Buteo buteo

The sad end of the common Buzzard. December 5, 2005

Last Sunday, December 5, 2005, I was in La Gola (at the exact point where the waters of the Júcar and Albaida rivers meet). He had set up a hide next to the river to photograph the wagtails, the plovers, the sandpipers…

    The morning passed calmly and, within a few minutes, I was already enjoying my hobby of capturing images of the natural world. Suddenly, the imposing figure of one of the largest birds of prey that lives in our area, the common buzzard (Buteo buteo), appeared at low altitude and close to the reeds. He flew stealthily in circles in search of some prey on which to fall, thus carrying out an act that has been taking place in nature for millions of years, long before man appeared on earth. Our eagle practiced a justified type of hunting, and not what man practices, which today is not for subsistence but for fun.

     Thus, the animal remained just long enough for me to “shoot” it with my camera, until it took flight following the course of the river upstream. Shortly after disappearing from among the cane fields of the river, I heard the shot of a shotgun twice (in case anyone doesn’t know, the noise it produces exceeds the maximum permitted by the World Health Organization. It’s brief, but It represents an alteration in the landscape of those who wish to enjoy the peace of the countryside and the sounds of nature). It didn’t take me long to realize that our friend, whom I had been following and studying for some years, had been unjustly and cruelly murdered by an irresponsible person who deserved the most absolute rejection from any good citizen and from the group of other hunters, who all It must be said, they are becoming more and more aware. Subjects like this should be repudiated and disqualified from their right to use a weapon.

     With these images of the buzzard we intend to pay tribute to a bird that gave me unforgettable years of observation, photographic monitoring, and that will never fly over our landscapes again.

“God always forgives, man sometimes, nature never forgives…” (Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente).