Buzzard question and other

[wildherbalian85]

Today i was watching 6 or so buzzards over a field and whilst there i saw 2 of them fighting. They kept flying at each other for a while before they did something spectacular................ they locked talons and then did a free fall this was only a for 2 or 3 seconds but was brilliant to watch.

Is this normal behaviour??

Whilst there i also watch one of them hover at an extreamly high hight for around 30 seconds before drifting... the buzzard looked like a small balloon.


Also is it normal for a bird of prey when disturbed whilst enjoying a meal to carry its meal of with it??

[The Woodman]

I witnessed a similar thing two days ago. I pulled up alongside a small bridge over a beck near Tebay and as I got out, my attention was drawn to two Buzzards close by, one chasing the other and being quite vocal. They flew at speed in and out of the trees lining the beck. I didn't give them a second thought after a couple of seconds as they'd gone.

A couple of minutes later, I was standing in the beck close to the bridge taking a GPS reading when I heard the same cry. Looking round, I saw the two Buzzards flying up the beck towards me below the canopy of the trees. They flew over the bridge and saw me. The leading buzzard dropped a snake from its left talon into the beck which landed two metres in front of me and a tuft of grass floated down as they swooped upwards out of the trees just metres above me.

I took one pace forward and flipped the snake onto the bank with my stick. It was a smallish adder, still alive, with its head crushed!

So your answer is yes, Buzzards do carry their meals with them when disturbed, at least by another Buzzard.

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

I witnessed a similar thing two days ago. I pulled up alongside a small bridge over a beck near Tebay and as I got out, my attention was drawn to two Buzzards close by, one chasing the other and being quite vocal. They flew at speed in and out of the trees lining the beck. I didn't give them a second thought after a couple of seconds as they'd gone.

A couple of minutes later, I was standing in the beck close to the bridge taking a GPS reading when I heard the same cry. Looking round, I saw the two Buzzards flying up the beck towards me below the canopy of the trees. They flew over the bridge and saw me. The leading buzzard dropped a snake from its left talon into the beck which landed two metres in front of me and a tuft of grass floated down as they swooped upwards out of the trees just metres above me.

I took one pace forward and flipped the snake onto the bank with my stick. It was a smallish adder, still alive, with its head crushed!

So your answer is yes, Buzzards do carry their meals with them when disturbed, at least by another Buzzard.

thank you.... do sparrowhawks do the same??

[solus]

Originally Posted by wildherbalian85

thank you.... do sparrowhawks do the same??

Yes, provided the prey is small or enough has been eaten to enable the rest to be carried! For example, a Sparrowhawk is more likely to eat a pigeon in situ (at least until enough has been devoured to make it more manageable!) than fly off with it. I have watched a Sparrowhawk eat most of a Collared Dove before flying off carrying the remains, and that bird was not disturbed during its meal.

[The Woodman]

Yes, when disturbed at their plucking post with prey, they will carry their prey away to another secure place to continue.

Earlier this year, we had a male sprawk on our fence close to the lounge window. It was watching something on the ground below it with great interest. I went out to have a look and found a fledgling blackbird under some foliage. In doing so, the sprawk flew off but when I returned to the lounge it returned to the fence to continue its search for the young bird. The fledgling never showed itself and after quite a while the hawk gave up and went.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by wildherbalian85

Today i was watching 6 or so buzzards over a field and whilst there i saw 2 of them fighting. They kept flying at each other for a while before they did something spectacular................ they locked talons and then did a free fall this was only a for 2 or 3 seconds but was brilliant to watch.

Is this normal behaviour??

Predators often steal prey from other predators (known as kleptoparasitism) including intra-specific 'theft' as well as carrying their own prey when disturbed for other reasons. However, this time of year, when young Buzzards are on the wing, the behaviour you witnessed could very possibly be 'young learning' behaviour - the learning curve of the young of many species (inc.animals) includes dummy attacking, learning defense behaviour, hunting and other manoeuvres associated with acquiring life dependent flying skills.

About this time last year, I watched for some time, young Buzzards 'pretending' to dive onto prey from a group of trees, bombarding each other in the air, even free falling then picking up flight just before they hit the ground! Parents were circling high above or just perched on branches calmly observing the whole display.

[Gaina]

The talon-locking may well have been a display to re-establish bonds between a pair. I know Eagles do this as well as other raptors though I've never seen it in 'real life' if you like. Passing food to each other mid-air is also another way to reaffirm their bond.

Add that to their tendency to be monogamous and Birds of Prey are quite the romantics .

[wildherbalian85]

The bird in question with regards to flying of with its meal was no where near the buzzards.... i do think it was either a female sparrowhawk or a buzzard but i caught only a glimpse of it as it took off from some longish grass to a nearby tree.... legs though remained dangling with something in its grasp..... as i approached where i saw it take off from the bird again flew from the tree it was in to somewhere else.

I guess the buzzards where a mixture of old and young just having fun

Exception being the one whom was hovering at an extremely high hight (250m+) this buzzard eventually glided of somewhere out of sight over the hill.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Gaina

The talon-locking may well have been a display to re-establish bonds between a pair. I know Eagles do this as well as other raptors though I've never seen it in 'real life' if you like. Passing food to each other mid-air is also another way to reaffirm their bond.

Outside the breeding season?

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by Picidae

Outside the breeding season?

As far as I know yes. It seems to be a simple act of bonding not dependant upon the need to mate/procreate (was going to provide an analogy but shan't saying as this is a family show and all...).

EDIT: From reading further, this gives an account of adults engaging in talon-locking having raised young to fledging stage BBC Northern Ireland