Buzzard

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 The snow turned to rain overnight and by morning there was no snow at valley level but still plenty on the hills.

We are seeing (and hearing) buzzards most days at the moment. These are large and impressive birds and you couldn't really mistake them for anything else in this part of the world.  When I lived in Scotland I was used to people mistaking them for eagles but there are no eagles here. (eagles are even bigger and much darker in colour).

A pair of buzzard usually nest in the trees along the old railway line that runs past our house. The "mewing" sound that buzzard make is a regular part of our soundtrack. Our usual view is of birds soaring overhead whilst they look for prey. In the summer we often see half a dozen or more soaring in the same thermal.They are often seen eating road kill and sometimes perched on fence posts or other vantage points.Along with sparrow hawks buzzards are one of the most common birds of prey in Europe.
I keep hoping that one day buzzards here will be joined by red kites which are making a comeback and are found to the East of us in Yorkshire and to the West in the Lake District. Occasional visitors have been reported but we have no resident birds as yet.

Diary Notes.
A meagre night on the trail cams. The weather was foul so any sensible animals were staying under cover. One inconclusive image of a mammal passing through - probably a fox.

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