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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Kate Blincoe

Country diary: Dinner time for the buzzard family is not a dignified affair

Trail cam footage of the juvenile buzzards scrapping on a hay bale.
Trail cam footage of the juvenile buzzards scrapping on a hay bale. Photograph: Chris Skinner

I’m out on the farm most days, but I miss so much. It took a few days to notice a mother mallard with her late brood of 12 ducklings until they were all dabbling in a yard puddle. Dad sees more than me. He told me of the lazy adult buzzard that waited in a tree, then dive-bombed a peregrine that had caught a pigeon. The peregrine dropped its prey, which the buzzard then delivered to a hay bale already strewn with feathers. A pair of juvenile buzzards swiftly followed, ready for a meal.

Later, Dad placed the trail camera at the bale. The young buzzards were soon back in position with yet another dead pigeon. The footage tells a story that many parents will recognise after the long summer holidays.

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