While walking Diamond & Jasper around Beck Vale this Spring I became aware of the presence of 2 adult buzzards flying overhead and perched high in various trees.  After a few days it became clear that they had built a nest around 40ft up a tree.

I continued to walk normally twice a day and observed what I believe to be the female sitting on the nest during the incubation period.  A couple of members of the local bird watching and bird ringing community also had observed the activity.

A number of BTO bird ringers were keen to ring the young, however given the height of the nest and not wishing to interfere we needed to determine the right time to allow a tree surgeon to climb the tree to reach the nest.

To this end I deployed a GroPro on a extendable Carbon Fibre Pole on 3 occasions to take video and pictures.   We considered this the most non-intrusive method – having discounted using a drone.  The process was quick, taking less than 3 minutes to deploy and recover the GroPro and the pictures / videos were fantastic.

Picture of 3 Eggs – 03 May 2018

Picture of 2 Chicks & 1 Egg – 25 May 2018     Video of 2 Chicks & 1 Egg – 25 May 2018

Picture of 3 Chicks – 06 June 2018     Video of 3 Chicks – 06 June 2018

Given the pictures and video from May and early June, W/C 18th June was identified as the right time to ring the young buzzards.  A local tree surgeon climbed the tree and 2 healthy young buzzards were rung on Tuesday 19th June by local BTO registered bird ringers (the third chick previously observed was not present in the nest)

Picture of Young Buzzard – 19 June 2018

Picture of Young Buzzards – 19 June 2018

I continued to walk normally twice a day and observed both parents hunting and providing food (mainly rabbits) for the young to the nest crown.  They fledged in early July and I saw them most days in the tree canopy (branching) with the parents continuing to provide food.  The last close up photographs (via zoom lens) I got were on the 17th July 2018, you can see the ring on right leg.

Picture of Fledged Buzzard – 17 July 2018

Picture of Fledged Buzzard – 17 July 2018

I observed them with their parents for a further 6-8 weeks after fledging before I believe they were seen off to fend for themselves and to find there own territory.  I understand the average lifespan is about 8-10 years (The oldest wild buzzard known was 25 years 4 months old)

It was fascinating to see this happen day by day over the late Spring and Summer.  I have specifically delayed making this post to ensure that the pattern of life (human activity) ivo of this nesting site didn’t change and the parents had the best chance of breeding success.

Maybe one day the local bird ringers will get a report if the ring(s) are recovered.

Find out more about BTO and the bird ringing scheme here

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