The buzzard is now our commonest bird of prey, a familiar
sight soaring by the roadsides. After about 150 years of
persecution, the numbers have increased. And even then
it's only in the last fifty years or so that they have made a
comeback. The introduction of the myxomatosis virus in the
1950s to control the number of wild rabbits had the knock-
on effect of decimating the buzzard population. In the space
of a couple of years, their main source of food was virtually
wiped out. At one stage, it was estimated that 99 per cent of
the rabbit population had been destroyed.
Now, you're most likely to see buzzards in the mating
season, which runs from February to March, or when the
young birds are just finding their wings, from June to
August.
If they're not circling overhead at the side of the road,
buzzards can be seen where woodland meets open fields, or
a bit of moorland. They use thermals - upward currents of
warm air, for those of you who didn't listen in Geography -
to soar and circle. If you see two buzzards together, it's most
likely a pair, with the smaller, lighter male generally rising
quicker than the female.
They also like to be near the woods for nesting, and tend
to prefer open ground for hunting. Buzzards are large and
powerful hunters capable of taking adult rabbits, pigeons,
even other birds like crows and coots.
They can hunt in different ways. I've watched a buzzard
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