Tag: buzzards

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webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Bosherton South Wales . Wonderful walks, views and wildlife if you ever get the chance to visit. Jacqui

Views of Broadhaven beach. This is a real surprise to find once you have walked around the lakes at Bosherton. Jacqui

I must try to find the time to get the Buzzards hunting in the Valley on the webcam. To be honest I haven’t looked this year to see where they were hunting. It was only this afternoon when I gave a ride to a young Lad that I realised that they were hunting the Valley. There were five above the edge of the Wood on the right hand side. I cant imagine that the five were part of the same family. I have rarely seen more than one youngster with the parents. Once I have seen two, but never three.

In the years we have been at Denbury up to two ago the Buzzards would nest in the Woods at the far end of the Valley. In the months of July and August I would often sit and watch the parent birds hovering above and hunting from one end of the Valley to the other for rabbits for the youngster’s. Two years ago the Buzzards nested in the Woods quite close to the Farm House. Then we would only see them hovering above. With them hunting the Valley they may have started to nest in there old areas again.

I spoke to the person who will be installing the new webcam camera in the secret location yesterday. He hopes to be able to get it going next week.

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webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page taken by seven year old Finn on his Holiday at Denbury.

A locomotive at Minehead station when we took the kids on the West Somerset Railway.

A view of the Bristol Channel from the train.

A toadstool at the top of the valley at Denbury.

Thornton.

Smuggler and Thornton.

If any of you were watching the Reindeer field this afternoon you may have seen three Birds. They were to far away to be easily recognised but they were a pair of Buzzards with this year youngster’s. It is mainly above this area they they are hunting for food. I should think that the Buzzards nested in this area.

On my walk through the Valley this afternoon I believe that I saw a Rabbit with Myxomatosis. I was a bit of a way from the Rabbit so I could be wrong. The Myxi virus causes tumors on the skin but is noticeable around the eye and nose. The Rabbits with the virus usually die within a couple of weeks, although some Rabbits are immune from it.

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webcams

I have been surprised at the sudden disappearance of the…

I have been surprised at the sudden disappearance of the young Buzzard. In fact I have not seen or heard any of the Adult Buzzards for about the same time. I should think that it was at the beginning of this week that I last saw the youngster. I had it on the main Badger webcam sitting on the fence. Maybe one of our viewers saw it, please let me know what day if you did.

I was speaking to a birding person earlier this evening about the Buzzard suddenly disappearing. He thought it odd, but did say that the parent Birds do chase their youngsters away from their territory, and when the Adult Buzzards malt, they can be a little elusive, but is this that time. I cant remember it in other years, although this year was the first that I had one of the youngster on the webcam for as long as I have.

There can various reasons for the sudden disappearance of any Animals or Birds. Birds of Prey have always been a target for Gamekeepers trying to protect the shooting for their employer, many as well as their employers are prosecuted in the courts. Gamekeepers poison dead Rabbits for the Bird of Prey to eat. What a way for them to die. Obviously it really does concern me that one possibility is that the Buzzards have been poisoned or shot. Chris Speering from the Hawk and Owl trust is visiting Denbury on Monday. I will speak to him about the sudden disappearance and take his advice. Another option is to speak to the RSPB.

Some weeks back when I made my views known on Game and Rough shooting, I did not go into the killing of Birds of Prey by poisoning that is done by Gamekeepers to stop Birds of Prey from taking the Game Birds, that are put down for their so called sport. This shows even more why this type of shooting should be banned. Of course Landowners have to control various Animals and Birds or their crops would suffer. Unfortunately most shot for enjoyment, I wonder for why. Very little that is shot is eaten. All the Landowners that I know don’t need the few pence that they would get for a brace of Pheasants or a few Rabbits. I suppose it could be that it is the only way that some try to prove their manhood, sad.

I could be wrong about the disappearance of the Buzzards, and tomorrow they will all be back. I hope so. I will let you know..

Val you must learn to count, there were three Swallows in the nest, when I turned the camera on this morning. Mind you I think two of them have been in and out of the nest all day. I should think that they will all out at some time tomorrow. I will keep the camera panned out so that you can hopefully watch their progress.

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webcams

There were more lambs born over night and today unfortunately…

There were more lambs born over night and today, unfortunately none were able to be viewed on camera. We were concerned that the Foxes had taken a lamb last night. As I was coming back from feeding the Badgers, I heard a fight going on between the Foxes, how many were fighting I don’t know, but it was the worse Fox fight I had ever heard. It was coming from the area very close to where the Ewes and Lambs were. I could only imagine that the Foxes had taken a lamb and were fighting over it. This morning I could only see one lamb with Minty and of course thought that one of her twins had been taken. Checking the Ewes and lambs this evening, we found Minty with both her twins lambs, and could not see any others missing. What ever the Foxes were fighting over so fiercely, I cannot imagine.

Four pairs of Buzzards have been flying above the farm today, it happens every year. They must be marking out their territory for the coming breeding season. It varies from year to year how many pairs fly above the farm. A few years back their were fourteen pairs. Some years they return for four or five days, flying and gliding in the thermals for hours at a time. Only one pair stay in the area of the farm, the way they hunt the valley, they must nest in the woods, but I have never found out where. It is good to see the Buzzards around the Farm, and they let you they are, with there call.

Although the Buzzard is about two thirds of the size, and has different colouring of that of a Golden Eagle, for those who have only seen the Eagle in a book, they could be excused for thinking that a Buzzard may have been an Eagle. I remember some years back that our local newspaper reported a Golden Eagle sighting, within a mile or so from the Farm. I cant believe that it was not a Buzzard, and surprised that our local newspaper would not have questioned the sighting.

We managed to knock a pole into the lake today, we can now find a branch to push into it, hopefully to make a landing site for the Kingfishers, to fish from. I had to get into the boat to help my lad keep it still as he was unable to stop it from moving, to be able to knock the pole in. I had it on camera, thinking he would be doing it on his own. Fortunately I was out of the sight of the camera when we had finished, for when we got to the bank, my lad got out first, and decided he was going to act daft, I have a better word, but you would not want to see it. I was sitting in the back of the boat, when he got out the boat it was well down in the water, he pushed the boat away from the bank so hard that the back started to go down, how I did not finish up in the water, I don’t know. You would not want to know what I called him