Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:54 pm
Yup, a sparrowhawk.
When I lived in Farnham the sparrows used to hide in the bushes down the left edge of our garden whenever there was a hint of a hawk about. But the sparrowhawk was no fool. He (or she) would just fly crashing through the bushes, doing a fast series of u-turns, until his/her beak connected with some lunch. Then he/she would just take the prey onto our lawn and feast on it, leaving a neat little pile of feathers (and sometimes a head or feet) for us to dispose of.
But ...
I was flying my Silver Fox on the cricket field a fortnight ago, just where there was a neat spread of very white feathers on the grass. Something had caught, and killed, and consumed, a seagull.
I'd have thought a seagull was too big for a sparrowhawk to attack.
Maybe a dog just got lucky? I doubt it - the feathers were too closely distributed. And would a dog have been so tidy? Probably not.
A fox?
Not a lot of buzzards in the area, and anyway they go for carrion rather than attacking live prey.
Do big seagulls prey on smaller ones?
I confess I'm puzzled.
Brian. (Past it, but reaching back!)
Silver Fox 2.5; HQ Shadow SUL; Rev 1.5 SLE; Spiderkites URO; Etc...
