The Buzzard Becomes a City Dweller Bird of Prey Makes Spectacular Return
By GRAEME SMITH
BUZZARDS have returned to Scotland’s cities after almost two centuries.
Known as the “telegraph pole eagle”, they have long been persecuted. But experts believe buzzards are now Scotland’s most prevalent bird of prey.
They have been confirmed living and breeding in both Edinburgh and Glasgow – reflecting a significant increase in numbers as a result of a reduction in shooting, poisoning and trapping.
The last complete census of buzzards in the UK, conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology in 1983, estimated that there were 12,000 to 17,000 breeding pairs in Britain.
A national population estimate in 2001 suggested there were between 44,000 and 61,000 territorial pairs in the UK, of which Scotland had a significant proportion.
Experts believe the numbers have increased dramatically.
MarkHolling, of the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Group, said: “Previous counts are now probably quite far short of the true population numbers for the species in Scotland.
“Sightings within the city boundaries are now quite frequent, and there have been a number of nesting attempts, too. I certainly know of two areas where they have been successful within the city.
“In 1990, there were only three pairs nesting in the whole of Lothian. This movement into the urban areas is simply part of the wider spread into vacant territories, but it is really exciting that they feel comfortable enough to live without feeling threatened in close association with humans.
“I’m pretty sure that the buzzard is now the most numerous raptor in Scotland.”
The buzzard is supremely adaptable and can live on a whole variety of prey species.
The common buzzard – or Buteo buteo – bred almost everywhere across the UK at the beginning of the 19th century. But within 100 years, the population had shrunk to the north-west of the country.
The Victorian era was the worst as sporting estates waged war on any birds with a hooked beak to preserve more game birds for people to shoot.
Persecution of buzzards continued into the 20th century and their demise continued with the introduction of agricultural pesticides in the 1950s.
However, the attitude of landowners and farmers to birds of prey began to shift significantly in the late 1980s.
At that time gamekeepers adopted the Larsen trap as the most effective method of crow control instead of laying poisoned bait.
This, together with an increase in the rabbit and rodent prey populations, brought about by the decreased use in agricultural pesticides, heralded the beginnings of the true recovery of the species.
Raptor experts at RSPB Scotland believe the species has overtaken the kestrel as the most numerous bird of prey north of the border.
“Across Europe, where buzzards breed unmolested, they can be found in large towns and can live comfortably at very high densities of about a pair to every square kilometre, ” said Duncan Orr-Ewing, head of land use policy at RSPB Scotland. “The potential for a further increase is still quite high and we should feel privileged that so many people now have the opportunity to see such a fantastic and beautiful species close to our homes.”
Although buzzards are not a priority species on the European Birds Directive – which is designed to protect, manage and regulate all bird species – RSPB Scotland believes their population increase signals the need for a new national census.
RSPB Scotland officials say the arrival of the buzzards in cities will not have any impact on urban seagull populations.
ON THE WING
Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Length: 51-57cm
Wingspan: 113-128cm
Call: A loud “mewing” sounds like “pee-uuu”
Prey: mainly rabbits, voles, crows, and magpies
Breeding: In forests and small woods with access to open land and farmland, meadows and marshes.