Paul_B
Well-known member
We have quite a few buzzards, escapee and now breeding goshawks, sparrow hawks, kestrels and peregrines.
Wow, Col, easker1
A quick troll through YouTube
Never seen one take live food ever
No but I've seen a program set near a quarry and cement works in Germany, where a pair of Eagle owls caught and devoured several Buzzards. The remains were scattered below the nest in a pine forest.Has anyone seen one of the Eagle Owls that are supposed to becoming regular stayers in the UK?
Bottom line is Buzzards are predominantly carrion feeders.
Not the wrong adjective at all.Wrong adjective. They are opportunistic carrion feeders. If there is carrion, they will feed on it. If there is not, they will hunt - like the birds of prey they clearly are.
Col
Not the wrong adjective at all.
Buzzards are more likely to feed on carrion first and foremost.
If none (carrion) available then they might hunt, hence the lazy hunter comment.
Bert
Release pens full of game birds is not natural thus easy pickings just the same as reservoirs full of trout is easy pickings for fish eating birdsIs wrong adjective. It makes for a sweeping and inaccurate statement. What they mostly feed on will vary from place to place, depending on what is available locally. Ones that live where carrion is plentiful might live predominantly on carrion. Ones that live where there is very little carrion available, but plenty live food will predominantly hunt - for example pheasant rearers having issues with buzzards. When any bird of prey hunts, the last thing it can be described as is 'lazy'. Buzzards are birds of prey, not vultures.
Col
Release pens full of game birds is not natural thus easy pickings just the same as reservoirs full of trout is easy pickings for fish eating birds