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What Do Raptors Have For Breakfast.


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By Robin Page11:35AM BST 16 Jun 2011

What does a buzzard have for breakfast? I ask because, if put to a member of the Conservation Trust , the answer would be “worms and carrionâ€.

There are only two things wrong with this answer. During the almost rainless past three months, worms have been nowhere near the surface of the soil – consequently they are off the diet sheet. And what about carrion? Well, thanks to idiotic EU regulations, no dead animals are allowed on farms. They have to be collected up and incinerated as soon as they have breathed their last.

So what do buzzards really eat for breakfast? There is certainly very little carrion. Incidentally, and amazingly, nearly all Scotland’s “fallen stockâ€(animals that die on farms) are transported down to an incinerator near Halifax to be burned. How “green†is that? And what a weird and deathly carbon footprint.

The same question could also be asked of the red kite and, of course, buzzard; and red kite populations are booming. So, if worms and carrion are not on the menu, what are they eating?

During the RSPB’s attempt to introduce sea eagles to Suffolk, the same “worms and carrion†response would have been given as the eagle’s expected East Anglian diet. When I asked an RSPB warden what carrion would be eaten, as farms have to be corpse-free these days, he said: “Roadkill.â€

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Astonished, I asked: “You mean flattened hedgehogs?†To which he replied “Yes.â€

A sea eagle eating a flattened hedgehog on the side of the A47 to Norwich? Even if he wasn’t joking it was certainly a very good joke.

Why won’t conservationists come clean about what predators, including raptors, actually eat?

Victorian ornithologists had no qualms. They simply went out, shot the bird they wished to write about and investigated the contents of the unfortunate victim’s stomach. Consequently, the old records show a far wider range of diet for buzzards and red kites than worms and carrion.

Similarly, as far as I am aware, there is no record of a Victorian sea eagle ever eating a hedgehog, flattened or otherwise. Of course, with current nest-filming technology available and well used, the conservationists know exactly what our birds of prey are eating and feeding their young; they simply choose not to tell us.

Sometimes snippets of information do creep out. Hence last year there was much jollity. At every failed hen harrier’s nest it is normal for the Conservation Trust to blame gamekeepers.

Unfortunately, last year, cameras at nests showed one family of chicks being eaten by a fox and at another, the brooding hen bird being carried off by an eagle owl.

Well, fancy that – the RSPB wanted sea eagles in East Anglia but they don’t want eagle owls in the Forest of Bowland.

Over recent weeks I have heard some most astonishing dietary tales. In Cheshire, a pigeon fancier was horrified to see one of his best racing pigeons caught in the air and brought down by a sparrowhawk. As the hawk was about to begin its meal: “Suddenly, from nowhere, a buzzard swept in at speed, killing the sparrowhawk with one blow and then coming back and taking the pigeon.â€

On the Isle of Wight a month ago I met a knowledgeable country-woman, Sheila Hiscox, who has seen four red squirrels taken from her garden by buzzards.

She pointed to a tree, saying: “You see that forked tree? That is the killing post for them. They disembowel them there. Of course they scream. I don’t know if you have ever heard a squirrel scream as it’s being killed – it’s worse than a rabbit. It is so distressing because you know that you really cannot afford to lose them.â€

Astonishingly, there are “conservationists†on the island who refuse to believe Sheila’s eyewitness account – including a member of staff at the National Trust. Why?

Give us the facts

Near Newport in Wales is an area of wetland created in mitigation for the development of Cardiff Bay. The lapwings there are rearing hardly any young because of predation by buzzards.

Now what about the red kite? I love red kites and many years ago made a pilgrimage, almost, to Tregaron in Wales, when kites were very rare.

But worms and carrion? Norman Day, a reader of this column, has informed me that he was having coffee with three friends in Bedfordshire recently when a red kite being pestered by swallows came into view:

“To our surprise, the kite took one of these birds and then another, all in the space of a couple of minutes. One escaped, but the other could clearly be seen grasped tightly in the kite’s talons as it flew off.

“Had I been alone, I might have thought this was a trick of the eye or the effect of consuming too much of my friend’s home-brew the night before. The fact is that four of us witnessed the event.

“I sought an opinion from the RSPB (I am a member). Was this normal behaviour or something out of the ordinary; a rogue kite in Bedfordshire? It comes as no surprise that I have not had a response – not good for membership retention to cast doubt on the red kite’s impeccable credentials.â€

In addition to all this, several readers have told me tales of both buzzards and kites taking ducklings from water – carrying one off and then coming back for another and then another. The point is a simple one: “worms†and “carrionâ€? As Lulu once famously said, “they eat whatever they are carryingâ€.

So please, members of the Conservation Trust – simply give us the facts about our predators and birds of prey. One question I would like answered ought to be easy: are the booming populations of buzzards and red kites having an impact on any other types of wildlife – apart, of course, from worms?

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By Robin Page11:35AM BST 16 Jun 2011

What does a buzzard have for breakfast? I ask because, if put to a member of the Conservation Trust , the answer would be “worms and carrionâ€.

There are only two things wrong with this answer. During the almost rainless past three months, worms have been nowhere near the surface of the soil – consequently they are off the diet sheet. And what about carrion? Well, thanks to idiotic EU regulations, no dead animals are allowed on farms. They have to be collected up and incinerated as soon as they have breathed their last.

So what do buzzards really eat for breakfast? There is certainly very little carrion. Incidentally, and amazingly, nearly all Scotland’s “fallen stockâ€(animals that die on farms) are transported down to an incinerator near Halifax to be burned. How “green†is that? And what a weird and deathly carbon footprint.

The same question could also be asked of the red kite and, of course, buzzard; and red kite populations are booming. So, if worms and carrion are not on the menu, what are they eating?

During the RSPB’s attempt to introduce sea eagles to Suffolk, the same “worms and carrion†response would have been given as the eagle’s expected East Anglian diet. When I asked an RSPB warden what carrion would be eaten, as farms have to be corpse-free these days, he said: “Roadkill.â€

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Astonished, I asked: “You mean flattened hedgehogs?†To which he replied “Yes.â€

A sea eagle eating a flattened hedgehog on the side of the A47 to Norwich? Even if he wasn’t joking it was certainly a very good joke.

Why won’t conservationists come clean about what predators, including raptors, actually eat?

Victorian ornithologists had no qualms. They simply went out, shot the bird they wished to write about and investigated the contents of the unfortunate victim’s stomach. Consequently, the old records show a far wider range of diet for buzzards and red kites than worms and carrion.

Similarly, as far as I am aware, there is no record of a Victorian sea eagle ever eating a hedgehog, flattened or otherwise. Of course, with current nest-filming technology available and well used, the conservationists know exactly what our birds of prey are eating and feeding their young; they simply choose not to tell us.

Sometimes snippets of information do creep out. Hence last year there was much jollity. At every failed hen harrier’s nest it is normal for the Conservation Trust to blame gamekeepers.

Unfortunately, last year, cameras at nests showed one family of chicks being eaten by a fox and at another, the brooding hen bird being carried off by an eagle owl.

Well, fancy that – the RSPB wanted sea eagles in East Anglia but they don’t want eagle owls in the Forest of Bowland.

Over recent weeks I have heard some most astonishing dietary tales. In Cheshire, a pigeon fancier was horrified to see one of his best racing pigeons caught in the air and brought down by a sparrowhawk. As the hawk was about to begin its meal: “Suddenly, from nowhere, a buzzard swept in at speed, killing the sparrowhawk with one blow and then coming back and taking the pigeon.â€

On the Isle of Wight a month ago I met a knowledgeable country-woman, Sheila Hiscox, who has seen four red squirrels taken from her garden by buzzards.

She pointed to a tree, saying: “You see that forked tree? That is the killing post for them. They disembowel them there. Of course they scream. I don’t know if you have ever heard a squirrel scream as it’s being killed – it’s worse than a rabbit. It is so distressing because you know that you really cannot afford to lose them.â€

Astonishingly, there are “conservationists†on the island who refuse to believe Sheila’s eyewitness account – including a member of staff at the National Trust. Why?

Give us the facts

Near Newport in Wales is an area of wetland created in mitigation for the development of Cardiff Bay. The lapwings there are rearing hardly any young because of predation by buzzards.

Now what about the red kite? I love red kites and many years ago made a pilgrimage, almost, to Tregaron in Wales, when kites were very rare.

But worms and carrion? Norman Day, a reader of this column, has informed me that he was having coffee with three friends in Bedfordshire recently when a red kite being pestered by swallows came into view:

“To our surprise, the kite took one of these birds and then another, all in the space of a couple of minutes. One escaped, but the other could clearly be seen grasped tightly in the kite’s talons as it flew off.

“Had I been alone, I might have thought this was a trick of the eye or the effect of consuming too much of my friend’s home-brew the night before. The fact is that four of us witnessed the event.

“I sought an opinion from the RSPB (I am a member). Was this normal behaviour or something out of the ordinary; a rogue kite in Bedfordshire? It comes as no surprise that I have not had a response – not good for membership retention to cast doubt on the red kite’s impeccable credentials.â€

In addition to all this, several readers have told me tales of both buzzards and kites taking ducklings from water – carrying one off and then coming back for another and then another. The point is a simple one: “worms†and “carrionâ€? As Lulu once famously said, “they eat whatever they are carryingâ€.

So please, members of the Conservation Trust – simply give us the facts about our predators and birds of prey. One question I would like answered ought to be easy: are the booming populations of buzzards and red kites having an impact on any other types of wildlife – apart, of course, from worms?

well put emoticon-0137-clapping.gif

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Very good read by Robin Page, You'll notice that was a quote from 2011, we haven't seen much of him since,I wonder why. I know he has sheep as we do and this discussion has been on going in our house for years. A dead sheep on the field will be bones and fleece in 3 days why the need for incineration? We have Buzzard and Red Kite here every day and the only way they prosper is we have licensed feeding stations that feed them daily, In over 30yrs. here I have never had an attack by these birds, they are genuine carrion feeders.

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Very good read by Robin Page, You'll notice that was a quote from 2011, we haven't seen much of him since,I wonder why. I know he has sheep as we do and this discussion has been on going in our house for years. A dead sheep on the field will be bones and fleece in 3 days why the need for incineration? We have Buzzard and Red Kite here every day and the only way they prosper is we have licensed feeding stations that feed them daily, In over 30yrs. here I have never had an attack by these birds, they are genuine carrion feeders.

 

 

Sorry to disagree I thought the same till a Buzzard had a YB at my loft this year took it clean out of the sky and it was my oldest YB the first one I rung

Watch them take the young rabbits no problem even saw one with a stoat which was still living but not for long

 

Red kite no problem yet !!!!!!!!

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Sorry to disagree I thought the same till a Buzzard had a YB at my loft this year took it clean out of the sky and it was my oldest YB the first one I rung

Watch them take the young rabbits no problem even saw one with a stoat which was still living but not for long

 

Red kite no problem yet !!!!!!!!

 

That does shock me Ian, As a lifelong Birdie I really can't imagine a Buzzard catching any pigeon in the air let alone a youngster emoticon-0127-lipssealed.gif

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That does shock me Ian, As a lifelong Birdie I really can't imagine a Buzzard catching any pigeon in the air let alone a youngster emoticon-0127-lipssealed.gif

 

 

I like you was shocked but as they say been there done it got the T shirt

 

Hit it in the air to bring it down and it was on it in a flash

 

Spoke to my gamekeeper friend and he was not surprise they take the pheasants as well when they are in pens before release

 

I have had buzzards here for 24yr and this was a first for me

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I have heard of this before and I always thought Buzzards took rabbits, etc.

 

Let's face it, if we were capable of surviving in the wild and our food source of berries, etc was decimated we would survive by adaptation and find something else to eat. Animals are no different. In the case of BOP, their territories are decreasing, therefore so is their food supply. They have to adapt. If they totally strip an area, they have to increase their range by attacking their neighbour, just like tribal warfare, or move to pastures new, but that will also involve fighting for the new territory.

 

These adaptations, peregrines attacking at lofts Sparrowhawk fashion, etc are all signs that they are becoming more desperate. The predators are going to have to predate on weaker predators down the line.

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I have heard of this before and I always thought Buzzards took rabbits, etc.

 

Let's face it, if we were capable of surviving in the wild and our food source of berries, etc was decimated we would survive by adaptation and find something else to eat. Animals are no different. In the case of BOP, their territories are decreasing, therefore so is their food supply. They have to adapt. If they totally strip an area, they have to increase their range by attacking their neighbour, just like tribal warfare, or move to pastures new, but that will also involve fighting for the new territory.

 

These adaptations, peregrines attacking at lofts Sparrowhawk fashion, etc are all signs that they are becoming more desperate. The predators are going to have to predate on weaker predators down the line.

Kyleakin,the reason they are taking pigeons from lofts is because they are a lot easier to catch. And as far as becoming desperate there are more wood pigeons about now than there ever was ,what is needing is to bring back the gamekeepers
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I have heard of this before and I always thought Buzzards took rabbits, etc.

 

Let's face it, if we were capable of surviving in the wild and our food source of berries, etc was decimated we would survive by adaptation and find something else to eat. Animals are no different. In the case of BOP, their territories are decreasing, therefore so is their food supply. They have to adapt. If they totally strip an area, they have to increase their range by attacking their neighbour, just like tribal warfare, or move to pastures new, but that will also involve fighting for the new territory.

 

These adaptations, peregrines attacking at lofts Sparrowhawk fashion, etc are all signs that they are becoming more desperate. The predators are going to have to predate on weaker predators down the line.

Too many of them competing for food, the numbers have escalated hugely in last 20 years

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