Quote:
Originally Posted by bodshi  It's good to hear so many sightings of kites and buzzards locally. We actually live almost on the border of East, South and North Yorkshire and although since we started to see buzzards locally we have seen quite a lot in surrounding areas (esp by the motorways in the area), we don't see them all that often nearby. What we do have is shooting - game birds in season and pigeons all year round (as well as a clay pigeon shooting range). They shoot in the wood that the buzzards made their base too.
Unusually, we also seem to have very few rabbits about at the moment, we hardly ever see them or their droppings when we're out walking now. The three that were visiting the garden last year all got myxi, so don't know whether it was particularly bad last season. Suppose lack of rabbits will affect the buzzard population? |
Shooting doesn't necessarily mean that they don't want Buzzards - it all depends on how narrow-minded/criminal the keeper is. One of the best Buzzard sites I know is also the most heavily-keepered I've ever seen. The relationship with Rabbits is overstated - Rabbits aren't as hugely common in Scotland as in England, and yet Buzzards are common there. They mainly eat voles, roadkill and worms. But Buzzards (and kites) do need woods to nest in, although these don't have to be very big.