lockbreeze926
Well-known member
1. The Common Buzzard will eat anything and adapt to circumstances, hence its widespread success as a generalist predator.
2. In literature I read back in the day (80s), the rabbit was commonly referred to as standard Buzzard prey. Seemed a wee bit marginal for a bird you can see sweeping up worms like a Blackbird, but okay, they must take some larger prey, such as rabbits.
3. I have not personally seen a Buzzard take a grey squirrel - although images of same can be found after a quick Google and, obviously, if you can take a rabbit, a squirrel should be straightforward, if generally less terrestrial.
4. Still, I was surprised today to see very clear images of a Buzzard consuming a squirrel it had taken in a "garden" in Staffordshire, on a manicured lawn with a crocosmia border. Like it was cosplaying as a bullish Sparrowhawk.
Question, then - is a garden Buzzard taking quite large mammals like a squirrel......common; quite unusual; notable; none of the above?
2. In literature I read back in the day (80s), the rabbit was commonly referred to as standard Buzzard prey. Seemed a wee bit marginal for a bird you can see sweeping up worms like a Blackbird, but okay, they must take some larger prey, such as rabbits.
3. I have not personally seen a Buzzard take a grey squirrel - although images of same can be found after a quick Google and, obviously, if you can take a rabbit, a squirrel should be straightforward, if generally less terrestrial.
4. Still, I was surprised today to see very clear images of a Buzzard consuming a squirrel it had taken in a "garden" in Staffordshire, on a manicured lawn with a crocosmia border. Like it was cosplaying as a bullish Sparrowhawk.
Question, then - is a garden Buzzard taking quite large mammals like a squirrel......common; quite unusual; notable; none of the above?
