One of Northern Irelands largest and most graceful birds of prey, it can be located all over Ireland and the year 2001 seems to have been its best year to date for a long time. They can be found on mostly rural, rocky or hilly areas, but they can turn up in the most unlikely of places.

The buzzard is easily distinguished from all other species of indigenous birds of prey by its size alone. The wingspan may vary between 48 inches to 60 inches with a body length of around 20 inches. Its plumage is a rich brown, with lighter markings beneath. In flight the Buzzard has an eagle like appearance, with broad wings and almost like long finger looking flight feathers.

It is not a fast flyer, and catches little of its prey on the move. It hunts pretty much like an owl, by perching in trees disguised by its excellent camouflage awaiting a meal to scurry past bellow. They have remarkable sight, believed to be ten times that of us humans. They are also remarkable scavengers of carrion, clearing our country sides of the less fortunate dead or dying, also sometimes to be seen at road sides awaiting a break in the traffic to clear a road kill.

For many years the buzzard has been persecuted by game keepers who believed that it was detrimental to pheasants, Quail, duck and partridges mass farmed for private shoots on estates and such. If they had bothered to learn a little more about this bird of prey they would have found that it very rarely bothered with game.

Although its numbers are on the increase in Northern Ireland it is still a protected species. Myxomatosis was the near disaster for the Common Buzzard and until very recently it was very close to extinction. It learned to adapt and change its dietary habits through this famine only to be faced again with another man made disaster introduced to kill large numbers of rabbits.

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD) of Rabbits

In 1984 a highly fatal disease broke out among rabbits in China, it spread rapidly to other countries. Its main characteristic was an acute necrotic hepatitis. The disease was first seen in Europe in 1988 and was thought to have been imported from China with frozen rabbit meat used in pet foods. It soon spread over the whole continent.. It was first diagnosed in the UK in 1992 and initial attempts to contain the disease failed. Isabelle Vets first diagnosed it in Guernsey in 1993. VHD is highly contagious and can be spread directly and indirectly by insects such as flies and also birds. Infection occurs by nasal, conjunctival and oral routes. The incidence of VHD is probably underestimated as the rabbits die relatively quickly (compared with Myxomatosis) and so are not presented to Vets.

Because the Buzzard would feed on carrion, it would often receive the blame for killing new-born lambs, in truth it would only scavenge amongst the natural casualties of a lambing season. All too often a distressed sheep farmer does not realise that this is the case and unjustly (and illegally!) persecutes this bird of prey.

If there is an abundance of food in a certain area the buzzard may make its home there this will soon attract the attention of the local rook, jackdaws and basically anything else that can fly. These will begin to mob the buzzard and although it is a strong bird, apart from the raven) these birds are little more than a nuisance. The buzzard may remain for days or weeks in a new area and will only leave to find a new mate.

Buzzards are often mistaken for other large birds of prey in areas they are not normally found. Because of there size and rarity people can even mistake them for golden eagles.