Wildlife in my local patch

Hampshire UK

Bird of Prey Hunting ground?

On Sunday we came across what seemed to be the haunt of a large predatory bird. The expanse of about 50 square metres was littered with feathers and bones of old bird and mammal carcasses.

carcass2

I’m not sure what this bone is or what it came from.

carcass1

You could see whatever had killed it liked to eat it’s meal (of what appeared to be game, large birds and possibly rabbit) off the ground, on the top of the roots of fallen trees or in fact anything above 2 feet of the ground.

mound-for-carcass

This stump seemed like a favourite eating spot.  The plucked feathers from different birds are caught on the roots of the tree and on the top is the mangled remains of a pheasant head.

carcass3

I’m not really sure what species the predator is because I haven’t yet had the opportunity to see it.  Judging by it’s meals I would say it’s a pretty big bird, possibly a buzzard or red kite, which are numerable around here but I’m not entirely certain.  If you think you know what might have eaten like this please leave a comment. 🙂

 

Author: Jackson

Jackson is a young person with an active interest in natural history. He has been asked to be a Local Patch Reporter, writing a regular nature blog about the wildlife in his area for BBC Wildlife Magazine.

2 Comments