Sweet deal for honey buzzard migrating to Africa by plane

A rare honey buzzard which was injured in the UK is set to fly to its African wintering grounds this week – by plane.

The juvenile bird suffered a fractured wing and was taken to the Hawk Conservancy Trust bird of prey hospital in Hampshire for treatment, but because of the time it took to heal, the buzzard missed the window to migrate to Africa.

Honey buzzards spend the winter in sub-Saharan Africa and migrate to Europe to breed. They are very rare in the UK, with just several dozen pairs breeding each year.

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The young bird treated at the bird of prey hospital is in its first year and should have set off to fly south in August.

So the experts have decided to give the honey buzzard a helping hand, by arranging for it to fly by plane to Gambia, where it will be released.

The buzzard will travel in a wooden crate with its tail feathers taped up to avoid them being damaged, which would prevent the bird flying off on its alternative migration on Tuesday once it is released.

Curator Andy Hinton said: “This young male is in his first year and after migrating to Africa, in August, would not be expected to return to breed until his third year.

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“This left us with a bit of a dilemma. We were faced with the choice of keeping him at the hospital for at least two years or finding a way of helping him follow his expected migration pattern.

“These birds have a very specialised diet and it was inconceivable to keep him in captivity all that time so we decided to fly him home using modern aviation methods.”

Travel firm The Gambia Experience has arranged the flight and his release site in Gambia, after consulting the company’s wildlife guides in the country.

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