What would you have done?
Discussion
Baldchap said:
We get quite a few owls hitting our windows for some reason but they always seem to be gone when I go outside.
They do leave quite an amusing and distinctive mark on the glass though.
Apparently you need to get there much quicker before they recover and wring their necks!They do leave quite an amusing and distinctive mark on the glass though.
Had a pigeon hit my conservatory window with a massive bang. Wondered what the hell it was. The window had a perfect impression of the pigeon full frontal including its eyeball. It recovered after a while.
okgo said:
Tim Cognito said:
I dispatched a blackbird which was very injured and couldn't fly in our garden. Used a brick on it's head as I figured this would be instant. I felt terrible about it even though I had ended it's suffering.
I have no idea how to wring a birds neck, seems a slightly psychopathic skill to possess in our modern sanitised society?
Very common among anyone that’s ever shot pheasants for example if dog brings a bird back not quite dead. But yeh, fairly niche!I have no idea how to wring a birds neck, seems a slightly psychopathic skill to possess in our modern sanitised society?
QuickQuack said:
okgo said:
Tim Cognito said:
I dispatched a blackbird which was very injured and couldn't fly in our garden. Used a brick on it's head as I figured this would be instant. I felt terrible about it even though I had ended it's suffering.
I have no idea how to wring a birds neck, seems a slightly psychopathic skill to possess in our modern sanitised society?
Very common among anyone that’s ever shot pheasants for example if dog brings a bird back not quite dead. But yeh, fairly niche!I have no idea how to wring a birds neck, seems a slightly psychopathic skill to possess in our modern sanitised society?
Tim Cognito said:
I dispatched a blackbird which was very injured and couldn't fly in our garden. Used a brick on it's head as I figured this would be instant. I felt terrible about it even though I had ended it's suffering.
I have no idea how to wring a birds neck, seems a slightly psychopathic skill to possess in our modern sanitised society?
A necessary skill if you keep chickens though.I have no idea how to wring a birds neck, seems a slightly psychopathic skill to possess in our modern sanitised society?
WindyCommon said:
I have an unlikely (but entirely true!) story about a stricken animal.
Fantastic, like a scene from Ripping Yarns. 
Edited by hidetheelephants on Monday 1st April 00:50
RSPB don't do animal rescue, so if you're going to call someone, you want the RSPCA.
What onlookers might think is rather less important than trying to do the right thing for an injured animal.
My heroic tale of animal welfare: I saw a pigeon get launched off the windscreen of a car in front of me and land quivering against the curb. I pulled over and jogged back to it. It looked in a bad way so I decided I'd crush its head between the back of my heel and the curb stone. I managed a near but complete miss of the bird but still managed to smash my heel into the curb which hurt quite a lot. The bird immediately recovered its senses and flew up into a nearby tree, landed on a branch for a few seconds, and then flew off across a field apparently perfectly OK.
What onlookers might think is rather less important than trying to do the right thing for an injured animal.
My heroic tale of animal welfare: I saw a pigeon get launched off the windscreen of a car in front of me and land quivering against the curb. I pulled over and jogged back to it. It looked in a bad way so I decided I'd crush its head between the back of my heel and the curb stone. I managed a near but complete miss of the bird but still managed to smash my heel into the curb which hurt quite a lot. The bird immediately recovered its senses and flew up into a nearby tree, landed on a branch for a few seconds, and then flew off across a field apparently perfectly OK.
B'stard Child said:
CypSIdders said:
Exactly the same as the seagull would have done had the roles been reversed.
Pecked its eyes out and taken a dump on it!
^ This - evil fPecked its eyes out and taken a dump on it!
kers seagulls, they take no prisoners (but lots of chips)Baldchap said:
We get quite a few owls hitting our windows for some reason but they always seem to be gone when I go outside.
They do leave quite an amusing and distinctive mark on the glass though.
I wonder if they a competition amongst themselves to see who can leave the biggest imprint on the glass? ‘You’ll not beat that Dave’, Dave ‘hold my beer…’.They do leave quite an amusing and distinctive mark on the glass though.
Tam_Mullen said:
They are brutal, I grew up on a sheep farm and have witnessed them pecking the eyes out of lambs which arent even dead yet. Even worse are the Great Black-Backed Gulls, theyre bigger and stronger and tend to go in through the navel. Whether the lamb/calf is alive or not...
We should not forget birds are just miniature fluffy T-Rex.WindyCommon said:
I have an unlikely (but entirely true!) story about a stricken animal.
I was once running/umpiring a junior cricket match when one of the boys spotted what I was later told was an eagle (yes I know it’s unlikely but bear with me…) wringing a screaming rabbits neck/back atop a pitchside tree. The game stopped as we watched the eagle get mobbed by a group of angry crows. I grabbed my phone and took a picture as the eagle took off carrying the rabbit, which it promptly dropped at backward-point. The rabbit was still twitching, and its spine was protruding through its bloodied fur where the eagle had torn it open. A quick assessment suggested it had absolutely no chance, so I asked one of the boys for his bat and dispatched the dying rabbit as humanely as I could with a straight drive. By this time all hell had broken loose. Some of the boys were very upset at the unfolding bloody carnage, but not as upset as a couple of the parents who had come running onto the pitch apparently to administer first aid to the rabbit. My protestations that it was well past the point where first aid might have helped it weren’t well received. Huge fuss and it took me well over ten minutes to regain control and restart the match.
Later that day I was relating the story - saying it was a large bird of prey - to a group including our groundsman, who told me he’d heard an eagle had been “lost” that day from a public display at the nearby Chessington World of Adventures. Apparently it was recovered locally later in the day by its handlers. I don’t know whether or not the bird we saw was actually an eagle, but I’ll see if I can find the photo so you can judge for yourselves.
It’s a good story with just an unidentified bird-of-prey, but a cracker with an eagle so that’s what I’ve stuck with…
[Edit] I found the photo.
Where was this?I was once running/umpiring a junior cricket match when one of the boys spotted what I was later told was an eagle (yes I know it’s unlikely but bear with me…) wringing a screaming rabbits neck/back atop a pitchside tree. The game stopped as we watched the eagle get mobbed by a group of angry crows. I grabbed my phone and took a picture as the eagle took off carrying the rabbit, which it promptly dropped at backward-point. The rabbit was still twitching, and its spine was protruding through its bloodied fur where the eagle had torn it open. A quick assessment suggested it had absolutely no chance, so I asked one of the boys for his bat and dispatched the dying rabbit as humanely as I could with a straight drive. By this time all hell had broken loose. Some of the boys were very upset at the unfolding bloody carnage, but not as upset as a couple of the parents who had come running onto the pitch apparently to administer first aid to the rabbit. My protestations that it was well past the point where first aid might have helped it weren’t well received. Huge fuss and it took me well over ten minutes to regain control and restart the match.
Later that day I was relating the story - saying it was a large bird of prey - to a group including our groundsman, who told me he’d heard an eagle had been “lost” that day from a public display at the nearby Chessington World of Adventures. Apparently it was recovered locally later in the day by its handlers. I don’t know whether or not the bird we saw was actually an eagle, but I’ll see if I can find the photo so you can judge for yourselves.
It’s a good story with just an unidentified bird-of-prey, but a cracker with an eagle so that’s what I’ve stuck with…
[Edit] I found the photo.
Edited by WindyCommon on Sunday 31st March 22:13
As you mention cricket, I'm guessing England.
As far as i know there are no resident eagles in England, but they do travel and have been seen there.
Wings are too broad for a Red Kite I think.
That would leave Buzzard (very common) or Marsh Harrier (rare).
I does look like a Golden Eagle though.
Nethybridge said:
Of course it was, sent to a lovely couple who own a farm no doubt 
Along sort of similar lines, I worked with a young lady who, as a child, had a pet goldfish which, she told us, lived to a ripe old age of 15 years or so. When we asked if she was sure it was the same one as they don't normally live very long, she replied, "Oh definitely. Obviously it looked different, as they all shed their scales every so often, but definitely the same goldfish." !!Bless.
Senex said:
WindyCommon said:
I have an unlikely (but entirely true!) story about a stricken animal.
I was once running/umpiring a junior cricket match when one of the boys spotted what I was later told was an eagle (yes I know it’s unlikely but bear with me…) wringing a screaming rabbits neck/back atop a pitchside tree. The game stopped as we watched the eagle get mobbed by a group of angry crows. I grabbed my phone and took a picture as the eagle took off carrying the rabbit, which it promptly dropped at backward-point. The rabbit was still twitching, and its spine was protruding through its bloodied fur where the eagle had torn it open. A quick assessment suggested it had absolutely no chance, so I asked one of the boys for his bat and dispatched the dying rabbit as humanely as I could with a straight drive. By this time all hell had broken loose. Some of the boys were very upset at the unfolding bloody carnage, but not as upset as a couple of the parents who had come running onto the pitch apparently to administer first aid to the rabbit. My protestations that it was well past the point where first aid might have helped it weren’t well received. Huge fuss and it took me well over ten minutes to regain control and restart the match.
Later that day I was relating the story - saying it was a large bird of prey - to a group including our groundsman, who told me he’d heard an eagle had been “lost” that day from a public display at the nearby Chessington World of Adventures. Apparently it was recovered locally later in the day by its handlers. I don’t know whether or not the bird we saw was actually an eagle, but I’ll see if I can find the photo so you can judge for yourselves.
It’s a good story with just an unidentified bird-of-prey, but a cracker with an eagle so that’s what I’ve stuck with…
[Edit] I found the photo.
Where was this?I was once running/umpiring a junior cricket match when one of the boys spotted what I was later told was an eagle (yes I know it’s unlikely but bear with me…) wringing a screaming rabbits neck/back atop a pitchside tree. The game stopped as we watched the eagle get mobbed by a group of angry crows. I grabbed my phone and took a picture as the eagle took off carrying the rabbit, which it promptly dropped at backward-point. The rabbit was still twitching, and its spine was protruding through its bloodied fur where the eagle had torn it open. A quick assessment suggested it had absolutely no chance, so I asked one of the boys for his bat and dispatched the dying rabbit as humanely as I could with a straight drive. By this time all hell had broken loose. Some of the boys were very upset at the unfolding bloody carnage, but not as upset as a couple of the parents who had come running onto the pitch apparently to administer first aid to the rabbit. My protestations that it was well past the point where first aid might have helped it weren’t well received. Huge fuss and it took me well over ten minutes to regain control and restart the match.
Later that day I was relating the story - saying it was a large bird of prey - to a group including our groundsman, who told me he’d heard an eagle had been “lost” that day from a public display at the nearby Chessington World of Adventures. Apparently it was recovered locally later in the day by its handlers. I don’t know whether or not the bird we saw was actually an eagle, but I’ll see if I can find the photo so you can judge for yourselves.
It’s a good story with just an unidentified bird-of-prey, but a cracker with an eagle so that’s what I’ve stuck with…
[Edit] I found the photo.
Edited by WindyCommon on Sunday 31st March 22:13
As you mention cricket, I'm guessing England.
As far as i know there are no resident eagles in England, but they do travel and have been seen there.
Wings are too broad for a Red Kite I think.
That would leave Buzzard (very common) or Marsh Harrier (rare).
I does look like a Golden Eagle though.
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