Rough-legged Buzzard - Dip

Took myself a couple of kilometers up the N2 this morning to see if the RL buzzard spotted in the flooded field this morning was still around.  I got there at about 11 and Dermot O'M was already there.  As I parked Dermot was in the process of removing a dead buzzard from the middle of the road.  First thoughts were "I don't believe this, its been hit and killed before I've had a chance to see it"..........    Well luck was in for the RL buzzard, Dermot was removing one of his cousins, a common buzzard.

It had a hole in its side chest cavity.  It was otherwise still intact, this and the "freshness" of its appearance meant it was killed possibly on a couple of minutes before we arrived.  Believe me, the traffic on this stretch of road is so busy that anything lying around for more than a few minutes will end up frisbee shaped in no time.

I've attached a photo of the unfortunate buzzard below.



road kill buzzard N2 - not the RL variety!


Anyway, back to the business of the RL buzzard.  We stayed for about 30 minutes, no show.  We stayed a bit longer.... no show.  Dermot decided to head on up to Annagassan to see if the grey phalarope was still present, I'd had it yesterday, it was sheltering within the walls of the harbour from very rough seas.

I hung around for another hour and guess what..... no RL buzzard.   The field had plenty of ducks (mallard), mute swans (pair), lapwing, blackwits, and lots of gulls, mostly BH.  Scoping the far tree line for the RL gave up a male merlin.

Another dip, time for home.  Its only a few minutes drive home so I'll keep an eye on the field over the next couple of days, so fingers crossed.