Andrew Groves on Buzzards

Too many buzzards, too many birds of prey, too many badgers, you know, they haven’t got a chance. And they say buzzards live on carrion, yeah well they will if they can get it but you get seven or eight buzzards in a 20 acre field, they’re pushed for food. We’ve got no hares left now in here now.

Years ago in the spring sometimes, we’d have to shoot … have a bit of a hare shoot to thin them out because they hammered the spring corn too much, but there’s 300 acres here, you won’t find a hare. You know, nothing.

The buzzards and the birds of prey have had the leverets ‘cos the leverets are above ground see. They’re only just in … she’ll have one here and another one over there and another one over there. They’re above ground. They got no … only in a little bit of cover and staying quiet. Well, whatever there is about they got no chance, not here.

Oh crumbs, yes. 25 years ago it was an event to see one. “Oh look, there’s a buzzard, coo, never see them”. Now they’re, like I say in the 20 acre field you’ve seen six or seven some times. You know, it got out of, you know, out of proportion really.