink and fluffy about la France profonde,[/quote] Why not Dick? I don't mind, and nor do most people on here, when it comes to wildlife.

At our last house here we had a balcony overlooking a valley, and there was one huge tree whose top was at eye level, not far away. Some kestrels built a nest there and we watched the story unfold, until eventually the three young ones flew off. Except for one, who got blown to the ground in a massive thunderstorm. Later I went to find it but it was dead [:(]

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Thank you Christine. As it happens I made him a cheesecake this very afternoon - one of those with a whole can of condensed milk in. Not very haute cuisine I know, but he loves them

Dick, we have loads of pheasants in the field at the back of us in the UK. I'm sure that they were originally bred for a shoot somewhere, but now there are loads of them undisturbed. It's interesting to notice the different markings because there appears to be a much wider difference between individuals. I suppose it's because they're not 'proper' wild birds.

Hoddy
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That's probably where they came from. I think that may be the case on the Yorkshire/County Durham border, too. There are just too many to be a wild population.

I once saw a Golden Pheasant (from a train) in Yorkshire, and that would be fairly unlikely as a wild bird. Very beautiful, but very daft.

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I'm a bit knackered after a very long day out with a group, so please excuse me while I try to cope with 3 pages.

Peregrines will only be found where there are either rock faces or in cities where normally, but not always, they have been introduced to control town pigeons where they use tall buildings instead of rock faces. So, if you see a bird take a pigeon or dove outside of those habitats it will almost certainly be a Goshawk, which is of course a much larger bird.

Buzzards and Black or Red Kites will take both living prey and carrion, opportunistic and not too fussy.

As, sorry I can't remember who, said earlier the Long toed eagle is the specialist snake eater but I have heard of other instances where a Buzzard has taken them.

Large groups of Buzzards, Black or Red kites are not unusual and you will often see them soaring or perched together in large mixed groups with possibly the odd eagle in proximity. In fact in Autumn these groups as with Hen and Montagu's Harriers can easily exceed 100 birds and sometimes 200 or more.

Chris

 

 

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