Buzzards

[annieigma]

My neighbour said he saw a buzzard kill a barn owl. is this common?

[Tilly2]

From the RSPB website.
Buzzards principally eat small rodents, but also take birds, reptiles, amphibians, larger insects and earthworms. Prey up to 500g is taken by active predation; anything heavier is usually carrion or seriously enfeebled individuals.

Gamebirds are sometimes taken, though these make up only a tiny proportion of the diet. Buzzards are more likely to feed on carrion.

The feeding grounds are often shared with other birds, though hunting perches are defended. Buzzards use three main hunting techniques. They locate prey from a perch and then fly directly to it. They may also soar over open terrain, occasionally hanging in the wind before dropping on to the prey and following up the attack on the ground. Alternatively they may be seen walking or standing on the ground looking for invertebrates.

[Milvus]

I'm with Tilly2 on this. The buzzard is predominately carrion, has a pretty weak talon grip for killing. A soaring bird not agile like a hawk, so probably couldn't hunt the owl mid-air. Was the owl on the ground feeding or injured and the buzzard dropped on it? Those are the likely scenarios I think. Otherwise was the barn owl looking for nest chicks and went near a buzzard nest? Buzzards attack anything of any size, humans take note, that gets close to a nest this time of year.

[annieigma]

Hi, Apparantly the owl was hunting along the river bank, and the buzzard came out of the sky and crashed it to the ground. Could the bird have been something other than a buzzard? I am in south lincolnshire, and we get lots of different birds arriving, although we have got lots of buzzards nesting here in the last couple of years.

[237SJ]

Buzzards will take other birds. I remember my mum telling me about seeing a buzzard swooping down to my gran`s chicken run and carrying off one of the chicks. Your comment "the owl was hunting along the river bank" makes me think it wasn`t an owl though. Could it have been a kestral or a sparrow hawk?

[melv16]

It could also be a goshawk or a peregrine that took the owl. The female on the Dorset kestrel cam was predated by a peregrine, with only a couple of days before the eggs were going to hatch:-(

[HansUrbancka]

Did your neighbour witness the event during the daytime.? I doubt very much that was the case because Barn Owls hunt and fly at nightime.

I am open to be proved wrong.

Hans.

[Baldric]

www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/.../barnowl/
Barn owls can be seen hunting in daylight, as well as at night,

[melv16]

They usually start hunting an hour before dusk, hans. I had one settle on a post not 10yds away when I was camping in Scotland. It was the best view I've ever had of a barn owl.

[Lie-in King]

Some interesting bits here -

http://britishbirds.co.uk/article/the-daylight-activity-of-barn-owls/

[melv16]

Thanks for the link Lieinking. Very interesting.

[HansUrbancka]

Please disregard my earlier posting.^^^

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php/103404-Buzzards/page5

Hans.

[hc4361]

Barn owls love river banks - lots of prey for them to find

[Khandro]

milvus;//The buzzard is predominately carrion, has a pretty weak talon grip for killing.//
From where do you gather this? The main diet of a buzzard isn't carrion, (and predators don't kill with their talons). The main diet of a buzzard is small mammals, reptiles amphibians and invertebrates, but they will also take small, medium and even large birds.

[Khandro]

divebuddy; According to my Readers Digest, Book of British Birds, the main diet of the kestrel is small birds, to a lesser extent medium sized birds (no large birds) and a lot of small mammals and invertebrates (snails, worms and assorted insects).
You are correct that along with all the other birds of prey except owls, they are day-hunters.

[melv16]

Khandro is correct. I think Readers Digest have confused kestrels with sparrowhawks. I don't think it's the 1st time RD have got things wrong.

[melv16]

For khandro read divebuddy on my last post above.

[HansUrbancka]

Today's prize goes to.....wait for it....... the correct answer for the main diet of Kestrels has been given by...... Unless the RSPB is wrong.......The winner is ......divebuddy.:-)

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/k/kestrel/food_and_hunting.aspx

Hans.☺☺☺