Rogue Buzzard

It is always a pleasure to film a pair of Redstarts feeding young especially when it is a late pair in July when most others have already reared young. They had chosen an old Tree Creeper nest box and had five young which were six days old. Both adults were very obliging and perched where required during my first two hour session.  For the photos  click here  Two days later I had a second session and all was going well for the first fifty minutes. Then, after a great swish of wings from nowhere, a Buzzard clung to the nest box and somehow took four young from inside. It returned a few minutes later but I managed to frighten it off and saved the last young. I would never have thought it possible that a Buzzard could predate  nesting Redstarts when inside the box but it had happened before my very eyes. There is no doubt that the expansion of the Buzzard in the Pennines is not good news. Already Little Owls and Woodcock have disappeared from their regular sites as a result of the spread. There have also been two sightings of Buzzards killing young Barn Owls on their maiden flights. Last year a friend had two broods of Hobbies predated in the nest by Buzzards. During the week I have been searching the Pennine forest for Nightjars. Some have been located but finding a nest is almost impossible. Eight hours of hard work resulted in flushing a Woodcock off four newly hatched young which for July is unheard of. The big event in the garden was the arrival of a Nuthatch which fed for one day only. Still it was the first we have seen for more than a year and would always be welcome back.