2023
Een Buizerd Buteo buteo met zes jongen
Publication
Publication
De Takkeling , Volume 31 - Issue 2 p. 120- 127
On 1 May 2018 a large nest of a Common Buzzard in Bakkum, Noord-Holland, contained six eggs. The large clutch was probably produced by two different females, as four eggs were predominantly buffish white while two were more heavily speckled. When, on 3 June, the chicks were ringed, the nest contained six youngsters. Based on wing length, the chicks must have been 18, 24, 26, 28, 31 en 31 days old and, considering body mass (varying between 541-851 gram) relative to age, in good condition. Dense foliage obstructed a free view of the nest from the ground, and whether or not two different females were involved remained a mystery, as was the number of chicks eventually fledging (at least four fully feathered large chicks were observed). After 2018, the presumed trio of two females and one male refrained from nesting in the same woodlot (but perhaps did so in a woodlot nearby, at least in 2019, where the nest was impossible to access). Despite widespread research on raptors in The Netherlands, and hundreds of nest controls per year throughout the country, six chicks in a single nest have been reported only once before (out of 22,871 broods recorded since 1974). Also, polygamy was reported only rarely. It is postulated that Buzzard trios may go unnoticed. Photographing clutches and observing birds attending the nests may reveal trios that would otherwise be overlooked.
Additional Metadata | |
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De Takkeling | |
CC BY 3.0 NL ("Naamsvermelding") | |
Organisation | Werkgroep Roofvogels Nederland |
G. Keijl, A. Dekker, & P. Mol. (2023). Een Buizerd Buteo buteo met zes jongen. De Takkeling, 31(2), 120–127. |