Crows Mobbing Buzzard (3 Viewers)

[Stranger]

At Ham Wall this morning I watched a pair of Crows force a Buzzard to land.
Once they had got him on the ground they seemed content to just sit next to him without attacking.
This went on for about 15 minutes.
As soon as the Buzzard tried to fly they started mobbing him again,forcing him back to the ground.

Couple of not so good distant shots attached

 

[Himalaya]

nice shots!

im surprised that buzzards dont lose their temper with crows. they are mobbed theworst by corvids. they are very patient birds it seems.

 

[scuba0095]

i saw crows do this to a red tail the other day

when hes sitting they sit beside him screaming soon as he flys they attack

 

[razorsharp]

Maybe they feel, that a buzzard in flight must be a buzzard on the hunt and thus, a possible, if small threat to the ever wary crows.

 

[Markus Jais]

Where I live, Common Buzzard are mobbed be crows very often, too.
I've also seen Crows mobbing White-tailed Eagles quite often and sometimes Golden Eagles. Interestingly I've never seen crows mobbing Goshawks (just screaming loudly when a Goshawk was around). Maybe this is just coincidence but I think they fear the Goshawk more than the other birds. Goshawks kills crows regularly, whereas Common Buzzards almost never attack crows.

Markus

 

[Himalaya]

hooded crow mobbing a goshawk


http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattisj/590971581/




do corvids know when a raptor is hungry? can they tell when a bird of prey is just flying, displaying or hunting?

 

[Himalaya]

andkestrels mob goshawks too

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattisj/590974227/

 

[Stranger]

Interesting and worth doing a bit more studying on.If someone has`nt already done it.
I have seen Buzzard being mobbed by Rooks,Magpies and crows before,but always in the air.
It would seem that flight triggers some response in the corvids and if the Raptor stays grounded long enough they lose interest.

 

[Markus Jais]

One thing I observed is that crows always try to attack from behind or above.
I saw both Common Ravens and Carrion Crows attacking Golden Eagles from above or from behind. Sometimes the Golden Eagles managed to get behind or above the Raven or Crow which then is in a very dangerous position.
One spectacular fight was between two Ravens and a Golden Eagle. The Ravens were both chasing the Golden Eagle when suddenly the second Golden Eagle appeared. Then all birds where in the air and the Ravens soon were in a weak position. One was chased by an eagle and flapping "like crazy" to get away from the bigger bird.
That was an awesome experience and a great show for the about 50 people a friend and I were leading to watch Golden Eagles.
Both Ravens survived.

Markus

 

[Himalaya]

i wonder how many corvids take mobbing too far and end up being seriously hurt or dinner?

theres footage of 2 ravens continuously harrassing a nesting bald eagle and its chick on youtube. its one of these wildlife programmes from america. later on you see big black feathers in the nest and a eaten corpse. would have been interestingto see what went on there.

ifa golden eagle cankill a fox - a raven should be easy to overpower right?

 

[Markus Jais]

i wonder how many corvids take mobbing too far and end up being seriously hurt or dinner?

theres footage of 2 ravens continuously harrassing a nesting bald eagle and its chick on youtube. its one of these wildlife programmes from america. later on you see big black feathers in the nest and a eaten corpse. would have been interestingto see what went on there.

ifa golden eagle cankill a fox - a raven should be easy to overpower right?

Ravens are sometimes killed by Golden Eagles. The raptor is MUCH stronger than the Raven. But Ravens are very agile in the air and are not easy to catch.
But there are records in books about Ravens being killed by Golden Eagles in the air when they got to close. Sometimes the remains of a Raven are found in Golden Eagle nests.

Markus

 

[Himalaya]

I thought golden eagles would be fast?

I guss this is why there areless records of goshawks, peregrines being mobbed as they would be far more agile and dangertous right as compared to slower eagles and buzzards?

if corvids hate raptors so much why would the raven and peregrine nest close on cliff faces?

Ravens are sometimes killed by Golden Eagles. The raptor is MUCH stronger than the Raven. But Ravens are very agile in the air and are not easy to catch.
But there are records in books about Ravens being killed by Golden Eagles in the air when they got to close. Sometimes the remains of a Raven are found in Golden Eagle nests.

Markus

 

[razorsharp]

Crows may mob goshawks, but they do end up as prey:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cySSxG4trvw

 

[Mahsleb]

Hi In the Gambia,I saw a Pied Crow harrass an Osprey which had caught a fish
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/174130/ppuser/50827

The Osprey flew to a palm tree and the crow landed on the same frond
and sat and watched as the Osprey ate the fish

When it had finished it's meal, the Osprey launched itself at the
Crow and almost grabbed it!
Once flying freely,the Crow easily lost the Osprey

Cheers

 

[Markus Jais]

I thought golden eagles would be fast?

I guss this is why there areless records of goshawks, peregrines being mobbed as they would be far more agile and dangertous right as compared to slower eagles and buzzards?

if corvids hate raptors so much why would the raven and peregrine nest close on cliff faces?

Golden Eagles are fast. Very fast and agile for such a huge bird. But Ravens are also very agile and when attacking Golden Eagles, they normally stay above or behind the eagle. That makes them hard to catch. And in flapping flight, a Raven can get pretty fast. At least for a short moment, which might be enough to get away from a Golden Eagle.

One reason why Ravens and Peregrins might nest close to each other is that in many areas, good nesting places are scarce.

There are even records of Peregrines nesting close to Eagle Owls. But that often means for the Peregrines to end up as owl food (both young and adults).

Markus

 

[Himalaya]

a peregrine itself wouldprobably never be killed by a pair of ravens but ravens dont tolerate buzzards, eagles at all. a pairof ravens would probably find it very difficult killing an eagle but a buzzard would be much easier i guess.

nice pics - wonder if the fish eating osprey would have made a mealof the crow had it killed it?

 

[sparrie]

A peregrine could easily be killed by a pair of ravens. Ravens are twice the weight and very ferocious if need be. But they seem to nest beside and tolerate each other.

Gary

 

[Atricapilla]

I saw a Kestrel giving a female Hen harrier a hard time yesterday,it must have chased it for 5 minutes

 

[ColD]

This Golden Eagle was forced down by a pair of Raven just behind our house. The Hooded Crows here on Crete usually leave the Buzzard alone but tend to harass everything other raptor
ColD
http://www.cretewww.com

 

[Himalaya]

i doubt it as peregrines hold very firmly against ravens who they often spar with over nesting sites. i have even heard of 1 peregrine chasing off 2 ravens from an old peregrine nest site in winter. nesting with corvids is very hard as theynot only mob you but may steal your eggs and eat your chicks. also oneof the rangers at the peak district said peregrines sometimes took raven fledglings

i have read off sparrowhawks sparring with ravens and even at one point a sparrowhawk chasing a raven? although raven or maybe at least a pair of ravens have killed birds up to the size of a buzzard would they or any other crow succeed in successfully mobbing faster and more agile birds such as sparrowhawks and peregrines? when i have seen crows mob sparrowhawks ialways see sparrowhawks respond making the crow rush off but its not the same with buzzards who are just too slow to respond?

would it be possible that a faster sparrowhawk would pose more ofa threat to a corvid than a buzzard?

nice pic of the ravens and thegolden eagle cold - i saw a coupleof ravens today and they were noticeably bigger than crows - sometimes ifind it abit hard to tell in leve flight

A peregrine could easily be killed by a pair of ravens. Ravens are twice the weight and very ferocious if need be. But they seem to nest beside and tolerate each other.

Gary