Zan's Wildlife Diary: The buzz you get from birds of prey

The first time I saw this bird was in Oban, about five years ago.

You may wonder how I went through life without spotting this common raptor whilst living in Poland. My answer to that is: I spent over 20 years in Lodz – the fourth biggest city in Poland – focusing on working and studying.

Although I always had an interest in nature, I was not as keen on birding as I am now.

It was also difficult to spot a bird of prey in the middle of a hectic city without escaping to the countryside, which I sadly had no time for.

Over the last few years, I have learned a lot about finding and watching wildlife.

Now, when I have a chance to visit Poland, I look at my home country in a different way; I admire its animal richness.

It may be because my now-wildlife-trained eye spots animals easier than before. I also feel like I see buzzards literally everywhere, even in and around Lodz.

The buzzard is the second most meaningful bird to me, just after the robin that I was talking about in my column last year.

It was exactly five years ago when Chris and I went to Oban to celebrate my first anniversary of moving to Scotland.

As the weather was stunning that day, we went on a walk along the beach and spotted a big bird soaring in the sky. We didn’t have binoculars and my camera was so basic that it took me a while to get a shot good enough to identify the bird.

Even after we recognised it was a buzzard, we were still pondering if it could have been a rare honey buzzard (much paler than the common buzzard) as it looked pale in the golden, late-afternoon light.

Now the two of us laugh as we recall that day; the years have passed and we can spot buzzards even without directly looking at them.

The more time you spend in nature, you start to learn about different characteristics, such as habitats good for certain species, flight pattern, the shape of the wings and much more.

The buzzard is a large bird with a wingspan of around four feet, an obviously short tail and sharp, hooked beak.

It is typically chocolate brown with patches of light brown on its chest; however, this species’ appearance can vary greatly, with some individuals having far more pale (or even white!) feathers than others.

Currently, buzzards are the most common and widespread bird of prey in the UK.

They can be spotted in a variety of habitats, from woodlands – where they build their nests – through to grassland and farmland as they soar overhead searching for food. Usually, you see them perched on posts at the side of the road, surveying the scene and hoping for a roadkill.

Their diet consists mainly of other birds, small mammals and carrion, but they can also take large insects and earthworms, especially when the season is short in prey supply.

These birds are of a ‘romantic’ nature – they pair for life and stay on their territories throughout the year.

In spring, they enjoy soaring high and playing with each other. Their play starts as the pair glide into the sky with wings wide open.

Once they have reached a certain height, one individual will fold its wings and perform a series of swoops to encourage the partner to join the display. The peak of this is when the bird briefly spreads its wings to swoop back up into the air and repeats this pattern of swoops up and down at tremendous speeds. No wonder this display is known as the ‘rollercoaster’ show amongst wildlife enthusiasts.

Their play aims at tightening the bond between the partners.

Another aspect to it is when one bird would gift its caught prey to its mate… not quite the traditional chocolates and flowers, but it usually goes down well.

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