A stunning picture of a pair of 'talon locked' buzzards, was taken by Tom Wallis in August 2009. With only seconds to spare, Tom managed to grab 8 pictures of the pair as they fell from the sky. His reward was a well deserved first prize in a recent photo competition run by the Dartmoor Preservation Society.

Two buzzards, talon-locked, over Cosden Hill, North Dartmoor in August 2009 - photo by Tom Wallis.

Tom Wallis explains, "I have never seen this behaviour from buzzards before, in spite of living on Dartmoor for 13 years. I took this photo from my garden in Cosdon Hill, North Dartmoor. I had been sitting in my garden enjoying my lunch when I heard the plaintive cries of a young buzzard. I rushed indoors for my camera and some minutes later saw the sight of two buzzards locked together tumbling from the sky towards me. I managed to take 8 shots in the five seconds before they parted company!"

Wanting to know more about what was actually going on, Tom contacted Robin Prytherch, a raptor expert who explained;

"The pale bird is an adult, probably female, and the other is a juvenile. I've never seen a parent attack one of its own chicks so that's why I suspected that the juvenile could have been an intruder from an adjacent territory.
The only alternative solution that I can come up with is that the juvenile is one of hers, but in this case the juvenile (has) mobbed its mother (which they often do in the air and on perches) and accidentally locked talons. They would normally only make fleeting contact. The juvenile does appear to be calling, which supports this version. (The calling you heard was, presumably, from this bird and not another perched nearby).
The juvenile so-called 'begging call' has, I believe, an alternative purpose that is designed to appease its parent, i.e., don't attack me - I'm your chick! Juveniles often (but not exclusively) give this call when a parent is in view. Once the parent moves out of sight the caller usually shuts up.
In territorial encounters when an attack results in talon locking, there is usually no calling when the birds are in contact, apart from perhaps a squeal from the attacked bird, not a 'normal' call. The territory holder might call just before or after such an event. Most such events that I have witnessed happen high in the sky, where one may not be able to hear calls, let alone attribute them to a particular bird.
All very confusing! But, nevertheless, I think in your case it probably was an accidental talon locking between a parent and its offspring. Knowing what happened before the event, and after, always helps to interpret such behaviour.

Two buzzards, one inverted and still talon-locked, over Cosden Hill, North Dartmoor in August 2009 - photo by Tom Wallis.

If other members have similar experiences, or have opinions on this, we would be glad to add them to this story.

We are grateful to Tom Wallis and to Robin Prytherch for allowing us to use this story and the superb picture