Murder!!

[oilydan]

The kids were following with interest a nest that was found about 6ft up in a bush in the garden.

3 blue eggs with brown speckles, with blackbird mother keeping them warm.

As the kids are new to that type of thing they are very excited to see nature take its course.

Well, it took its course last night alright.

Wife has just called me to say that the mother is beheaded, lying on the ground beneath the nest. There is no sign of the eggs at all.

Any ideas on what the culprit might be?

Rural Devon if it makes any difference.

[krisdelta]

A kestrel or rat perhaps?

[Jasandjules]

I was once told that Sparrowhawks eat mainly the heads - we have a few around here and some decapitated pigeons can often be found..

[telecat]

Very Large Pigeon's in our tree. I think the presence of Cats including our Tripod Minnie gives them protection from Ground predators. Minnie would not tolerate rats.

[Gargamel]

Any reason Minnie isn't in the frame for this heinous deed ?

[Fastchas]

I also heard sparrowhawks only take the heads. Maybe its the valuable protein in the brain.
Same as killer whales hunting other species of whales and only eating the tongue.
Unless they consider it a delicacy...

[Prof Prolapse]

Murder suicide.

[oilydan]

Would a sparrowhawk take the eggs away?

I'm thinking maybe a crow/rook or similar?

[highflyer]

Stoat or weasel ?

[Uncle John]

Colonel Mustard - Drawing Room - Candlestick

[oilydan]

highflyer said:

Stoat or weasel ?

OK, I'll set it up for someone....

How do I tell the difference between a stoat and a weasel?

[mrsshpub]

oilydan said:

How do I tell the difference between a stoat and a weasel?

[oilydan]

mrsshpub said:

oilydan said:

How do I tell the difference between a stoat and a weasel?

Sorry, you missed your opportunity...

A weasel is weasely weckognisable, but a stoat is stoataly different.

[jmorgan]

Magpies are pretty ruthless.

[Turn7]

I'd say Sparrowhawk for the adults and opportunist for the eggs.

Sparrow hawks are hammering the song bird population.

[gtidriver]

This morning i found the remnants of a wood pigeon on my lawn, the wife went to clean it up as my suggestion of mowing over it was dismissed, she found some guts and a pair of legs.

[popeyewhite]

Plenty of Sparrowhawks and other Birds of Prey around here. I've never seen a Sparrowhawk take anything the size of a Blackbird, nor decapitate other birds for fun. My guess is Magpie got the eggs and something else feline/ burrrowing rodent got the bird.

[Oakey]

popeyewhite said:

Plenty of Sparrowhawks and other Birds of Prey around here. I've never seen a Sparrowhawk take anything the size of a Blackbird, nor decapitate other birds for fun. My guess is Magpie got the eggs and something else feline/ burrrowing rodent got the bird.

When you say you have never seen a Sparrowhawk take something the size of a Blackbird, do you mean because it's too small?

Because I've seen a Sparrowhawk ripping a seagull to pieces on the roof of our conservatory.

[popeyewhite]

Oakey said:

popeyewhite said:

Plenty of Sparrowhawks and other Birds of Prey around here. I've never seen a Sparrowhawk take anything the size of a Blackbird, nor decapitate other birds for fun. My guess is Magpie got the eggs and something else feline/ burrrowing rodent got the bird.

When you say you have never seen a Sparrowhawk take something the size of a Blackbird, do you mean because it's too small?

Because I've seen a Sparrowhawk ripping a seagull to pieces on the roof of our conservatory.

Yes, normally they take blue tits, sparrows etc. They must be very hungry to take on a Seagull, mainly because hawks are fragile birds and pigeons are heavy. Comparatively. There's Buzzards, Kites, Hen Harriers and two types of Falcon around here in a good year and they'll eat most things, including road kill, but I haven't seen a Sparrowhawk eat anything as big as a Blackbird or just decapitate it. Odd. I suppose the bird could have been disturbed... .

[Kinkell]

I've seen a sparrow hawk attack a wood pigeon and tuck into it. The pigeon was much bigger than the hawk and I was a bit surprised at the time.