Last Saturday Skipper celebrated his sixth birthday, and we spoiled him. But Sunday still felt a bit like "his day". We spontaneously decided to go for a morning walk in the forest together, a special treat, because usually my partner takes him out in the morning and I take him into the forest alone later in the day. Skipper loved it - as a true shepherd, he prefers to be with his whole pack.
As I put on my boots, I took my camera with me. With my partner there, I had my hands free, and who knows, I might come across something special to capture.
The morning was fresh, but clear, with the promise of a beautiful day. Skipper was enjoying himself, nose down and tail wagging, as he enthusiastically sniffed every blade of grass. As we walked up the forest path, my partner pointed to the meadow beside us. "Take a look with your camera," he said. "That looks like a buzzard."
I peered, but couldn't see it properly. Luckily, I have a big zoom lens. And there it was, sitting quietly on the grass: a beautiful buzzard. What an impressive animal to see up close! In the ten years that we have lived here, we have often seen buzzards circling high above us, elegantly floating on the thermals. But so close to the ground, we had never seen that before.
In recent years we seem to see fewer buzzards, but perhaps that is changing. Hopefully, these beautiful birds will stay here, far away from poachers and other threats.
Seeing a buzzard felt almost magical, and when I did some reading later, that feeling turned out not to be so strange. The Internet taught me that in different cultures, the buzzard symbolizes:
Vision and perspective: This bird reminds us to look beyond the surface and see the bigger picture.
Leadership and strength: The buzzard represents inner strength and the ability to rise above challenges.
Transformation: It is seen as a guide that helps with personal growth and change. I was pleased to learn that this symbolism fits so well with the experience of that moment – a reminder to consciously appreciate nature and its messages.
The buzzard is one of the most common birds of prey in the Netherlands, with an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 breeding pairs. They thrive mainly in forests surrounded by meadows, where they hunt mice and small animals. However, they do not always have it easy.
Poaching and illegal hunting remain a problem. Although the buzzard is protected, an estimated 400 to 600 buzzards are killed illegally each year. They are often wrongly seen as a threat to small livestock or game, but that is nonsense. Buzzards play an important role in the ecosystem, for example by keeping mouse plagues under control.
The illegal shooting is not only harmful to the population but also tragic because buzzards are monogamous. When a partner is killed, it can take years for the one left behind to find a new partner, if they can find one at all. This makes every death by poaching all the more bitter and unnecessary.
After we had watched for a while, and luckily I was able to take a photo, the buzzard flew away silently. We stood there for a while and watched him disappear above the treetops. Skipper, now impatient, decided it was time to move on. His scent trail was waiting, and we let ourselves be carried away by his enthusiastic search for new adventures.
This unexpected encounter with the buzzard felt like a gift from nature. Sometimes all you have to do is stand still and watch.
