The buzzard's tale

Contrary to popular belief, it's not only eagles we care about here on Mull. Calls from islanders and visitors to our local bird hospital (at Wings over Mull), the police or me at the RSPB are about everything from otters to owls, from herons to gulls. On the mainland, the Scottish SPCA would respond but here on the island we have to make do as best we can. So when the call came in early one morning about a bird in desperate need of assistance on the other side of the island, there really was no hesitation.

The call was from a farmer's wife near Dervaig. Her husband had driven out that morning to feed his sheep and he'd noticed a bird hanging from the telephone wires above the farm track. He was sure it was a buzzard. He couldn't reach it or help himself but he knew a few people that could. The farm is about an hour's drive from me and in my trusty old landrover I'm afraid there's no rushing allowed and no blue lights on the roof but we made the quickest progress we could. On these single track roads you never know when a sheep or deer is going to bound across in front of you so you have to take it very carefully.

I had good directions from the farmhouse and went straight to the spot up a lonely, rough track through the forest. The sight which met me made me whince. Suspended from the telephone line by a torn and bloody wing high above the track was a beautiful but terrified buzzard - perhaps one of this year's youngsters. I couldn't bare to look and everytime I made a movement the poor bird struggled all the more and got itself even more entangled. So having asessed the situation, I retreated round a corner and out of sight to make the first of several calls.

First on my list of course was Wings over Mull. They were on their way. It would take them about an hour to arrive. Next was Finlay our local Strathlyde Police officer who I knew would have the direct line for the island BT engineer. Finally, just in case everything else failed, I called BT itself. Fearing the worst with a BT helpline number, I actually got through to a real person and a very helpful one at that. Trying to explain my position in a remote part of a west coast island with a buzzard hanging on the line to a bemused customer services operative was quite a challenge.

But give him his due (and it was probably the most interesting call he was going to get that day) he said he would take my details and 'pass them on'. Literally a few minutes later, the local engineer called me on the mobile. He'd been contacted by the police and his BT head office! He abandoned whatever job he was on and headed for Dervaig. The rescue was in motion. It put my faith back in human nature.

Shortly after, up the track came Richard Dewar from Wings over Mull and Mike the BT engineer with all the kit to reach the stricken bird. But as we prepared to launch the rescue bid, the buzzard made one final, desperate attempt to free itself. I almost had to look away as I saw it wrench itself away from the sharp wire spike near the end of the line. I watched helplessly as it fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. The stamina this bird had for self-preservation despite his awful injuries was staggering. He lurched off into the bracken for a few metres but finally gave up and lay panting, beak gaping, eyes wide and staring at his would-be rescuers. Even from where I stood, I could see one wing was badly torn with a gaping wound, his feathers now matted with blood.

Very gently, Richard's gloved hands eased him out of the damp vegetation for an initial inspection. There we all were: BT, RSPB and Wings over Mull gathered round a single bird. The farmer and his family had first raised the alarm; the police had helped bring us all together. Was it all going to be in vain? After a brief half-hearted struggle, the buzzard lay limp. He looked like the fight had gone out of him. Richard had seen this scenario many times before and half shook his head. "It doesn't look good..." he said in the understatement of the day, "...but we'll do what we can..."

His words trailed off as he lay the buzzard carefully in a special bird of prey carrying case and then set off for the bird hospital. Mike from BT checked the line was working, wished us genuine good luck and returned to his normal routine of engineering work around the island. I 'phoned the farmhouse and left a message and then wandered back to the landrover. I glanced back up at the line and there were a few buzzard feathers fluttering in the breeze. Once again I felt great pride in how different parts of the island had come together in a moment to help one poor buzzard in distress but I also knew that despite all our efforts, he was now balanced precariously between life and death.

Coming soon...conclusion to 'The buzzard's tale'

Sat tag latest: as you may have seen from the updated map, some recent data shows Breagha en route to the mainland again near Oban which is great news. Mara, at the moment, is playing hard to get but we know he'll appear on the radar again soon.

Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull officer