The Buzzard

The Buzzard sculpture carved in sandstone – work in progress.

Over the past few weeks the cries from Buzzards have become more determined and persistent.  This follows a stage of display flights.  Now they collect nest material.

Buzzards use old twigs, small branches, and bark to construct a solid nest usually in the crown of their chosen tree.  This is added to with dead bracken, purple moor grass and Scots Pine needles for a lining.  As Spring progresses the Buzzards ‘decorate’ their nests with green material, twigs torn from trees in new leaf and woven into the structure – first Scots Pine, then larch and later as they come into leaf Oak and Beech (ivy, Birch and Ash are also used).

The nest decoration is usually associated with a time of intensive display and may have some significance in pair-bonding and courtship.  I saw a Buzzard fly over the workshop carrying a large twig, with trailing green (long grass or string of moss?), showing it off to its mate.  This ‘offering’ didn’t make it to the nest, it fell to the ground, but the birds seemed happy and disappeared into the trees together.

The finished Buzzard sculpture is on show at the NEST exhibition at Watermark Gallery in Harrogate.