December 2021

The common buzzard gets a bit of a rough deal in terms of credit when it comes to places like Mull. Holidaymakers often return claiming to have seen an eagle sitting on a post beside the road, and in 99.9% of occasions, it'll have been a buzzard, and thus it has a second name of the "tourist eagle".

I've heard others saying it, and I'm guilty of it myself, of dismissing these beautiful raptors with a comment of "it's just a buzzard", usually when I'm searching for golden eagles, but they're stunning birds, and have been a real success story when it comes to increasing their population here in the UK.

Because they're not fussy when it comes to dining, they'll happily plod around a wet field in search of worms or grubs, or impersonate a kestrel, hanging in the wind over hillsides. And they go hunting in all weathers, which helped me with this image.

It was a foul afternoon with strong winds and heavy showers. Not much else was flying around, but I did see a couple of buzzards perching beside the road in search of a meal. With a hint of light behind it, and the dark hills providing a backdrop, I managed a couple of shots before it moved to a new post further along the road.

A simple crop to make a portrait, and you're left with the simple beauty of a common buzzard, and as I see so many each day, it'd be wrong not to feature one here.