Buzzards and bunnies (1 Viewer)

[Neil Grubb]

As you can see from my avatar, I have two rabbits to keep my wife and I company. We also have quite a few buzzards in the area, including two which nest not too far from my house.

The rabbits are allowed to roam free in the garden, which has a bunny-proof fence around it. I have never seen a buzzard come close to landing in my garden, but they do fly over quite often. My question is whether they are at risk of being picked off by the buzzards ?

Neil

 

[RecoveringScot]

As you can see from my avatar, I have two rabbits to keep my wife and I company. We also have quite a few buzzards in the area, including two which nest not too far from my house.

The rabbits are allowed to roam free in the garden, which has a bunny-proof fence around it. I have never seen a buzzard come close to landing in my garden, but they do fly over quite often. My question is whether they are at risk of being picked off by the buzzards ?

Neil

Depends how big they are. In my limited experience domestic rabbits tend to be larger and fatter (because they're cared for and fed) than wild rabbits. Some rabbits I have seen would be too heavy for a Buzzard to lift. Buzzards seem to be also rather wary of enclosed ground-spaces. Not surprising in view of their wingspan, and rather lumbering, heavy flight. A rapid take off would probably be difficult for them if things went wrong. I lived in Wales in the middle of many Buzzard pairs for twenty years and watched them regularly, yet I never saw one come nearer a house or garden than fifty feet above it, passing over. They seem to be more purely open-country birds than Kites, for instance. I wonder if anyone has ever had a Buzzard actually in a smallish garden?

 

[samuel walker]

I have a similar situation in Ohio Neil Two rabbits with very similar markings to yours are loose in an area hunted by my version of buzzard, a redtaled hawk.On countless times I've watched the beuteo sit above while they wander into the open. She ignores them and the adult woodchucks. She will happily swoop down and grab an offspring. I think the adult size protects them.
Sam

 

[mike from ebbw]

As you can see from my avatar, I have two rabbits to keep my wife and I company. We also have quite a few buzzards in the area, including two which nest not too far from my house.

The rabbits are allowed to roam free in the garden, which has a bunny-proof fence around it. I have never seen a buzzard come close to landing in my garden, but they do fly over quite often. My question is whether they are at risk of being picked off by the buzzards ?

Neil

they will take rabbits,but very very rarely.they are predominantly carrion eaters and also,believe it or not,worms.i would say they are perfectly safe in the garden.

 

[Kezza]

The rabbits are allowed to roam free in the garden, which has a bunny-proof fence around it. I have never seen a buzzard come close to landing in my garden, but they do fly over quite often. My question is whether they are at risk of being picked off by the buzzards ?

Neil

I also regularly have buzzards over the garden and I am also the owner of two rabbits who are allowed to run free in the garden, or at least WERE allowed! Until we had a couple of very close encounters with a buzzard last year.

On the first occasion, the rabbits were out and I was stood near the back door when suddenly a buzzard swooped down from above the house out of nowhere and must have been no more than ten feet off the ground when I quickly moved forward with my arms in the air to scare it and it quickly changed direction and left! From the direction it came over the house it would not have seen me initially.

The second time, which was some months later, the rabbits had been running around outside and I had just brought them back into the house (where they live). I turned to close the back door and a buzzard dropped down onto the fence post of the garden. It sat there for a few seconds before noticing movement in the house and leaving.

Both of these have been very near misses and now I have to constantly watch the rabbits when they are out. Ours is a very small garden, about 18-25ft each way and is surrounded by a 5 1/2ft fence. The buzzard was not detered by the small garden size and therefore closeness to the house or the fact that there was even washing blowing on the line on the second occasion!

The rabbits are a very small breed - Netherland Dwarf - and smaller than wild rabbits. I now always supervise their outdoor time and have a large safe run for other times. Yours look to be medium to large size so I wouldn't worry, but with small rabbits - take care!

 

[nirofo]

Buzzards are generally quite lazy and much prefer to take an easy meal such as a roadkill or a baby rabbit, that's not to say that they wouldn't kill your rabbits if they were easy! It's unlikely a Buzzard could lift and carry off a domestic rabbit, far too heavy, it's more likely it would kill and eat it in situ, that's if it had the inclination to land in your garden?

nirofo.

 

[Amarillo]

As recoveringScot says, buzzards seem to avoid houses and built up areas. In Oxford shire where I live the kites swoop low over gardens and main roads, but buzzards stay away from humans.

 

[mike from ebbw]

Buzzards are generally quite lazy and much prefer to take an easy meal such as a roadkill or a baby rabbit, that's not to say that they wouldn't kill your rabbits if they were easy! It's unlikely a Buzzard could lift and carry off a domestic rabbit, far too heavy, it's more likely it would kill and eat it in situ, that's if it had the inclination to land in your garden?

nirofo.

i agree.they are not really designed to catch rabbits,adults anyway.just look at the size of their talons compared to say a redtail.thats why no one uses them for falconry.

 

[nirofo]

i agree.they are not really designed to catch rabbits,adults anyway.just look at the size of their talons compared to say a redtail.thats why no one uses them for falconry.

Common Buzzards can and do catch adult wild rabbits quite easily if they want to, generally though they prefer to take easier meat, they're lazy. I see one regularly in front of our house worming in the fields, they are comical to watch, hopping around on the ground, all floppy with their feathers hanging loose. I've also seen them take rabbits, birds, moles, voles, rats, lizards, snakes (adders) and fish, yes fish! Mostly though, I see them when they are feeding by the roadside on a roadkill. I was in a hide at a Buzzard nest some years ago, I'd been waiting quite some time for something to happen, suddenly, in came an adult with an Adder and presented it to the young which were just over two weeks old. The Adder was decapitated fortunately! See photo at the web address below.

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5057&limit=recent

nirofo.

 

[luke]

interesting about the snake, a friend of mine filmed a buzzard nest a few years ago (under license ofcourse) and on of the parents braught back a grass snake for the youngsters, great to watch!

 

[Atricapilla]

On a different tack the local government here have introduced rabbits onto one of the islands to keep raptors in the area,great for the raptors and us.

 

[Neil Grubb]

Thanks for the responses; I guess the risk isn't very high although Kezza's experience is a little worrying. I think it's worth the risk to give them a little freedom!

 

[boddie]

Thanks for the responses; I guess the risk isn't very high although Kezza's experience is a little worrying. I think it's worth the risk to give them a little freedom!

I have chickens at home and we used to lose them regularly. Whilst most of the could probably be contributed to mr. fox I am fairly certain that a buzzard took one or two. The feathered remains were in this open feild where buzzards would regularly soar overhead and where a fox would be unlikely to go in the middle on the day. Chickens are pretty sizeable so I think you could assume that a buzzard may at least have a go at your bunnies and very possibly kill one even if it couldn't take it away.

 

[wally170]

My experieince (although limited) of house rabbits is, they are lazy (over pampering, and no need to run around a lot ). One way to look at is, if a Buzzard likes an easy meal, a nice fat house rabbit is just that. It may be too large to carry, but that makes it too large to run (well, as fast as smaller, fitter rabbits are concerned), easy pickings.

 

[wizard]

i have seen a buzzard go down in a very small enclosed garden, also seen gulls picking up small rabits (and they have no tallons) your rabits are too fat i would think but I would not rule it out. just keep an eye on them & the buzzard activity, they are more at risk from a fox!