The first day out Dr. Haworth leads his team of eight, seven women and one man on a fairly easy five mile hike. We have good weather, mostly sunny and clear and watch the buzzards, a family of three hover and soar about one-quarter mile from where we are standing. Using the binoculars we can see them clearly and because of the wind conditions these birds are able to hover and search for food.
Buzzards eat rabbits, voles, snakes, frogs and small birds.
There are about 60 adult breeding buzzards in the Ross of Mull area and altogether about 100 of these birds when you include young birds and those just passing through to another hunting area. We see five or six more before the day is through. The young buzzard with his family will soon be forced off to find his own hunting territory. He is crying out for his parents to feed him'' , Dr. Haworth says. Most of the birds will not be up and flying if it is too windy or rainy.