Stupid buzzard !

clawback07

Had a spare hour so set out pigeon decoys yesterday afternoon on the edge of a stubble field .Conditions were far from ideal as there was no wind and light was poor. A few pigeon flew in to check the pattern but rooks and jackdaws couldn't keep away .
As I was about to call it a day , I caught a blur of brown in the corner of my eye and turned to see a buzzard come in about a meter off the ground and strike one of the decoys with enough force to send it a meter forward on the ground ! It sounded like the decoy had been kicked with some force , and the buzzard looked confused as he legged it . Why do you never have a camera when things like this happen ? I didn't realise they could strike with the speed and strength this bird displayed .
It was the highlight of a crap afternoon !

Grizzly 45

But isn't that part of the joy of being a hunter as well to experience something like that?How many people can say they have ever seen something like that?

Yesterday evening, while out for a rough shoot I got to watch my resident fox try and stalk four greylags out in my front field for over 30 mins. The geese were well aware of it from the start, and just kept moving away from the fox, while keeping up a chatter, until it was all of 20 meters from them, before taking flight and moving another 50 meters up the field.: finally, they got bored and flew off in the last light to their roosting field across the Shannon. Scenes like that can make up for zero in the bag...:)

meathstevie

clawback07 wrote: »

Had a spare hour so set out pigeon decoys yesterday afternoon on the edge of a stubble field .Conditions were far from ideal as there was no wind and light was poor. A few pigeon flew in to check the pattern but rooks and jackdaws couldn't keep away .
As I was about to call it a day , I caught a blur of brown in the corner of my eye and turned to see a buzzard come in about a meter off the ground and strike one of the decoys with enough force to send it a meter forward on the ground ! It sounded like the decoy had been kicked with some force , and the buzzard looked confused as he legged it . Why do you never have a camera when things like this happen ? I didn't realise they could strike with the speed and strength this bird displayed .
It was the highlight of a crap afternoon !

At least you know your decoys are good enough...

Birdnuts

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

But isn't that part of the joy of being a hunter as well to experience something like that?How many people can say they have ever seen something like that?

.:)

Indeed - I'll always remember out working a young terrier when he followed a fox down a set and got chased out by an angry badger!! Surreal stuff!!

Half-cocked

I've had my decoys whacked by Buzzards and even a Sparrowhawk over the years. I think they were all immature and therefore inexperienced birds. Learning to hunt and hungry.

J.R.

clawback07 wrote: »

Had a spare hour so set out pigeon decoys yesterday afternoon on the edge of a stubble field .Conditions were far from ideal as there was no wind and light was poor. A few pigeon flew in to check the pattern but rooks and jackdaws couldn't keep away .
As I was about to call it a day , I caught a blur of brown in the corner of my eye and turned to see a buzzard come in about a meter off the ground and strike one of the decoys with enough force to send it a meter forward on the ground ! It sounded like the decoy had been kicked with some force , and the buzzard looked confused as he legged it . Why do you never have a camera when things like this happen ? I didn't realise they could strike with the speed and strength this bird displayed .
It was the highlight of a crap afternoon !

Same has happened me on three separate occasions.

We add to our plastic decoys - setting up real dead birds among them - as they are shot.

Om the three occasions the buzzard went for the plastic decoys, not the real bird...amazing.

Last time it happened the young buzzard dropped the decoy and then went for real dead bird...giving me the opportunity to get a quick snap on the mobile.

Eddie B

We've seen it on lough Ree too on many occasion. It's amazing how versatile these birds are. Then you'll read on line that they are only carrion eaters, and that they have very limited hunting abilities, which is laughable IMO.

They may be no Peregrine Falcon, but a skilled hunter none the less.

grassroot1

Similar thing happened a peregrine came in and attacked the decoys. While he was there a buzzard came in and had a go at him there was a right old dust up and the peregrine got away as fast as possible. Too slow with the camera of course

Dai John

Frequently had decoys attacked by peregrine falcon and buzzards. But seen crows attacking them high in the sky like dogfights from WW!!. Quite something to watch on a sunny day.