Could I Lure A Buzzard?

I had half acre garden surrounded by 12' high evergreen hedging - lots of trees and orchard within the garden rest to lawn and rough grass - I always fed the birds and watched the Buzzards circling above ad at times trying to steal from the larger birds that took scraps.   I started feeding chicken - first of all in large lumps to make it easier for them to take the chance and come in and make off with the food.  Within a couple of months 3 or 4 Buzzards would be sitting in the trees in the garden waiting for their 10.00 am breakfast which by this time could be anything large or small and they would tuck in!  A Red Kite often circled and would chase the Buzzards if they tried to fly off with meat - meat would be dropped and the Kite got its breakfast.  The Buzzards soon realised it was safe in the garden and so stayed put until they had had their fill thus stopping the poor old Kite from getting any.  The Kite never came in but I did start throwing the odd chicken leg over the hedge for him or her which was taken immediately.  Hope this gives you some help and encouragment.  We left our beloved Buzzards and Kite a couple of years ago as my husband could  no longer cope with a large garden.

oh cool, so it is possible

Hi lucybob

What a wonderful story, what a wonderful experience to have - thanks!

HawkBuzzard - we get buzzards in Essex!?!?

Hi kezmo  - I started this sort of thing when my daughter was small I could always hear the Badgers in the wood at the bottom of the garden so casually asked one night if she would like me to lure them to the backdoor! Of course she said yes - so off I went with my bag of peanuts and opened the bottom gate and started feeding and chatting to them but really thought I had made a promise I couldn't deliver but to my great delight within a couple of weeks they had made it all the way up the garden including a two or three steps and fed regularly every night at our back door - this inspired me to have ago with Buzzards.

Lucybob, that is a fantastic story and such a happy ending in succeeding on both occasions. We have quite a number of badgers around here but I am sure the older village residents would not be happy if I encouraged them as they and the farmers do not want them on their land. They just couldn't understand my excitement when I realised  there were badgers in the wood adjoining our garden.   

lucybob - your back garden sounds like heaven!  To be that close is something I could only ever wish for.  We do have badgers in the field behind us but as far as I know they don't come close to the gardens.  Unfortunately I see more as road kill - horrible to put a dampener on your story but it's a sad truth.

Hi Kezmo - I first got close to badgers when I tripped over one in the garden late one night when I was getting the washing in!  Didn't know what it was only that it was rather large and I ran back up the garden pretty quick!  A lot of the young get run over apparently I was talking to someone who has a sanctuary and they said it is often the younger ones making their first trips out on their own that get into trouble - I wonder if like rabbits they get mesmorised by the car lights as they are very large animals and quite quick when they want to be that I find it hard to see how so many get knocked over.  As you say not a happy note to end on.

Lucybob, we see a lot of roadkill also but I have heard (hearsay, which I can't prove)  that they are not all killed on the roads but are placed there having met their death by other means!!!!

Oh god this is getting worse - I'm sorry I brought this up we're all going to be in tears soon and this not good before bedtime!  Can we go back to lucybob's LIVE ones in the garden!! 

Yes Kezmo, they are lovely animals even when I get up in the morning and find they have dug up the front garden. I would never harm them though and still love to see them.