In Touch With Nature – Common Buzzard
Posted: February 24, 2026 Filed under: Animals, Bird Watching, Birds, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Wildlife | Tags: African Wildlife, Animals, Common Buzzard, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read 54 Comments
Nothing common about this buzzard
What a thrill to see you perched atop a tree
scanning the area; you have exceptional vision
head rotating, your eyes pass lightly over me
irrelevant in the context of your meal decision
I watch you staring at the mound filled earth
seeking signs of movement, either mouse or mole
your wings gracefully spreading once prey is found
the effort rewarded; of rodents there is no dearth
their silhouettes outlined as they emerge from a hole
in stealthy pursuit you soar gracefully to the ground
seizing your unsuspecting prey with grasping talons
tearing it apart with your sharp, hooked beak
one creature must die in order for another to live
one of nature’s most effective mammal assassins
your quarry succumbs without so much as a squeak
you, the victorious combatant, your prey unresistive
***
Tourist bird, I enjoy your annual visits to these shores
in migrating flocks of up to twenty of your comrades
gliding effortlessly over large expanses without pause
with a predetermined flightpath, you aren’t nomads
though your arrival may be met with strong resistance
from smaller birds who view you as a potential threat
mobbing you repeatedly until you relent and fly away
not much of a welcome after covering such distance
your feathery bulk the cause of much upset
an illusion to disguise how little you really weigh
a monogamous creature, you usually mate for life
your partner smaller, and suited to hunting prey
while for three weeks your chicks you brood
working as a team, you experience little strife
knowing he’ll deliver small morsels without delay
until they fledge and you join the search for food
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta is also the author and illustrator of seventeen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of four poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5
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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.
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Love the poem and great buzzard, Robbie!!❣️
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Thank you, Cindy. I struggled with the second part of this poem. Rhyming is a lot of effort – smile.
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You’re so welcome, Robbie!
No one would know, but🤗❤️🙏
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I’m glad you couldn’t tell 😊
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😉
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Nothing common indeed Robbie.
Magnifecent bird.
Loved your poem and photographs.
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I’m delighted to know that, Maggie. Are you doing better healthwise?
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Hi Robbie, I am, thank you for asking.
I still have an appointment to arrend next week to have my heart monitered for 24 hours though.But the symptons have become less frequent 🙏 tha kfully.
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I am glad to know that. I hope the tests give you some answers.
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Me too Robbie, thank you !
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[…] https://writingtoberead.com/2026/02/24/in-touch-with-nature-common-buzzard/ […]
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Wildlife in 3D. What an advantage birds seem to have in hunting, observing and diving while their prey can only try to make it back to a tunnel. But I guess little mammals have the advantage of breeding far more prolifically.
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Lovely and evocative lines, Robbie! The common buzzard is fiercely beautiful. We don’t have them here, though some people call our turkey vultures buzzards. (I don’t. They’re vultures! 😊)
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Hi Merril, I have seen pictures of your turkey vultures. Fabulous birds. I’ve always had a fascination with vultures since I saw the cartoon ones in The Jungle Book.
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Hi Robbie. I’m fascinated by the turkey vutures (as you’ve probably seen from my many photos). I haven’t seen as many in the past few months, so I hope there’s no problem with them. My older child is fascinated with California condors. They were thrilled to see some in the wild several years ago.
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Such reverent verse! And I must say, your buzzards are so much prettier than ours. I would have thought this regal beauty was a hawk.
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Hi Violet, thank you. I do think these buzzards are pretty birds 🩵
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I enjoyed your poem, Robbie. We have a few species of buzzards here in the US, but we call them hawks. They are magnificent birds.
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Hi Priscilla, I know America uses different terms for some birds. In South Africa we get hawks, buzzards and vultures and they are all different.
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Now, I must disagree. Here in this area, we know the difference between buzzards and hawks and furthermore there are several types of hawks. My favorite is the Redtail.
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I enjoy all the different birds. They all have unique characteristics.
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I love the sound the hawk makes as it drops to receive its prey.
I’m always glad not to be in its talons.
.
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Yes 😊
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Hi, I have a friend from New York and she calls them vultures.
And out on my uncle’s farm in Tennessee before he died the workers called them buzzards.
I guess it depends on where one is from as to how they know them and there are different kinds so I haven’t any idea of what are what.
I just know they helped once when I needed them.
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Thanks, Patty, for adding your experience. In South Africa, as buzzard is more like a hawk than a vulture although it will scavenge if a carcass is available.
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Hi, Robbie, I sent an email to you about some birds.
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I saw it, thank you 💞
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Your passion for nature stands out Robbie a great peaen to the magnificent buzzard.
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Hi Paul, I must admit that the second verse was quite and effort to construct in the rhyming scheme and keep it interesting. Thank you for your lovely comment 💗
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Buzzards have such a bad connotation. They deserved a poem in their honor.
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Hi Jacqui, I have a fascination with all the animals the media and film makers have demonised like vultures, buzzards, hyenas, spiders and snakes. The fact most people don’t like them makes them even more interesting to me.
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Fantastic poetry and pictures about the buzzard, Robbie!
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Thank you, Tim. I’m always delighted when I see wild birds.
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😍
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I was going to ask what the difference is between a buzzard and a vulture. Buzzards kill their prey, while vultures don’t?
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Hi Liz, that pretty much sums up the differences. 💚
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To think, for all these years, I did not know that.
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Thanks for going beyond the stereotype. A handsome bird too. (K)
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HI Kerfe, I actually wasn’t aware there was a stereo type for buzzards until I posted this poem. I love all birds and animals and am especially interested in the ones most people revile. They are fascinating to me.
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I believe the buzzards are especially important. They take care of all the things that would be left too nastiness if we did not have them. A couple of years ago somebody dumped a dead skunk outside my window. I couldn’t get anybody to haul it away. The buzzards took care of it for me. Blue watched them with great interest and I told them thank you again and again.
Get Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef
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Hi Patty, you are right. Scavengers are important to keep the natural environment clean. Hyenas fall into this category too.
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They all have their roles in the ecology of the earth.
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Yes, very much so
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Buzzards aren’t typically well-liked birds, but they play an important role in ecosystems.
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Hi Pete, are you referring to what Africans call vultures? I know vultures are considered unclean because they are scavengers. In SA, buzzards are much more like hawks than vultures.
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Your poetry and pictures are the best. I’ve learned about buzzards.
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Hi Jennie, I am very happy to know that. I have also learned that Americans refer to vultures as buzzards. I didn’t know that. In Africa, we have buzzards, hawks and vultures which are all different.
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I’m so glad, Robbie. It’s very interesting how different countries refer to animals, isn’t it?
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Yes, there are many differences in naming conventions between the UK and the USA
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😀
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Amazing birds! I am sure I heard one very early today. (wow)
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That is fantastic, Chris. Sometimes we see them in our local park (but not often).
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Magnificent birds. I was surprised they are migratory there. They are resident in the UK.
Your poem is a wonderful tribute to them.
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Yes, indeed, they come from Europe. It’s amazing how they get here using thermals.
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