The Lincolnshire Bird Club

may like to have a look at the links below -- actually seeing raptors in a successful hunt is not that common so pleased to get a couple of camera -- the pale Buzzard is one of several now being reported regularly around the county

http://pewit.blogspot.com/2011/06/ospre ... zzard.html

http://pewit.blogspot.com/2011/06/ospre ... zzard.html

http://pewit.blogspot.com/2011/06/lover ... -away.html

fantastic photos and not common,as you say, to witness a successful hunt (but your second link was to the same buzzard shots - perhaps you intended instead the peregrine shots on your blog?). However, was interested in your comments on very pale buzzards of which there are several I know/have come across in SW lincs - some being strikingly pale and thus very conspicuous. Haven't checked my notes to be able to say if they are more frequent than before but I wonder if any increase is simply linked to increased numbers of buzzards (rather than say any Continental immigrants)? That is, if these pale buzzards only form a small percentage typically of British buzzards (whatever that percentage is), then the more buzzards there are about overall the more pale birds we will see (and they are more noticeable than normal forms). For example, since 2003 I have surveyed buzzards in TF02 every third spring. Between '03 and '09, the index of abundance more than doubled (and I expect that next spring when i do the survey again it will have increased further), so perhaps we might expect the incidence of pale birds to more than double also???? Just a thought...
Vin