Buzzard Observations

eire_dd

While out for a game of golf about 4 weeks ago a friend told me that he heard that Mr. Mansfield was keeping Buzzards at Palmerstown house and that the person who told him had seen them, as a nature lover but certainly no expert, I was intrigued to say the least. You see I get excited when I see my local sparrow hawk fluttering around.
So last Friday I was back at Killeen Golf Club and I spotted them, or what I think is them. It was truly magnificent to watch these creatures circling around at such colossal heights and the wonderful eagle like sound. There were about six to seven in total.
Has anyone else seen them or can anyone tell me more about them.

jmkennedyie

Well spotted. I have also seen 6 buzzards soaring in thermals about a week ago a little North of that part of Co. Kildare. Keep an eye out for them on haystacks, trees, telegraph poles too. Previous threads include some great photos...worth searching for them to find out more.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Thankfully Buzzards are now a regular sight all along the East and South East. I get a pair perching in my garden every day and the nest is just 100 meters away. It's wonderful to watch them so close by when 20 years ago we lay hidden in wet grass hoping to get a glimpse of one 1/4 of a mile away. Now my kids look out the window and say "Oh! It's ONLY a Buzzard!"

Fredrick

Noa Agreeable Leakage wrote: »

Thankfully Buzzards are now a regular sight all along the East and South East. I get a pair perching in my garden every day and the nest is just 100 meters away. It's wonderful to watch them so close by when 20 years ago we lay hidden in wet grass hoping to get a glimpse of one 1/4 of a mile away. Now my kids look out the window and say "Oh! It's ONLY a Buzzard!"

You lucky git

eire_dd

Playing again on friday in kileen, will be bringing my field glasses to get a closer look.

Tell me at what height do they normally soar and why?

Birdnuts

eire_dd wrote: »

While out for a game of golf about 4 weeks ago a friend told me that he heard that Mr. Mansfield was keeping Buzzards at Palmerstown house and that the person who told him had seen them, as a nature lover but certainly no expert, I was intrigued to say the least. You see I get excited when I see my local sparrow hawk fluttering around.
So last Friday I was back at Killeen Golf Club and I spotted them, or what I think is them. It was truly magnificent to watch these creatures circling around at such colossal heights and the wonderful eagle like sound. There were about six to seven in total.
Has anyone else seen them or can anyone tell me more about them.

Mr Mansfield does not "keep" buzzards. They are wild birds that have settled in woodland at the edge of Palmerstown demesne. I know cos I've been walking the area for the last 20 years, way before Mansfield got his hands on the place and bulldozed most of its woodlands and wetland to make way for yet another elite golfcourse. The buzzards are their despite Mansfield, not because of him.

PS - Killeen golf course on the other hand has become a wonderfull place for wildlife in recent years with so many new water features added in the form of ponds and lakes since the days when it was know as the "Four Lakes":)

eire_dd

Birdnuts wrote: »

Mr Mansfield does not "keep" buzzards. QUOTE]

Thank you for clearing that up for me, I thought it a little strange when I heard it. Can you recommend a good location to get a better look at these wonderful creatures.

mackeminexile

I too played Killeen Castle on Friday and spotted 2 Buzzards on the way out from Dublin (car mate wasn't in the least impressed!) and 2 more while on the course.

eire_dd

It was actually Kileen Golf club, over at the naas road

Birdnuts

eire_dd wrote: »

Birdnuts wrote: »

Mr Mansfield does not "keep" buzzards. QUOTE]

Thank you for clearing that up for me, I thought it a little strange when I heard it. Can you recommend a good location to get a better look at these wonderful creatures.

Apparently the strawberry beds in the Liffey Valley near Lucan is meant to be a good place. Also anywhere along the M50 according to the Tolka Valley BWI site.:)

PS - I forgot to mention another good place, Pollardstown Fen and the nearby woodland/wetland complex between it and the Hill of Allen near Newbridge. Everytime I visit , I always see at least one Buzzard

Gaspode

we have a pair of buzzards along the tolka near Ashtown this year, first time they've nested around here

rwcFM

mackeminexile wrote: »

I too played Killeen Castle on Friday and spotted 2 Buzzards on the way out from Dublin (car mate wasn't in the least impressed!) and 2 more while on the course.

Yep, there's a few around there. Seem to be resident/breeding but I've never seen a nest. Thought they may be have been killed (because a number were supposedly) but saw them again last week.

sesswhat

jmkennedyie wrote: »

Keep an eye out for them on haystacks, trees, telegraph poles too.

Buzzards might be a common sight here in Donegal but I can't remember when I last saw a haystack:D

The Hill Billy

eire_dd wrote: »

Has anyone else seen them or can anyone tell me more about them.

More sightings & info for you in this thread.

eire_dd

HI again, so i was back in kileen today, watching the sky's through the whole game(much to the annoyance of my partners) on the 14th tee box and bang there it was, it flew right over us. but now i'm not sure if it was a buzzard. Again i know very little about birds but it looked a little dark compared to pics i have seen. Any ideas or comments ?

The Hill Billy

Interesting article here about a jogger being attacked by a buzzard in Cornwall.

boneless

Hill Billy wrote: »

Interesting article here about a jogger being attacked by a buzzard in Cornwall.

I have heard of this happening before. More than likely it is an attack for defence... my own humble opinion.

The Hill Billy

Actually, last weekend I took a trip from Bern to Gruyeres in Switzerland. At a very conservative estimate I saw around 30 buzzards over the 2-hour trip there. There was a lot of hay-making going on in the area that day so I presume the buzzards were around to snatch any birds or animals flushed out by the mowing machines.

I also saw some manner of eagle (couldn't make a proper ID, just judging on on size alone - it was massive!).

Connacht

Just back from hols in Aveyron, central southern France, where it is harvest time. The amount of buzzards I saw was wonderful. On one occasion, there were 11 hovering and diving over a field being harvested. Hopefully, we'll get to that stage in Ireland soon.
Does anyone have a max number of buzzards they've ever seen in IRL at one time ?
On return from hols, saw one standing in a tree near Bridgetown, south Wexford, this Wed. First Irish one I've ever seen - again beside harvested corn field.
Have yet to see one in the west (very rare over here).

Birdnuts

I think 6-8 were seen over the M50 in March near Clonee:)

The Hill Billy

Connacht wrote: »

Does anyone have a max number of buzzards they've ever seen in IRL at one time ?

7 over my back garden (field) in north county Dublin around this time last year. Riding high on the thermals & calling to each other. There was a kestrel circling below them who appeared to be protecting his "patch".

Dusty87

Are buzzards territorial? Like, if a group of them were seen in the one area, are they most likely to be family?

Birdnuts

Buzzards appear to be doing very well in my part of Kildare(near Kill Village) - see them almost everyday - local farmers enjoy having them too given their appetite for rats and rabbits:)

Connacht

1 buzzard seen in NW Mayo last week. Very interesting, because they're very rarely seen in Mayo or as far west as this in Galway.

Birdnuts

Connacht wrote: »

1 buzzard seen in NW Mayo last week. Very interesting, because they're very rarely seen in Mayo or as far west as this in Galway.

Knowing Erris quiet well this is indeed truly historic - Buzzards have not been seen here for at least 200 years going on historical records of its occurrence in this country tracing its massive decline from the 17th centuary to the early 20th centuary through to its slow recovery from the 1950's onwards

PS: There is strong evidence that Buzzards are now breeding in eastern parts of Co. Mayo!!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Birdnuts wrote: »

Knowing Erris quiet well this is indeed truly historic - Buzzards have not been seen here for at least 200 years going on historical records of its occurrence in this country tracing its massive decline from the 17th centuary to the early 20th centuary through to its slow recovery from the 1950's onwards

PS: There is strong evidence that Buzzards are now breeding in eastern parts of Co. Mayo!!

Buzzards declined in Mayo, as in the rest of the country, through the 1800s but were recorded as late as the early 1900s. They have been back (and breeeding) for a few years now. It's worth checking the records of the Mayo Branch of Birdwatch Ireland.

Birdnuts

Noa Agreeable Leakage wrote: »

Buzzards declined in Mayo, as in the rest of the country, through the 1800s but were recorded as late as the early 1900s. They have been back (and breeeding) for a few years now. It's worth checking the records of the Mayo Branch of Birdwatch Ireland.

According to Gordon Darcy's excellent book "Irelands Lost Birds" buzzards by the 1850's were already restricted to Northern Parts of Ulster only and died out completly on the Island of Ireland by the the early 20th centuary. That along with other sources I have looked at would suggest they had vacated Mayo many decades before the 1850's.

davidrafferty

I had 2 recent buzzard sightings whilst playing golf in Balcarrick Golf Club, Donabate, Co. Dublin.

The first was of just one bird on Sun. 4th Oct. 2009 at about 11am and the 2nd was five birds hovering over the course on Thursday, 4th Oct. 2009 at around 12.30pm. They disappeared when the sun became blocked by clouds.

I’ve also noticed that the rabbits population around the course, which had grown dramatically in the last year or so has now shown a huge decrease in numbers.

ereg

I seen 5 buzzards yesterday and one was picked up in my village today with a broken leg by the D.S.P.C.A, they were rarely seen but seem to be more active over the last 6 months. Their call is so distinctive, they are turely beautiful birds

Birdnuts

ereg wrote: »

I seen 5 buzzards yesterday and one was picked up in my village today with a broken leg by the D.S.P.C.A, they were rarely seen but seem to be more active over the last 6 months. Their call is so distinctive, they are turely beautiful birds

Indeed they are - great to have them back gracing Irish skies after such a long and sad absents. Had two circling and calling over the house near Kill Village Co. Kildare only yesterday.:)

Alun

I saw loads of buzzards over in the UK recently. I walked the Coast to Coast footpath from west to east and I don't think a day went by when I didn't hear at least one, and saw plenty, many in groups of 3 which I assume were parents with their young.

Possibly the best sighting of all was one that was quite close by near the ground, apparently trying to catch something in the grass, but eventually gave up and flew over the top of us towards a small abandoned quarry we'd just passed by. The rate at which it circled and climbed in the thermals over the quarry, without so much as even a flap from it's wings was incredible, and it was to all intents and purposes out of sight in no time.

bdo

Very plentiful again in Wicklow after a good season's breeding. Saw two on Sunday on Sugarloaf, soaring. Local hanggliders seem to have caught on, as they're now imitating them by soaring off Bray Head on the last two Friday evenings.

jmkennedyie

Apologies for the quality but I assume this is a buzzard...any other opinions?

Location was...

Howth Head

...last Sunday.

bdo

yes, it is

Sellphone

OVer the Christmas, a flock of about 5 flew over my area in N.County Dublin, and also about 20 or so were seen on the ground in a field in same area later that week.
FYI

TREVOR H

Birdnuts wrote: »

Indeed they are - great to have them back gracing Irish skies after such a long and sad absents. Had two circling and calling over the house near Kill Village Co. Kildare only yesterday.:)

Saw one on a fence beside the N7 near Kill the other morning. Might be one of the above.
Know of a very sucessful pair elsewhere in Kildare that have raised at least four sets of chicks.
Have seen them up close in a wood, so big yet so silent!

cuddlycavies

Yep, near kildangan there's a nest site.

davidrafferty

I saw 3 buzzards hovering over Blacarrick Golf Course on Thursday, 4th March .... they have cleaned out most of the rabbits on the course at this stage.

Last year the course had a plague of rabbits but Myxomatosis and the buzzards has changed all that.

Saw a buzzard flying quite low over Broadmeadow Estuary at Seatown yesterday.

magicbastarder

spotted two (what we think were) buzzards on the M2 today, another seen a few days ago (may have been one of the two today, of course).

bogtreader

I was cycling to work this morning i was about 70 yards from a buzzard on electricity pole a really magnificent bird a regular visitor where i work a great thrill when i hear their cry sometimes up to four high up on the thermals

Birdnuts

bogtreader wrote: »

I was cycling to work this morning i was about 70 yards from a buzzard on electricity pole a really magnificent bird a regular visitor where i work a great thrill when i hear their cry sometimes up to four high up on the thermals

I know what you mean - I still get a tingly feeling when I see them - the novelty value certainly hasn't worn off for me at least:)

knealecat

DSC_0778.JPG

DSC_0779.JPG


Couple of buzzard photos from earlier on tonight. Well Happy

baaba maal

Hi
another longtime admirer of buzzards. I live on the Kildare/Dublin border and we have had a good population here for the last six or seven years. I love watching them and am confident of identifying them. Therefore you can imagine the thrill I had seeing two of them circling on thermals high above the Wood Quay offices! It happened about a month ago. There were a lot of stressed (noisy) seagulls circling below them so I am wondering have the buzzards found a source of flying seafood?? Any theories welcome.
A couple of observations- I have frequently seen buzzards drop from low branches onto tilled fields to feed on what must be invertebrates, earthworms etc- hardly the actions of a dog killer:rolleyes:!!
Like many raptors, the males and females are usually different sizes with the females usually being larger. This is thought to allow for the pair to predate on a wider range of prey. So when you see two buzzards together of different sizes, it isn't necessarily parent and offspring. Anyhow, like all of you, absolutely thrilled to see a bird of this size make a recovery without even needing a reintroduction by humans. Long may they fly above us.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

A wonderful sight, aren't they.

The size difference between Male and Females is generally inpercetable in Buzzards, unlike Sparrowhawks for instance. Young birds of any species are more or less full size when they fledge.

While Buzzards will take Corvids, their diet is very much made up of smaller prey, some Rabbit but a lot of frog, worms, and small mammals. Hence the tilled field. The Gulls would not be a targeted prey but if the opportunity arose they would take one. They are not the most agile or speedy of hunters - unlike the Peregrine.

Everett

Seen one over my house yesterday,in wicklow.

Bsal

I frequently see them sitting on fences and soaring above fields around Dublin airport, beautiful birds to see.

davidrafferty

Saw 4 buzzards hovering over Broadmeadow Estuary while on Balcarrick Golf Course, yesterday, Thursday, 29th April 2010 at about 5.45pm.

Sellphone

davidrafferty wrote: »

Saw 4 buzzards hovering over Broadmeadow Estuary while on Balcarrick Golf Course, yesterday, Thursday, 29th April 2010 at about 5.45pm.

Saw one near Rolestown on Friday 7th May, majestic!

ProGolfer82

Hi, I worked in Palmerstown House for the last 5 years and there are buzzards on the estate, last year a greenkeeper found one that had fallen from its nest and was injured. We rang the local bird sanctuary and they nursed it back to make a full recovery. The bird was brought back and released on the estate about 2 weeks after and can be seen regularly flying across the golf course.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Great to hear a success story.
About 10 years ago we had the first nesting pair in our locality. 3 chicks hatched but, like that,it fell from the nest. Despite several attampts to get it back to the nest we ended up hand rearing it and teaching it to fend for itself. We released a fine fit adult birds but unfortunately it was found poisoned 4 months later. What a waste!

ThunderCat

Magnificent Birds. Funnily enough, most of the buzzards ive seen in Ireland have been when I was playing golf. Most impressive of all were the 3 I saw circling overhead when playing headfort new golf course in Kells, Co.Meath. They were in the air for a long long time and were just circling constantly, barely flapping their wings. They seemed to take different positions in height (ie) One was 300+ feet up, another 150 feet and another about 80 feet etc. In all the time they were in the air I didnt see them dive once. For any golfers amoung the forum, I suggest a trip to Headfort golf course - never seen so much wildlife in one place in all my life.
The most recent buzzard ive seen was at Ardee golf club in County Louth. It was just talking off from the trees and flew overhead very low. Wonderful colours, and unmistakeable calls.