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What do you think

(54 Posts)
jeanie99 Thu 21-Jun-18 21:51:23

Not really a gardening question but
I found a bird almost completely eaten except for the feathers in my garden the other day,
I have no idea what could have done this.
In the 11 years we have lived in our home I have only seen a cat once walking on the fence top so don't think it is a cat.
Also I found poo on the lawn some days before this find. It was quite small in size what could this be.

Some years ago I spotted hedgehogs in the garden but I haven't seen them since, no idea how they would get in. We have gates both sides and gravel boards below the fencing.
Could a hedgehog catch a bird?

Anyone have any ideas.

SueDoku Sat 23-Jun-18 11:34:25

Can you look at the feathers? If it's a fox the ends are snapped (bitten) off, but a bird of prey leaves the ends of the feathers looking as though they've been plucked - with the sharp point visible.
Handy tip from one of the forest rangers in the forest near me... wink

Milly Sat 23-Jun-18 11:25:19

I have slightly different problem but it concerns birds.
Every evening the Rooks ( I think - large black birds) are screaming loudly and dive bombing a young fox that is walking in the garden. He takes the same path every evening (silly fellow) and the two Rooks dive bomb him. A first I wondered if he had eaten their young, but really don't know. Last night he just sat down bewildered looking up and I clapped my hands to get rid of the Rooks but of course he ran off too so I didn't help. I would be horrified it they starting pecking him. Any suggestions out there?

lesley4357 Sat 23-Jun-18 11:03:27

Sounds like a fox. A family of foxes use our garden as a playground - and slaughterhouse- at night. Found last week: 1 squirrel (skin only); 2 pigeons, just the wings remaining; 1 magpie, again only wing feathers; head of a chicken; assorted tennis balls, plus a t shirt and stuffed monkey!

Happysexagenarian Sat 23-Jun-18 10:52:23

Could have been a Fox. They kill our neighbours chickens and leave only the feathers. OR a bird of prey. We have Buzzards nesting in the field behind us and they often prey on the pigeons and doves.

sarahellenwhitney Sat 23-Jun-18 10:49:38

I too have seen these half eaten birds. A fox is usually the culprit as it is not always chickens and rabbits they go for but observed one with a wood pigeon in its mouth .Nests are full of young birds and some will fall out of these nests so you may be sure the fox is always at the ready.

Margs Sat 23-Jun-18 10:47:43

Maybe a Sparrowhawk? I once came across a sparrowhawk lugging the corpse of a wood pigeon across a pavement and vanishing under a garden hedge with it.

They're vicious buggers.

Stansgran Sat 23-Jun-18 10:32:20

Another vote for sparrowhawk. They circle very high and then bomb down. They sit in the hedge and tear the pigeons apart here. Then the magpies fight and chase off the black birds and the jackdaws ditto the magpies while the fox goes for the rabbits and the squirrels challenge everything. It can be bedlam on a quiet afternoon and I don't even live in the country.

maryhoffman37 Sat 23-Jun-18 10:31:01

Sparrowhawk?

leeds22 Sat 23-Jun-18 10:21:52

Sounds like a bird of prey to me.

Camelotclub Sat 23-Jun-18 10:07:48

Badger(s)? They certainly leave poo everywhere. If the bird was injured it'd be easy for a badger to get at it.

adaunas Sat 23-Jun-18 09:51:52

We have had 2 visits from a bird of prey in our garden. The first, I videoed as my husband rushed out to disturb it as it attacked a thrush, the second resulted in a heap of blackbird feathers and not much else. I know they have to eat, but when I see it hovering near our house as I drive home, I hope it’s not been in our garden.

Cathy21 Sat 23-Jun-18 09:50:16

I watched a thrush breaking open a snail on a rock and down came a kestrel and grabbed it. After it had finished there was just a beak, claws and feathers on the lawn. I was still a teacher and used it as an example of a food chain!

valeriej43 Sat 23-Jun-18 09:43:33

I have seen a kestrel in my garden grab a pigeon and carry it off, also saw one with a half eaten one,it dropped it in my garden, poor thing was just still alive

Coco51 Sat 23-Jun-18 09:26:47

We were amazed to see a kestrel in our garden pulling a pigeon apart - it left only feathers and the head.

marpau Sat 23-Jun-18 09:22:21

Sounds like a sparrow hawk

lemongrove Fri 22-Jun-18 13:54:03

Depends on the poo size! Hedgehogs have black poo, but small amounts.
Either a cat or a bird of prey I think, we find this regularly in the garden and red kites circle about most days.

shysal Fri 22-Jun-18 13:51:20

If the poo was black it is likely to be from a fox.

Eglantine21 Fri 22-Jun-18 09:48:36

Rats?

ninathenana Fri 22-Jun-18 00:18:44

My first thought was a fox but may well have been a bird of prey.

SpringyChicken Thu 21-Jun-18 23:05:24

I watched a sparrow hawk polish off a pigeon in our garden, there was virtually nothing left at the end, just a few feathers. If it was half eaten, the hawk may have been disturbed.

OldMeg Thu 21-Jun-18 22:27:32

I’d go with the sparrow hawk too. Most likely explanation.

phoenix Thu 21-Jun-18 22:15:46

Owl pellets are not poo, they are vomit.

hildajenniJ Thu 21-Jun-18 22:04:31

Was the poo, owl pellet type?

hildajenniJ Thu 21-Jun-18 22:03:23

Do not prey on birds. (Fat fingers on small keyboard).

hildajenniJ Thu 21-Jun-18 22:01:41

Hedgehogs eat worms, they do prey on birds. The most likely suspect , after ruling out a cat would be a bird of prey. Perhaps a sparrow hawk, kestrel or owl could be to blame.