The Buzzard
The Buzzard..
If you spend some time looking at the skies over Corkagh you should sooner or later see a pair of Buzzards circling high overhead. It is a wonderful example of a species who were extinct (poisoning and shooting) by the early 20th century re-establishing naturally. Since the banning of Strychnine poison in the early 90s birds from Scotland have made their way here and are now to be found in every county.
They feed on birds, even Magpies and Crows, and small mammals. They will also scavenge on roadkill. With a wingspan of around 4 feet they are among our largest birds.
The Buzzard mates for life and a pair will only share their territory temporarily with their young.
They build their large untidy nests high up in mature trees and there is only one brood per year. Unlike many other birds the period between egg laying and the juveniles leaving the territory is quite long. Eggs, about 3, are laid at 3 day intervals in mid April. It will be more than a month before the eggs hatch. After that they will remain in the nest for around 7 weeks. Once they have fledged they will spend another 6 weeks in the trees close to their parents crying to be fed. All in all it will be early September before their parents chase them from their territory.
Many juveniles do not survive their first year, sometimes they are not good enough hunters and starve during the winter or perhaps they are killed while scavenging for food on busy roads.
