hard times for buzzards
By Cori Smith
The winter months see a steady trickle of emaciated buzzards come into the Centre as food availability dwindles and daylight hours for hunting reduce .
Many of these casualties found weak and unable to fly are young birds who only fledged the nest in the summer and are still learning how to survive without parental support . Others may be older but the challenge of survival in the wild is so great through the lean winter months that even a minor mishap can mean the difference between success and disaster .
Buzzards will often be seen in fields at this time of year as worms become a more important part of their diet , but if they are too weak to fly off they are vulnerable to attack by corvids and to starvation and hypothermia . Fortunately being quite large birds they are often spotted and picked up or reported , so our Inspectorate team can bring them to us at West Hatch for rehabilitation .
Once an emaciated buzzard is here we give liquid feeds four times a day , for at least the first 24 hours and often for longer . This depends on body condition and whether the casualty is willing and able to self feed . The first liquid feeds are solely a rehydration formula and we then slowly introduce an easily digestible food formula that can be mixed into the liquid feeds .
It is important for us to do this with care as some of our casualties may not have eaten for many days and their digestive systems may be completely shut down .
When our buzzard is strong enough to pick food up and self feed we will provide small meals twice a day until our vet is happy that the bird is thriving well .
Initially our buzzard will be housed in a small space so that warmth and food can be provided close at hand . In these smaller cages there is a danger of feather damage due to soiling and abrasion so a paper and plastic tail guard will be fitted to protect the birds plumage . As the bird gets fitter it will be moved to progressively larger enclosures and disturbance will be reduced until one large feed is given once a day .
The final stage in the rehabilitation process is to give our buzzard time and space to fully recover in a low stress environment . At West Hatch we are lucky to have our flight aviary , a huge aviary tucked away in a quiet part of the grounds . Here our buzzard will only see a human once a day when food and water are replenished and a brief visual check is done to ensure all is going well .
Our vet will visit once a week to check progress and assess fitness . It can take many weeks for a full recovery with some birds arriving weighing as little as 550 grams , when a normal weight would be 800 grams or more , but with a lot of care we can return these birds to the wild , giving them a second chance .
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