Tuesday, 29 March 2011
More Buzzards (updated 01/04/11 - improved footage)
This time with sound and in filmed in Full HD.
It is worth taking a look at the start of the clip to see the squirrels facial expression when it realises a buzzard is close by. A hungry buzzard would happily have a small squirrel for dinner.
Also of interest for anyone who doubts the theory of birds being ancestors of dinosaurs should take a look at the close up footage of the buzzards scaly feet and claws. They could easily be mistaken as belonging to a miniature Velociraptor. Take a look at 5.36 on the video.
The squirrel and small birds have become used to eating the food left for the buzzard. What they may not realise is that whereas they like pastry and pasta, the buzzard likes minced meat. If I was really evil and wanted to create a ‘live kill’ zone I could stop providing meat for the buzzard but keep on providing pastry for the smaller animals. The buzzard has little time for pastry and it is highly probable it would soon start to view the animals eating the pasta as potential meat. This would make them easy prey as they are sitting targets for the buzzards perched above observing the situation.
Right at the end of the clip you will see two buzzards fly in and take to the trees - blink and you will miss it! It is interesting to observe how the dominant buzzard appears quite happy to allow squirrels and other birds share the food on the ground. It is probably because he is the main meat eater and the others on the whole go for the pastry but when the other buzzard tries to go for a bite to eat in that spot all hell breaks loose and he/she gets chased away. That must be what is known as the pecking order?
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10 comments:
Cautious innit. Do they have predators?
As far as I know there are no natural predators of adult buzzards in the Britain. Chicks eggs could well be predated on by stoats - but they would have to be brave and good climbers to reach the buzzards nest which are usually built in tall trees. There is of course un-natural predators such as humans with guns or poison and I suppose if a buzzard was eating in a forest area like featured in the video it could be pounced upon by a stealthy fox or dog.
Foxes generally eat what they can scrounge or go for easy targets. Unlikely they'd go for something with talons like that.
Brilliant footage though and far more significant as it was taken in the middle of a mssive conurbation as opposed to inaccessible nowhere.
Excellent video of the Buzzard, best I`ve seen. Stick to wildlife photography and forget the politics.
What a beauty. Having an eye on either side of the head obviously gives more panoramic vision and makes life safer for them when in a vulnerable position like this.
That hawk would tear the eye from your head if you approached it when it was feeding its young.
It's a falcon.
You are disrupting nature by feeding it. It is a natural predator and if you stop it hunting by feeding it you will allow the prey it usually eats to multiply out of control.
Major wildlife organisations like the RSPB encourage people to feed birds. This meat, like seeds, nuts, etc for smaller species is supplemantary to bird's diet. Survival has been bred into this extremely proliferous and successful species of creature, the bird, for over 100 million years and they won't become over dependent or reliant on one food source.
Buzzards are well known for killing newborn lambs at this time of year. If a farmer saw this bird near his flock he would blast it to bits with his 12 guage.
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