There seem to be a hell of a lot of Buzzards in this area, and of the 250 birds I put down only 20 were shot. This is on 120 acres in a rolling wooded area with plenty of fields.

I admit my woods are cold, and I have a programme of work to put that right, but according to the local buzzard expert (who I caught wandering around the woods a year or so ago) buzzards are not a threat to pheasants. I have my doubts. Can anyone shed any light on this debate?

What about magpies?

I very much doubt that even a large number of buzzards could be a threat to pheasants. Buzzards feeds mostly on small rodents, reptiles, frogs, etc. Any goshawks in your woods?

Regards,
Martin

we have loads of buzzards around here, but i"m not convinced that they take poults.i"ve only ever seen them eat carrion and worms. i"d be interested if anyone wants to prove me wrong.
sparrowhawks seem to have a preference for my dad"s pigeons, and would probably take a poult
given the chance.
our shoot lost most birds to straying, next would be foxes(despite successful lamping, snaring and cage traps)
i have never seen any evidence that buzzards will take poults, but i"d welcome any evidence to the contrary.
long live shooting

We have no shortage of buzzards, in fact one is almost a permanent feature in one of the fields that suround our wood. I don't think the buzzards are a problem though, I believe Owls are more of a threat in our particular case. We have sparrowhawks but no Goshawks, all vermin are shot and trapped regularly. This year I know of nobody who has had a successful season, this year's mild weather has encouraged straying which is another factor, but, my money is still on the Owls as our biggest problem and they pobably will be this year as well.

John

while stalking last friday in ayrshire, i found a barn owl that had starved to death.he must have died the night before as he was beside a fox earth! he was just a bag of bones. there were lots of phesants around, but obviously they"re all adults. you have a point about the mild weather and straying.

I've hear heard a few 'keepers moan about buzzards in passing and some swear they are or can be a problem at times, but like others have mentioned owls seem to be a bigger problem...I have not sure if that would be barn or tawny owls, or both?

One friend had a European Eagle Owl move onto his shoot for a period, and that certanly got him worried! Luckily, and some what unusually for a 'keeper, he actually likes Birds of Prey (in moderation) and although he saw it a couple of times while lamping, he never took any action guessing it was an escapee from somewhere...

Regards,

Pete

Buzzards can be a problem in the forst few days of release before the birds learn to roost in the trees. A friend lost 80 poults in the first night when a buzzard walked over the top of the jugged down birds and killed them with a claw in the neck as he walked over the top.

I have no doubt that they will take younger wild birds during the chick stages. but coupled with foxes, badgers (eating eggs..), corvids and all the other potential problems, buzzards alone can't really be blamed.

We shot justr under 150 of 500 but with some straighter shooting that could easily have been over 200. Our biggest problem was the ammount of natural food on the hedges, causing birds to stray.

Already planning next years covers and things but with cold woods and no cover crops the birds will soon go somewhere more pleasant for them.

FB

As FB says I think that owls are a much bigger direct threat to young birds.It`s much more likely that you`ll see buzzards picking off the dead birds from around a pen
Although a buzzard will take live poults the stress/fright that they cause to freshly released poults probably kills as many indirectly

Tim