Yesterday I was driving back from town to the game farm when a raptor standing on the side of the road caught my eye. This is not normal normal behaviour for a wild raptor as they will use fly away when a vehicle approaches. I did a u-turn and went back to see if the raptor was still there and sure enough there he was hopping and limping across the road.

The bird was a Steppe Buzzard. Big and majestic, he couldn't fly when I ran after him. As I got close to him he flipped on his back in a defensive position and showed me his talons and open beak, trying to intimidate me and protect himself. I moved slowly then as he was in a defensive position and was staying like that as long as I was close by, so I quietly slipped a soft rag over his eyes to calm him down, and make my hands less of a target. I managed to gently take an outstretched wing and slowly tuck it back against his body and roll him onto his side. Once he was all tucked in I very carefully picked him up and took him home. Once there I put him in my owl transport holder and left him in the dark to calm down after his traumatic ordeal. He did not look in very good condition justly lying on the floor of the holder and looking like he wouldnt last the night.

In the morning when I checked on the appropriately named "Buzz", he was standing up in the holder looking quite spritely and opened his beak and wings threateningly at me. I gave him a feed of some rump steak (raptors should get meat with bones and feathers, but for short term it was fine to give him pure meat) of which he had a few pieces and then it was off to the vet. There is vet about a half an hours drive from our farm who offers his services free of charge to injured birds that are rescued, and he is highly knowleagable about all kinds of birds. I should know, I have been to seen the man about four times in the last three months, the last time with an injured crane.

Oliver commented that Steppe Buzzards are not very aggressive and you definitely wouldn't handle a predator like a Jackal Buzzard without gloves because he would get hold of you and inflict some serious damage. He took Buzz out of the Cage and Buzz was instantly on the defensive, beak opening, wings splayed to make himself look big.  Oliver immediately identified a horrible sore under his foot, which he lanced so the blood and pus could drain out. Then while I was holding Buzz, Oliver put ointment in the hole, stuck a dressing on it and wrapped it with plaster. I couldn't help but smile, Buzz looked so sweet with plaster wrapped carefully around his foot with the claws still sticking out! Obviously the infection had also been affecting his general health, slowly poisoning his system. The next problem was to work out why Buzz couldn't fly.  That became pretty obvious when I was holding him on his back so Oliver could inject him with an anti-biotic. There was an area on the inside of his wing that was swollen and almost translucent. Oliver said it looks like a snake bite and the tissue was necrosing/breaking down which would explain why Buzz couldn't fly. So another injection of anti-inflammatory (to stop the poison spreading) and Buzz was good to go. Thanks so much to Oliver Tatham and the good work he does.

The next step for Buzz was another forty minute drive to a raptor rehabilitation centre where the owner Ben was very kind to us. He told me Buzz should be in Russia, or close to Russia by now on his migration route. He also told me that Buzz was very thin but that he would feed him up while he heals, and then start to exercise him and release him around October when all the other Steppe Buzzards return to South Africa. Thanks as well to Ben for his efforts. You can visit his site at http//www.raptorrescue.org.za.

In closing, Buzz had to be euthanized (put to sleep) because his foot infection was so bad that is was destroying tendons in his leg. The wing, which we were most worried about healed perfectly, but unfortunately that was not the main problem. Thank you to all those who worked so hard to save Buzz.

Marcelle

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