Taking a closer look at Ireland's buzzards

Ireland was without large birds of prey for over a century and their return has caused surprises, writes Dick Warner

My son came back from taking the dog for a walk along the lane rather excited by a bird he’d seen. This was unusual because he doesn’t normally have a great interest in birds. He’d walked round a corner and encountered, at close quarters, a very large bird of prey sitting on a fence post. They gazed at each other for a second or two then the bird unhurriedly spread a huge pair of wings and flapped off. He thought it might have been an eagle.

I de-briefed him carefully and, of course, it wasn’t an eagle it was a buzzard. But I completely understood his shock and awe at seeing the bird at such close range. Ireland was without large birds of prey for over a century and their return has caused surprises.