Brave!

A Blackbird with racing stripes?

A Blackbird with racing stripes?

Blackbird XR3i, innit?

Looks like he is just hitching a lift, like these guys.

High five Mr Frog!

A, that’s not a Blackbird. (although it is a black bird)
B, I don’t think that’s a Buzzard.
C, It’s probably Photoshopped.

Red winged blackbird, innit.

Sorry red tailed hawk.

That’s defo a buzzard, and the crows always always give them grief here on our farm.

The Blackbird’s shadow doesn’t look right somehow.

Meh, raptor for the win.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/8xxj3k]Sparrowhawk vs Crow![/url] by Matt Robinson, on Flickr

Yeah, often see the crows hassling buzzards round here. Photo obviously caught an instance – cool photo 🙂

Raccoon watches blackbird with interest from very safe log.

Not sure about brave.

Looks like a fairly safe position to be in!

Do buzzards ever take out airbourne prey? They sort of flop on to rabbits don’t they?

Do buzzards ever take out airbourne prey? They sort of flop on to rabbits don’t they?

No, they’re not fast enough, they’re scavengers by nature, although, having said that, I was walking back to Avebury from Silbury Hill this afternoon, and I’d been watching a buzzard quartering a patch of rough grass on a slope to my right, which the wind was blowing towards, and it was doing a very good impression of a Kestrel, literally hovering in one place for a minute or two at a time, just gently flapping its wings, pretty impressive for a big bird not built for it.
I’ve watched Kestrels in the same place mob a buzzard, and smaller birds than blackbirds go after them as well.
Usually it’s Corvids that mob buzzards, and they’ll mob Ravens, too.
That may be a buzzard in that photo, but it’s not European, and nor is the blackbird; looks more like a Mynah, with those red stripes.

Red winged blackbird, innit.

‘Tis indeed, the angle makes it look like head stripes, but they’re shoulder red and yellow patches:

While out hedgelaying I once watched a Peregrine take a pigeon on the wing and then struggle with the weight to carry it back to the cliffs. Before he could get to safety he was mobbed by a pair of buzzards which eventually caused him to drop the pigeon. One of the buzzards swept down and took the falling prize in mid-air, before carrying it off to a safe perch in a nearby tree.

Buzzards 1, Falcon 0.

Blackbird XR3i, innit?

🙂 but SRi, Shirley?

Saw some lapwings knocking the crap out of a Red Kite the other day.

Lapwings are cool.

I was out in the hills behind Peebles at the weekend (fabulous bike ride by the way), and watched a Buzzard getting mobbed by a couple of crows. The Buzzard got it’s own back though as it pulled a spectacular barrel roll and had a swipe at one of the crows. Get in!

My wife and I saw 2 rabbits having a go at a buzzard that was trying to drag off a young rabbit in the corner of a field. They kept charging at it and doing kick jumps before dashing off again. Buzzard eventually gave up and left the youngster alone.

As above you regularly see corvids (mainly crows) mobbing larger birds like buzzards. Happens on a bigger scale too, while in the hebrides last month we saw a pair of buzzards having a pop at a white-tailed eagle

Despite their bad-ass looks Buzzards seem to get a bit of a hard time of things.

We saw a Shag (no giggling) that had caught a flat fish and was struggling to swallow it once. It was mobbed by gulls until it had to drop the fish and they then got it.

I was mobbed by a Red winged blackbirds while riding my bike in the US (Ohio). Terrifying is the best way to describe it.

A bird would sit on a telegraph pole and as you went past they’d swoop down, missing the back of your head by inches. And then repeat. At the next pole his neighbour would take over.

A bird would sit on a telegraph pole and as you went past they’d swoop down, missing the back of your head by inches. And then repeat. At the next pole his neighbour would take over.

Just protecting their babies I’d guess. Magpies in Australia are well known for attacking people particularly cyclists like this.

I once saw a big ginger cat stalking two pukekos in our garden. When they noticed it they turned and chased it. They’re great gangly things when they’re running and flapping their wings, gave the cat a proper fright!

These:

Oh man, the noise those things make…

Hmm trying to figure out if it’s a buzzard I keep seeing on my commute, are they common? Just catch glimpses of the back of it as it flies away from me.
Irwell valley near forest bank prison.

D0NK – Member
Hmm trying to figure out if it’s a buzzard I keep seeing on my commute, are they common? Just catch glimpses of the back of it as it flies away from me.
Irwell valley near forest bank prison.

Yes, common now in Britain. Not so many on the East coast but catching up.

A buzzard attack can hurt too!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/5858407/Joggers-hurt-in-buzzard-attacks.html

Surprised no-one has posted this yet 🙂

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM8tShcn-dY[/video]