In the morning and early afternoon of this relatively cold
day I assisted Jan van Dijk in a mid-winter round of capturing and color-ringing
buzzards and kestrels (RAS-project). We were quite successful, capturing a total of five Common
Buzzards Buteo buteo (incl. two
recaptures) and three Common Kestrels Falco
tinnunculus (including one recapture).
Most of the Common Buzzards I see in Portugal are brown and
I can’t recall seeing much variation in plumage color. Today, just north of
the city Zwolle, we caught a pretty representative selection of the color
phases that can be found in the area.
Weighing a Common Buzzard.
Common Buzzard ring scheme. Nestlings are ringed with a green color-ring.
Current Kestrel scheme
Old Kestrel scheme (recapture)
