Buzzards

[willowbank]

We run a small shoot and the number if buzzards is just growing and growing each year.! We have one pen with about 250 birds in and every day I'm picking up a kill from in the pen, often seeing a buzzard flying out from it. There's lots of bramble cover in there but not much medium height hazel e.t.c, so I think it's easy for the buzzard to just drop in on them. I was wondering if there's anything I can do to deter them? Or nothing!

Now this may sound strange but it appears to have worked for us, this year we put two Turkeys in each pen and lost only a handful of birds to Buzzards compared with hundreds last year. The Turkeys are big birds and made a fair bit of noise whenever a Buzzard was overhead, maybe this is the answer. Will certainly be doing the same again next season maybe even use all White Turkeys for even better effect.

The bonus of course is that we have some free range corn fed Turkeys for Christmas dinner ha ha.

ATB WB.

 

[Overlay]

shoot lots of rabbits etc to feed them

if nothing else the lead ingestion will kill em off. ??????

 

[finnbear270]

I put up single runs of chicken wire across the pens years ago stretched tight & in the gaps I put single strands of monofilament shark line, problems ceased within a week.

 

[finnbear270]

Counted nine of the beggars in one field this morning on the way in to work.

 

[danban]

I know my fair share of game keepers, and play at it myself, and I do not know a single one who has had problems with Buzzards killing pheasants ?!?

I have had experience of them getting stuck into released redlegs but never the pheasants.

Now sparrowhawks, absolute murder on wild Grey partridge when they pair up, and will decimate released partridge.

Give me half a dozen Buzzards over one hen Sparrowhawk any time.

To be honest since the rise of sparrowhawk and buzzards etc lots of wildlife are on the decline. I have witnessed buzzards decimate a pen full of poults. I have also seen sparrowhawk kill poults/ partridge pigeon and shed loads of small birds.
I seriously think it's about time that th gamekeeper gets a licence to maintain levels of these birds.
I also think that the population of magpies/crows is at an all time high.
Big shoots only seem to worry about foxes these days. When my dad was a gamekeeper we targeted all vermin.
We had a healthy wildlife population.

 

[willowbank]

To be honest since the rise of sparrowhawk and buzzards etc lots of wildlife are on the decline. I have witnessed buzzards decimate a pen full of poults. I have also seen sparrowhawk kill poults/ partridge pigeon and shed loads of small birds.
I seriously think it's about time that th gamekeeper gets a licence to maintain levels of these birds.
I also think that the population of magpies/crows is at an all time high.
Big shoots only seem to worry about foxes these days. When my dad was a gamekeeper we targeted all vermin.
We had a healthy wildlife population.

During the season here in Kent I run 15 Larsen traps and have done for many years, the figures are quite alarming as year after year the number of Magpies trapped increases, despite the fact that these birds are supposed to be monogamous.

atb WB.

 

[User00025]

During the season here in Kent I run 15 Larsen traps and have done for many years, the figures are quite alarming as year after year the number of Magpies trapped increases, despite the fact that these birds are supposed to be monogamous.

atb WB.

Unfortunately the magpie and crow population in cities and the suburbs remains largely unchecked and it is surprising how many reside in these places. Once the population expands beyond capacity the young migrate. I like you run many Larsen's but I run them all year,surprising how many you catch.
A friend of mine living in suburbia has a call bird 14 years old and is still catching a couple a week. He reckons that his old bird has caught over 500 varmints so far.
When you think of how far corvids can travel it's amazing. Eight years ago never saw a Raven in East Midlands (nearest were in the Tower of London or Wales) now nesting in Linc's, Leic's and Northants along with Buzzards. I am still not sure whether they arrived naturally or not.