B is for Buzzard/Buteo

Buzzard (Buteo Buteo)

The buzzard is commonly known as the ‘tourist eagle’ by birdwatchers, because people holidaying in the mountain wildernesses of the UK in search of our largest raptors are often fooled by the buzzard’s appearance. To the informed birdwatcher the buzzard used to be exciting in itself as they once occurred in only a few rural areas in the UK, a victim of the accidental and deliberate persecution of all of Britain’s raptors. I was always excited to see them on my holidays to Cornwall.

Thankfully you don’t have to go out on a limb to see buzzards any more. In fact they’re one of the UK’s greatest conservation success stories, being our most common raptor,  but they have largely been eclipsed by their more enigmatic cousin, the Red Kite Milvus milvus . Nicely for me, it is one of the changes I’ve seen happen within my lifetime. Their broad frame can soar into view even in the middle of towns and agricultural fields across the nation.

The buzzard’s success is largely because they are not fussy eaters. They’re not too proud to pass up carrion, worms and beetles, alongside reptiles, frogs, small mammals and birds. They are often thought of as ‘lazy’ or mostly scavengers (possibly why Americans named vultures after them). In fact they are capable and powerful predators, taking down woodpigeons and rabbits, comparatively large prey and are even recorded preying on kestrels¹. Anyway, even the ‘proud’ eagle is an avid scavenger, as are most other large predators. Being such a generalist is a winning strategy, because it means that buzzards don’t have to be territorial to find enough food (except during the breeding season, when they also have to feed chicks), and as a result you can see gatherings of buzzards in some places, gliding on thermals or, as reported by one of my university friends, searching for worms in ploughed fields.

Buzzards even show a kind of “lekking” behaviour when courting, as several individuals from nearby areas come together in a flock to display to each other (I was astounded to see 18 buzzards doing this over my University campus!).

It also turns out that being common gets you lots of friends. Buzzards became famous in the news this year as plans to control them on pheasant shooting estates were proposed by our wise (irony!) Environment Secretary. The plan was to make it legal to destroy buzzard nests and take them into captivity if they were thought to be causing a problem by eating young pheasants which the gamekeepers released into their forests. This was shocking, since a) “control” by gamekeepers was a major reason that most British raptor species declined in the first place and b) all UK raptors are equally legally protected from such “control” by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the tourist eagle has the same protection as real eagles*). Not to mention that c) independent research found that raptors in general were only responsible for around 3% of pheasant deaths, how much of this is buzzards is unknown².

Fortunately for the buzzards, they were well-known and loved by Joe public, who rallied an appalled and vociferous opposition against the plans, and won their case, hands-down only a few days after the press release. Thank God for democracy!**
So let us celebrate the buzzard. The common raptor for the common people. Long may they circle our skies!

There are two other “Buzzards” in the UK. These are the rough-leeged buzzard (Buteo lagopus), an occasional visitor from the arctic which has a white, black-tipped tail and feathered legs, and the honey buzzard (Pernis apivorous), a summer visitor from Africa which is not a true buzzard and prefers wasp larvae to bee’s honey.

*Except, importantly it is illegal to destroy an eagle or osprey’s nest at any time of year since they use them annually. Buzzards do not, so their unused nests are not protected.

**AN UPDATE -Since the time of writing it has surfaced that Natural England issued licenses to destroy 4 buzzard nests. This was conducted in secrecy, but fortunately has recieved media attention and started further public outcry

References

¹ Darren Naish. (2012) Raptor vs Raptor. Available from: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/04/26/raptor-vs-raptor/

² BASC (no date) Birds of Prey and Pheasants at Release Pens. A Practical Guide for Game Managers and Gamekeepers. Available from: http://www.basc.org.uk/en/utilities/document-summary.cfm/docid/0ED97AE3-2C65-4B50-B6976A55717073D2