There was a time when buzzards were hemmed in the west of Great Britain. As a child buzzards were a holiday sentinel as we travelled from Kent to Devon or Wales or Cumbria or Scotland.
First-buzzard was always a special moment – a sign of special holiday places. But then the return had last-buzzard, a sad departure to the more intolerant east of the country.
Buzzards weren’t constrained by their own fondness for the west – their distribution map was plotted by decades of intolerance, a victim of Victorian industrialisation of hunting.
Back in Kent, in the 60s and 70s we didn’t have buzzards. Well, hardly – the odd rumour of a pair here or there.
My father often wondered if we should have them – the countryside looked ideal, he missed them in a way; the landscape wasn’t complete.
And then, slowly at first – the recovery began. I was living in the north of England at that stage and had seen the Cheshire buzzard population fall gradually to zero. And then they were back, here and there at first.
An outbreak of tolerance? Definitely. Stamping out (to some extent) the bad (and illegal) practice of poisoning making a massive contribution.
And eventually they returned to Kent. I saw one from the garden of my family home in 2002, catching the wind over the downs. Sadly my father didn’t live to see it – I think of him when I hear them call.
Huge credit is due to the local farmers and landowners around my home – the richness of the countryside in their stewardship (including buzzards) adequate compensation for sharing a few pheasants.
So that’s why I’m angry at the proposal by DEFRA to include draconian techniques of nest destruction (shooting or poking) and capturing adult buzzards as part of a project to reduce the impact of buzzards on the 40m pheasants released into the countryside each year.
I’m not alone, Martin Harper, our conservation director has more to say – and asks you to write to your MP, please do.
Buzzard by Mike Langman
For those of you who remember the comedian Bob Newhart – his stock in trade was giving one side of a telephone call to historic figures. Imagine the conversation if someone was to propose releasing pheasants.
Hi – yes, you want to do what? You want to release pheasants in to the wild.
How many?
40?
40,000,000!
... each year!
Have you thought this through?
They weigh how much?
As much as all the other birds in the country?
And then you want to shoot them ...
... not all of them
What happens to the rest?
3,000,000 get run over ...
... are you sure you’ve thought this through?
It’s not going to fly, is it?
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Love the Bob Newhart sketch - it sounds as ridiculous as it is when you write it like that. And great news the plans have been dropped. Thanks to you and Martin for all your work behind the scenes..... Good one :-)