Granddad’s Camera
Buzzard, as it appears in the game

No.033 · Birds · Common

Buzzard

Buteo buteo

One of Britain's commonest birds of prey, soaring on broad wings and mewing over woodland and fields. Once rare in the east, it is now seen almost everywhere.

When to look

All year, mostly at day.

Time of day

Best time
Warm, sunny days with thermals, especially March–April when pairs display. Seen all year.
Where in the game
the New Forest (ancient woodland, heath and lawn), Millbrook (farmland and park), the Pembrokeshire coast (clifftop and island) and the Cairngorms (pine forest and moorland)
Size
Length about 54 cm
Wingspan
About 120 cm
Weight
About 828 g (BTO average)
Lifespan
Typically about 12 years; oldest ringed bird 30 years 5 months (BTO)
Population
About 63,000 pairs in the UK (BTO, 2016); up 76% 1995–2024
Status
Green (Birds of Conservation Concern 5, 2021)

Diet

Rabbits and small mammals, plus birds, amphibians, large insects and earthworms; also carrion.

Habitat

Woodland edges beside open land, farmland, moorland and coastal cliffs.

Breeding

Bulky stick nest in a tree or on a crag; 2–3 eggs laid March–April; young fledge in June–July.

Field signs

  • Plaintive, cat-like 'piiay' call overhead
  • Broad wings held in a shallow 'V' when soaring
  • Perched on fence posts, pylons and dead trees
  • Pale patch on the underwing, usually with a dark wrist

Did you know?

  • Buzzards fell to a low in the mid-1900s through persecution and the loss of rabbits to myxomatosis; with less persecution and rabbits recovering, they have since recolonised nearly the whole country (BTO).
  • A pair 'sky-dances' in spring, folding wings and plunging in a rollercoaster display.
  • The number of 10-km squares where buzzards breed has risen 89% since the 1968–72 atlas, and there are now about 63,000 pairs (BTO, 2016).

Moments worth waiting for

  • Sky-dancing pair March to April, day
    Two buzzards rise on a thermal, then one folds its wings and plunges in a looping display.
  • Worm hunting April to May and September to October, day
    A buzzard walks across a wet field on its long legs, pulling up earthworms.

Photo tip

Watch a ploughed field or fence line in soft morning light. Stay in the car as a hide, use a 500 mm lens, and wait for a bird to drop from a post. Shoot at 1/2000 s in flight and expose for the pale underwing.

Be a good naturalist

Keep well away from nest trees (March–July) and never flush a bird off a nest. Do not use bait or carrion to draw them in.

The law

Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; may be persecuted illegally in some places.

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