One of the best reasons for visiting Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is its vulture hide. The hide is about five kilometres north of the camp on top of an elevated ridge on the east side of the Bushman’s River valley. The vulture hide in Giant’s Castle National Reserve is always productive from a birding and photographic point of view.

“Birds will give you a window, if you allow them. They will show you secrets from another world– fresh vision that, though it is avian, can accompany you home and alter your life. They will do this for you even if you don’t know their names– though such knowing is a thoughtful gesture. They will do this for you if you watch them.” ~ Lyanda Lynn Haupt

The Jackal buzzard got its name from its call. This strikingly plumed raptor is named for its loud, yelping call that sounds a lot like a Black-backed jackal. One, and often the pair, can be heard calling as they fly above the Bushman’s river valley. When in the hide you have to be wide awake because the raptors do not make a sound when they approach the feeding terrace in front of the hide. At least when the Jackal buzzards call, you know they are in the area. It’s time to keep a more attentive eye out for them.

This species of buzzard is regularly seen perched on rocks, trees and utility poles in open areas, scanning for prey. It is also known to hunt on the wing. This raptor “still-hunts” by dropping on its prey from a perch, which is either a tree or roadside pole or post. It takes its prey almost exclusively on bare ground, including roads.

“Watching birds soar through the sky evokes feelings of freedom, inspiration and a connection with nature.” ~ Unknown

The Jackal buzzard feeds mainly on small ground mammals, especially rodents but can take prey up to the size of a hare. It will also feed on ground feeding birds varying from nestlings to sandgrouse, francolins and spurfowl.

During the winter months, the Jackal buzzard will scavenge at carcasses and road kill. This scavenging behaviour is what attracts them to the feeding terrace in front of the hide. Visitors who have booked the hide are given a bucket of cut bones with lots of fat and flesh on them. The fat on the bones also attracts the Red-winged starlings and White-necked ravens.

While the Jackal buzzards do spend time tearing fat and flesh off the bones on the feeding terrace. They also regularly fly off into the valley below carrying large bones with most of the nutrients still on them. During the breeding season they carry food back to their chicks. During the non-breeding season they probably just want to eat in peace without being harassed by the gangs of White-necked ravens.

The tail of Jackal buzzards is typically rufous and distinctive in flight.

A Jackal buzzard female is larger than the male and has a deeper pitched call. A breeding pair can often be seen engaging in impressive aerial displays while regularly calling to each other. This aerial displaying occurs outside the breeding season. Jackal buzzards are generally monogamous and form pair bonds for life. Although some instances of polyandry (one female with multiple males) have been observed.

Jackal buzzards exhibit significant variation in their underpart colouration, with three main colour morphs observed. The upper parts are typically a slate-grey with flecks of white. The underparts display a range of patterns and colours. The typical Jackal buzzard colouring is a slaty-grey neck with white flecks, a rufous chest patch, and a black-and-white barred belly.

Among the three colour morphs of the Jackal Buzzard the typical morph remains the most common. Both the dark and the pale morphs are rarer. The colour morphs are generally defined by the appearance of the chest band that extends across the body of the individual. In most individuals, this band is predominantly rufous in colour, with the presence of white and black. In the pale and dark morphs, this band can lack one or even two of the three colours. In dark morphs, you will find that the chest band can be completely black. In pale morphs, there will usually be a lack of rufous colouring, and they will be mostly white.

“On a day like this, I can’t imagine anything better that might happen in a person’s life than for them to start paying attention to birds—to become aware of this magical world that exists all around us, unnoticed by many but totally captivating for those who know its secrets.” ~ Kenn Kaufman

The Jackal buzzard has a very short tail, broad wings, bulky body and large beak compared to most other buzzards (besides the Augur buzzard). Jackal buzzards have a relatively large wing area which facilitates higher wing loadings but results in their lower aspect ratio which does reduce their flight speeds

The combination of a relatively large wingspan ranging from 1.2 to 1.4 metres and wide wing panels suggest a relatively low aspect ratio. This ratio is the square of the wingspan divided by the wing area. Low aspect ratio wings, characterised by their short, wide shape, are beneficial for several reasons. They offer increased maneuverability and higher roll rates. They also produce more drag, lower flight speeds and can be less efficient for sustained flight. This is where the strong winds and updrafts in the hills and mountains help.

The adult Jackal buzzard is strikingly plumaged and arguably one of the most “handsome” buzzards. It has distinctive black and rufous plumage with patches of white. When seen in flight from below and above, the adult Jackal Buzzard shows white flight feathers with black tips forming a broad black terminal band. The underwing and overwing coverts are black. All colour forms have pale rufous tail feathers.

Jackal Buzzards are medium to large Buzzards with a body length of 44-55 cm. Females are generally larger than males,and their weights ranging from 1.0 kg to 1.7 kg.

This species is endemic to Southern Africa and usually found in mountainous and hilly regions above altitudes around 3000 metres. Their range extends from the north-west of Namibia and through most of South Africa. Their preference is for mountainous and hilly areas with short grass and low vegetation coverage where associated strong winds and updrafts help hovering and assist their hunting behaviour.

“Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.” ~ Neil Young

The Jackal buzzard is of least concern on the IUCN Red list. This means that the species is not currently considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. The population trend is believed to be stable.

There are periods in the hide that can be deadly boring. Nevertheless, you have to be constantly alert because the raptors, and many larger birds, do not give any warning that they are flying in towards the feeding terrace. Often they emerge above the terrace flying at speed and with purpose. If you are not ready you will miss the incoming drama and only see the raptor when it has landed and is walking towards the bones.

“Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by you know how I feel
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
And I’m feeling good
I’m feeling good.” ~ Nina Simone

The thrill of watching a large raptor flying toward the feeding terrace is hard to describe. Often the approach results in a flyby but every now and then an individual will land. Usually the raptor will land on the rocks at the far end of the feeding terrace and check to see if there are any threats. If they sense the all is clear they fly closer to feed on the bones. These approaches create the best photographic moments.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike