Corvids harrass a Buzzard at Endon Riding School.

The fields that belong to Endon Riding School often attract a number of bird species. I suspect that insect larvae in the horse manure and the poaching by horses hooves provide feeding opportunities for hungry birds. Today, as I walked past the riding school I heard a commotion amongst the local corvid population. As I looked over towards the noisy crowing I could see a number of Carrion Crows swooping down into the fields and more gathered in tree tops. These were joined by a Magpie or two, plus Jackdaws and Rooks. I also heard Blackbirds and a Grey Squirrel joining in, though in the latter case this may just be coincidental. Meanwhile flocks of Black-Headed Gulls and Starlings feeding in the fields, but these flocks were also pretty active flying up from time to time as if to join in the action. I watched for a while, hoping to see what had caused the fuss. I expected it was a cat or bird of prey. It turned out to be a Buzzard, which I expect, also wanted to feed in those fields. I don't know how long the Buzzard was grounded, but I watched for about 15 minutes before moving on. There were at least 60 Carrion Crows plus 10s of Jackdaws and Rooks. So I expect every time it attempted to fly, the other birds deterred it. In my experience, it is the crows that cause most bother to Buzzards. Carrion Crows seem to be the only ones that have the capacity to match a Buzzard's flight.

I took this photo after the Buzzard had gone. By then the birds seemed to be gathering pieces of bread from the field. Perhaps someone had put some in the for the horses. What ever it was had attracted the gulls and corvids again, several were flying away with large chunks of food in their bills.

BH Gulls and corvids in Endon Riding School fields.