What are these birds

donnacha2006

over past 2 years i have niticed big birds of prey hovering in the sky. I think they are Buzzards. Are these birds doing harm to the pheasant and rabbit population does any1 know,or are they just eating rat,pigeons etc. I hardly ever see a rabbit anymore and pheasants are scarce even with foxes thinned out.

jwshooter

donnacha2006 wrote: »

over past 2 years i have niticed big birds of prey hovering in the sky. I think they are Buzzards. Are these birds doing harm to the pheasant and rabbit population does any1 know,or are they just eating rat,pigeons etc. I hardly ever see a rabbit anymore and pheasants are scarce even with foxes thinned out. Should they be shot since they are not an Irish Bird

the reason pheasants are scarce is the cover is high and the last 3 summers have been wet , a wild pheasant will only live to 4 years or so.
buzzards are protected under the wild life act.
there is a few around me but they have been hit hard by the ass hxxes that dont know any better.
they mostly scavenge and eat worms if you have ever noticed them in the middle of a field.
they will take game birds and rabbits if given the chance .there has to be room for all gods creatures in this fair land so i leave them B

marlin vs

Donnacha, you should be in the joke section.

neil_hosey

i was under the impression the hunters in ireland dont kill for the thrill of killing an animal but to 'control' the population of so called rodents or vermin....

So why would you want to kill a bird of prey which is simply feeding??? i dont understand this mentality at all. I am not anti-hunting but these types of threads/people do alot of damage for those who hunt with good intensions (to eat/ control population)

your lack of knowledge is astounding. You say Buzzards arent an irish bird???? where did you get this 'information' from?????

PS. A BUZZARD WOULD NOT TAKE A PHEASANT!!

people like you dont deserve to own a gun license

meathstevie

Buzzards are a BIG don't touch under no circumstances. At they end of it all they don't do much damage at all either. If you're worried about birds doing damage to the pheasant population you should concentrate on corvids.

donnacha2006

i was only asking a question and wanted information on these birds as i first noticed them around 2 years ago and now there are over 20 around a 3 square mile area

jwshooter

neil_hosey wrote: »

i was under the impression the hunters in ireland dont kill for the thrill of killing an animal but to 'control' the population of so called rodents or vermin....

So why would you want to kill a bird of prey which is simply feeding??? i dont understand this mentality at all. I am not anti-hunting but these types of threads/people do alot of damage for those who hunt with good intensions (to eat/ control population)

your lack of knowledge is astounding. You say Buzzards arent an irish bird???? where did you get this 'information' from?????

PS. A BUZZARD WOULD NOT TAKE A PHEASANT!!

people like you dont deserve to own a gun license[
hi neil , buzzards will take game birds .you would be a fool to argue this point .about 2-4 weeks age in the shooting times a buzzard was captured taking a wading bird i thing it was a white egret.
in nature it is never black or white.a hungry animal or bird will not starve if a meal becomes available handy

jwshooter

donnacha2006 wrote: »

i was only asking a question and wanted information on these birds as i first noticed them around 2 years ago and now there are over 20 around a 3 square mile area

what your seeing is a few nesting pairs with young .the young will be ran off soon enough.

there a lovely bird to watch

donnacha2006

u seem to know everything Neil

donnacha2006

ye they are a lovely bird

kakashka

donnacha2006 wrote: »

over past 2 years i have niticed big birds of prey hovering in the sky. I think they are Buzzards. Are these birds doing harm to the pheasant and rabbit population does any1 know,or are they just eating rat,pigeons etc. I hardly ever see a rabbit anymore and pheasants are scarce even with foxes thinned out.

Harm-i dont know yet but they will without doubt take phesant and rabbits.

donnacha2006

was thinking they would the size of them

J.R.

Quite a few around our area as well & brilliant to watch.....they seem to have no fear of humans and hover overhead......a massive bird when close overhead.......sights like this make it really worthwhile being out & about.

They will also take carrion as I disturbed one on an occasion eating crow carcasses that we'd shot the day before. Had no fear & didn't leave the carcass until we were 20 metres away......wouldn't have disturbed him but we didn't see him until we were close and he rose from the carcass.

On three seperate occasions one has swooped down on the pigeon decoy layout & attempted to grab a 'flocked' decoy.....always the same decoy......drops it as soon as it's touched with the talons....no sure if it's the same bird each time or not.....but it's a spectacular sight and reassuring that the decoy pattern must appear realistic.







bad photo of one passing over decoys....only had the camera phone which doesn't have a zoom (cheapie bog standard phone!!!)

deeksofdoom

neil_hosey wrote: »

i was under the impression the hunters in ireland dont kill for the thrill of killing an animal but to 'control' the population of so called rodents or vermin....

So why would you want to kill a bird of prey which is simply feeding??? i dont understand this mentality at all. I am not anti-hunting but these types of threads/people do alot of damage for those who hunt with good intensions (to eat/ control population)

your lack of knowledge is astounding. You say Buzzards arent an irish bird???? where did you get this 'information' from?????

PS. A BUZZARD WOULD NOT TAKE A PHEASANT!!

people like you dont deserve to own a gun license

You should be in the joke section aswell, :rolleyes: nobody said anything about killing birds of prey until you brought it up, your imagination is running away with you.

Buzzards will take pheasant chicks, but adult birds are too big for them.

By the way your lack of knowledge isn't far off astounding either.:eek:

Half-cocked

Buzzards love rabbits. If you're having trouble with one eating poults, shoot a rabbit every day or two and leave the carcass out in the open. Your well fed buzzard will leave the poults alone. They much prefer scavenging to hunting.

mac80

Like all animals lhey are oportunists and will kill if they see an easy meal but prefer to scavenge

neil_hosey

deeksofdoom wrote: »

You should be in the joke section aswell, :rolleyes: nobody said anything about killing birds of prey until you brought it up, your imagination is running away with you.

Buzzards will take pheasant chicks, but adult birds are too big for them.

By the way your lack of knowledge isn't far off astounding either.:eek:

The OP edited his post to remove that part!

Ive never seen a buzzard take a pheasant, and dont think they would. I have seen them taking rabbits. Ill admit thats a wrong assumption to make, but i doubt they would take a male pheasant.

The reason i believe this is because id imagine a male pheasant is nearly the same size as a buzzard.

I love buzzards, and people talking about shooting them is a bit aggravating.

J. Ramone

I've seen a buzzard make a few attempts at grabbing pheasants fresh from the pen. From what I've seen nobody need worry about decimation of pheasants by buzzards. May have been a young buzzard but they aren't the most agile of birds.

Pity the new licence form doesn't ask for confirmation that the applicant has a basic knowledge of the wildlife acts.

deeksofdoom

neil_hosey wrote: »

The OP edited his post to remove that part!

Ive never seen a buzzard take a pheasant, and dont think they would. I have seen them taking rabbits. Ill admit thats a wrong assumption to make, but i doubt they would take a male pheasant.

The reason i believe this is because id imagine a male pheasant is nearly the same size as a buzzard.

I love buzzards, and people talking about shooting them is a bit aggravating.

Neil,

My apologies I've just seen the original post now and it was a bit of a gaff on Donnachas part. I'm sure he doesn't shoot BOPs.

pullandbang

Buzzards will take pheasants - both fully grown and especially young birds. I personally sat and watched a buzzard for an hour while he cleared one ditch of young pheasants. Our club treasurer and another committee member watched another one take, kill and eat a fully grown cock.

No doubt they are a beautiful bird to watch and they are breeding like rabbitts around our neck of the woods. Corn farmers should be delighted with them because they certainly keep the pigeon population in check!

donnacha2006

I would never kill a bird of prey neil.

jwshooter

donnacha2006 wrote: »

I would never kill a bird of prey neil.

your question was a honest one .no worries.

mightymouse311

guys from wat i can out some of you are from the wicklow wexford area if so dont blame it all on the buzzards the kite hacks they released in avoca area are really doin well of late and from wat i can make out are spreading out no end i live in arklow work in avoca and beat for a local shoot and there are a lot around

deeksofdoom

mightymouse311 wrote: »

guys from wat i can out some of you are from the wicklow wexford area if so dont blame it all on the buzzards the kite hacks they released in avoca area are really doin well of late and from wat i can make out are spreading out no end i live in arklow work in avoca and beat for a local shoot and there are a lot around

Red Kites they are absolutely massive I lived in Tramore for a couple of years and regularly saw one flying a round. Hunting along the ditches flying in slow circles......... amazing bird to watch.

jwshooter

mightymouse311 wrote: »

guys from wat i can out some of you are from the wicklow wexford area if so dont blame it all on the buzzards the kite hacks they released in avoca area are really doin well of late and from wat i can make out are spreading out no end i live in arklow work in avoca and beat for a local shoot and there are a lot around

ballyarther is it i shot driven on it a few times

mightymouse311

no man its next door in shelton abbey

Half-cocked

Took delivery of 400 poults yesterday. Just got their wings clipped and settled down into the pen and this buzzard shows up. It circled round for about 20 minutes eyeballing the new 'drive-thru' while I was running around waving my arms and shouting at it. I hung a load of CD's off branches all around the pen and hope they will frighten it off, glinting in the sun. I read in Shooting Gun this works. Anyone else tried it and can they confirm if it works or is a waste of my girlfriends CD collection?;)

macadam

I have a few birds of prey also, and a guy from a camera club asked for permission to photograph them , he said they were hen harriers.

THey are dark colour with white under there wings , like a small circle and they squeal similar to a dying rabbit, I cant get close enough for a photo myself as they just seem to glide high in the sky with the constsnt wind that blows and they nest in the middle of my bog.

Grizzly 45

Ive never seen a buzzard take a pheasant, and dont think they would. I have seen them taking rabbits. Ill admit thats a wrong assumption to make, but i doubt they would take a male pheasant.

The reason i believe this is because id imagine a male pheasant is nearly the same size as a buzzard.

Gosh...You had better tell peregrine falcons that fact!:pac:.They are about the size of a pheasent.Yet they take pheasents,ducks,geese,piegons,crows, and herons,without any bother.

A buzzard is twice the weight and physical size of a pheasent or rabbit.They are however ground killers,hence the reason their diet is rabbits,young hares ,rats,free range domestic fowl and road kill.Or anything they can ambush in their "ground attack" mode.:cool:
Falcons are air killers.

Pity some self professed nature lovers wouldnt go away and learn some facts before coming on here and preaching and belittling others.:rolleyes:

Half-cocked

macadam wrote: »

I have a few birds of prey also, and a guy from a camera club asked for permission to photograph them , he said they were hen harriers.

THey are dark colour with white under there wings , like a small circle and they squeal similar to a dying rabbit, I cant get close enough for a photo myself as they just seem to glide high in the sky with the constsnt wind that blows and they nest in the middle of my bog.

If they have a very visible white rump whilst in flight then yes, they are Hen Harriers.

Mellor

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Gosh...You had better tell peregrine falcons that fact!:pac:.They are about the size of a pheasent.Yet they take pheasents,ducks,geese,piegons,crows, and herons,without any bother.

the fastest animal in the world can do what ever he wants if you ask me :"D

paddy2008

buzzards are lovely birds,but we would have as many buzzards as rabbits got and phesants what phesants?????????:eek::eek:

Grizzly 45

Mellor wrote: »

the fastest animal in the world can do what ever he wants if you ask me :"D

Apart from ground kills..:D The Falcon has been clocked at 120mph plus in a full dive.If they miss at that speed on a ground animal,they would be 2meters into the ground.No need for burial.

pullandbang

paddy2008 wrote: »

buzzards are lovely birds,

Understood this bit ok and would agree, they are lovely birds.

paddy2008 wrote: »

but we would have as many buzzards as rabbits got and phesants what phesants?????????:eek::eek:

No idea what this bit means. Tried inserting full stops and capitals, but still can't figure it out.

leddpipe

i convinced myself i saw a buzzard soaring over the curragh plains on a couple of occasions, but its hardly ideal terrain, is it?

can anyone advise?

theres plenty of kestrals etc, so there are prey birds here!

plus, you practically trip over rabbits when out on the plains, so plenty of fodder!

opinions?

Grizzly 45

Very possible indeed LP.So long as there is a high OP for the buzzard to sit and observe his terrority for prey.High power mast ,isolated tall trees,etc.
They are adaptable to the terrain.

leddpipe

thats fantastic!the terrain ticks all those boxes re: high op's etc!

will try get pics!

johnfaul

i have a few kestrels in my area , rabbits are scarce this past few years ive noticed but they will be back in numbers soon im sure

paddy2008

No idea what this bit means. Tried inserting full stops and capitals, but still can't figure it out.[/quote]

There would be as many Buzzards as Rabbits in my area.
Pheasants are as scarse as Hens teeth.:D

neil_hosey

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

A buzzard is twice the weight and physical size of a pheasent or rabbit.They are however ground killers,hence the reason their diet is rabbits,young hares ,rats,free range domestic fowl and road kill.Or anything they can ambush in their "ground attack" mode.:cool:
Falcons are air killers.

Pity some self professed nature lovers wouldnt go away and learn some facts before coming on here and preaching and belittling others.:rolleyes:

??? i should go away and learn some facts??? a buzzard is twice the size of a pheasant??? lol... I went off to google this when you said just to make sure.. lol

See here:
Buzzard size: The buzzard is easily distinguished from all other species of hawk by its size alone. The wingspan may vary between 48 inches to 60 inches with a body length of some 20 inches. http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/buzzard.asp

Pheasent Size: The adult male Common Pheasant of the nominate subspecies Phasianus colchicus colchicus is 60-89 cm (24-35 in) in length..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Pheasant

They are just 2 random links... if you are going to be preach at me about my knowledge of birds, atleast have the decency to not talk bullsh1t.

I conceded in my last post that it may be possible, why ignore that and have a go at my previous post and then talk rubbish

tomcat220t

I used to own 2 buzzards some years ago and would have regarded them as fairly harmless so to speak ,towards hunting or killing rabbits!

paddy2008

NEIL...please read the article again! The adult male Common Pheasant of the nominate subspecies Phasianus colchicus colchicus is 60-89 cm (24-35 in) in length with a long brown streaked black tail, accounting for almost 50 cm (20 in) of the total length. Take away that tail and you dont have much of a bird!

donnacha2006

How will rabbits come back. I Havent seen even one around fields that were full of them a few years back.

donnacha2006

tomcat220t wrote: »

I used to own 2 buzzards some years ago and would have regarded them as fairly harmless so to speak ,towards hunting or killing rabbits!

Thats like comparing a dog with a wolf.

foxshooter243

paddy2008 wrote: »

NEIL...please read the article again! The adult male Common Pheasant of the nominate subspecies Phasianus colchicus colchicus is 60-89 cm (24-35 in) in length with a long brown streaked black tail, accounting for almost 50 cm (20 in) of the total length. Take away that tail and you dont have much of a bird!

plus one-a good cock pheasant will weigh about 40-45 ounces and a buzzard 70 ounces-i think the rooster would be punching well above his weight:D