Common Buzzard and crow

Went out crow shooting early this morning,took my trusty Arnie hmr and .22 Daystate Air Ranger 40 fte f.a.c, set the crow decoys out about 40/50 yards,within an hour had 7 crows to the hmr.Waited an hour or so and nothing,but glassed the field adjacent to my surprise had quite a few landing.
Every now and then a few would hover over a small tree and start the usual caw caw caw, i recognised this and knew there had to be a predator of some sort nearby.another scan and saw a Buzzard just sitting there and preening her self.that gave me the idea to move spots.
Soon I was there i also have a stuffed Buzzard which I use for Corvid control,i put the Buzzard in the ground with a dead crow with the wings broken near it, and 2 decoys on the fence post about 10 feet away.
After about 20 mins the crows started to show interest and come down and harass the buzzard.i shot another 12 mostly when the landed on the fence and cursing at the Buzzard on the floor.
The best bit was by now the Real buzzard had also landed and noticed the one on the floor and just sat up in the tree about 70 meters away and watching the last crow that sat on the fence got hit with the Air rifle give out a squack when hit and slowly fly away very low and with eratic wing beats and struggling,this must have been the cue for the Buzzard and it launched its attack it chased after it and grabbed it mid air then pinned it to the ground, however seemed to be struggling to despatch it, within a minute 2 other crows also landed near them and tried to help their mate but too late the buzzard had got its lunch.
I must say neither the farmer or I have ever seen the Buzzard attack any thing living before.
Tich
 
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I had a common buzzard once and it was the most laid back predator you could meet.Others i spoke to said the same.Even when bang on flying weight it would not look at taking anything other than worms and meat from the fist. What you saw was a huge one off mate.
 
+1 and partridge poults too.
They are slack mettled(lazy) and oppotunists rather than out and out hunters however
 
Very unusual for them to take anything "on the wing". But have seen the occasional "flight" and live ground game.
I had a buzzard as my first hawking bird. Had some good sport with him but their not out and out hunters...fine for moorhen and the occasional rabbit. He was a game fella though, he would often takle hares but nearly always got kicked off due to their small feet
 
Twice this year i have seen a buzzard with a crow/rook, wasn't long after young rooks had fledged, so easier/dumber prey, one was dead and the other still flapping about, it was the presence of the other crows that made me notice, though didn't see the buzzards actually take the crows, and not something i have seen before.

Moose
 
I witnessed a Buzzard carrying a still flapping wood pigeon back to a favourite vantage point last Autumn. Only noticed as it was from a late stubble field and a flock of 50+ pigeons had all got up at once. It was a shame that I missed the moment and it's possible that it caught the pigeon unawares and whilst still on the ground feeding but I suspect that it probably caught it in mid air but only just!
 
I had a buzzard take i red leg poult in mid-air after the silly poult took off from the side of a release pen.
​I've seen them drop on coveys quite often
 
I witnessed a buzzard take wood pigeon mid-air when I was working on a farm in Scotland as a boy. Will never forget it. amazing spectacle to see
 
I've seen em' carrying kicking bunnies, its surprising though that despite the size of their wings they struggle to carry a full grown one...

 
We have a buzzard that seems to have taken a fancy to our garden and usually makes a daily appearance. It keeps trying to get amongst the young pheasants but is too big to be successful where it is trying, but it keeps trying. There is one first time mum who has three chicks, they are the smallest of this years crop and look to be about 10-12 weeks old and all but live in our garden.

She is a fiercely protective mother and can often be seen chasing off other pheasants that try to bully her chicks. Yesterday she surpassed herself the buzzard had swooped down between the garden fence and a windbreak, a gap of no more than 4 feet, one end is open and the other is enclosed by a stone dyke, in the lee of this windbreak there are a lot of bird feeders and stuff so is always mobbed with birds, especially pheasants. The purpose of the swoop turned out to be yet another attempt on a chick, the next thing I saw was the buzzard, no more than a foot off the ground flying out between the fence and windbreak with the hen pheasant in hot pursuit trying to get it by the tail feathers, what a mum! Would have loved to have had a camera handy, but what's the chances of that.

John
 
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