The Buzzard Monitor

Today is the last day of 2009.  Can't say I am sad to see it go.  Last night we had our prime rib dinner to celebrate the New Year since we are busy tonight.  This meant that there was a bonanza of food for the ravens this morning.  Prime rib bones, hunks of fat and bread slices with the fat from the roasting pan. 
What a raven FEAST!  Now I have noticed that whenever there is food of an appreciable size or delecticity- the buzzard appears.  This big bird monitors our house and when he sees something he would like to eat, he lurks around.  He really wanted to come down to where I feed the ravens but he seemed reluctant to do so.  I don't know why because he has come down before.  I did see the raven fly at him a few times to discourage his interest in the food.
Then there is GREEDY Bold.  I put out two rib bones.  He wanted both of them.  He picked up one and put it next to the other one.  Now he had both bones together.  He spent some time trying to figure out how to pick up both bones at the same time.  This was not going to work, so he flew off with one bone.  While he was gone I expected Shy to come down out of the tree for the remaining bone.  But Shy did not.  Maybe the buzzard was the intimidating factor.  In the end, the ravens got all the food and the buzzard sat in the tree.  It must be a young buzzard.  An old buzzard would have taken the situation well in hand and I would have had to go outside and do my flapping arm thing to get it to go away!
Here is hoping that 2010 will be a better year for all God's creatures.