Can anyone help me to identify a dead bird of prey?

[hirundine]

Hello, sorry, this is a bit of a morbid question for my first post in these forums, but hope somebody can help me. Last October, I was walking in Alexandra Park in Manchester with a friend when I came across what appeared to be a large dead bird of prey by the pond.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so didn't take any photos, and they wouldn't have been nice to look at over breakfast, anyway...a lot of the bird had been eaten, its head was completely gone, as was most of its body, which makes it particularly hard to identify. Its wings and talons were intact, though, and it seems to have been a large dark brown bird, much bigger than a sparrowhawk or a kestrel. I wouldn't have expected to find a bird of prey so near the centre of a major city like Manchester, is this normal? I suppose it's quite near Chorlton Water Park, though, so maybe it's not all that surprising. Maybe it had escaped from a falconer, or something like that?

Anyway, sorry I can't give you more to go on, and thanks in advance for any theories on what might have happened to this poor bird.

[Mungo]

I can't help with the ID, but wanted to welcome you to WAB

[hirundine]

Thank you! I think it might be pushing it a bit to get an ID from a memory of a pair of wings from four months ago, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. These are great forums, really friendly and interesting. My day at work should go a lot faster now!

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by hirundine

Hello, sorry, this is a bit of a morbid question for my first post in these forums, but hope somebody can help me. Last October, I was walking in Alexandra Park in Manchester with a friend when I came across what appeared to be a large dead bird of prey by the pond.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so didn't take any photos, and they wouldn't have been nice to look at over breakfast, anyway...a lot of the bird had been eaten, its head was completely gone, as was most of its body, which makes it particularly hard to identify. Its wings and talons were intact, though, and it seems to have been a large dark brown bird, much bigger than a sparrowhawk or a kestrel. I wouldn't have expected to find a bird of prey so near the centre of a major city like Manchester, is this normal? I suppose it's quite near Chorlton Water Park, though, so maybe it's not all that surprising. Maybe it had escaped from a falconer, or something like that?

Anyway, sorry I can't give you more to go on, and thanks in advance for any theories on what might have happened to this poor bird.

I suspect the most ready explanation is that the bird was a young female sparrowhawk (the females are often larger than realised) and it had been chopped by one of the city peregrines on a day out. However, there are common buzzards in the area and I could not rule out a very rare visiting goshawk although the predator - prey combination would be unusual. Certainly, the pattern of eating suggests a bird of prey being the likely predator.

Peregrines certainly visit the wet areas around the city suburbs and have been recorded at Elton Reservoir in Bury in addition to controlling feral pigeon numbers around the University of Salford. A goshawk record would be exceptional, as would any of the harriers even though the habitat favours the latter at Chorlton (at least for a wandering bird).

[alisonclair]

probably a silly suggestion but could it have been an owl?

[Ruth Daniel]

Originally Posted by hirundine

Thank you! These are great forums, really friendly and interesting. My day at work should go a lot faster now!

Welcome to WAB Hirundine!

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by hirundine

Hello, sorry, this is a bit of a morbid question for my first post in these forums, but hope somebody can help me. Last October, I was walking in Alexandra Park in Manchester with a friend when I came across what appeared to be a large dead bird of prey by the pond.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so didn't take any photos, and they wouldn't have been nice to look at over breakfast, anyway...a lot of the bird had been eaten, its head was completely gone, as was most of its body, which makes it particularly hard to identify. Its wings and talons were intact, though, and it seems to have been a large dark brown bird, much bigger than a sparrowhawk or a kestrel. I wouldn't have expected to find a bird of prey so near the centre of a major city like Manchester, is this normal? I suppose it's quite near Chorlton Water Park, though, so maybe it's not all that surprising. Maybe it had escaped from a falconer, or something like that?

Anyway, sorry I can't give you more to go on, and thanks in advance for any theories on what might have happened to this poor bird.

Hmm, 'So near the centre of a major city...' any chance it was a peregrine? They're often seen in town centres, targeting pigeons.

[aeshna5]

If it was much bigger than a Sparrowhawk + brownish in colour I would plump for Buzzard as most likely, though the possibility of an escaped falconer's bird is also a possibility.

Obviously from the scant information a definitive ID will be impossible, we can only speculate!

[hirundine]

Thank you, everyone, for all the replies, suggestions and for welcoming me to the forum. I think it'll be a peregrine or a female sparrowhawk, although obviously, identifying it for certain is more or less impossible. I don't think it was an owl, though.

Really interesting, Nightranger, I had no idea that it might have been eaten by a larger bird of prey. I thought it had just turned up its talons and been eaten by a scavenging fox or something.

Thanks again, everyone!

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by hirundine

Really interesting, Nightranger, I had no idea that it might have been eaten by a larger bird of prey. I thought it had just turned up its talons and been eaten by a scavenging fox or something.

With apologies for potentially preaching to the converted...

The tell-tale signs are the wings being more or less in place because this almost always indicates a bird of prey kill. Rats will not move the wings if they scavenge a carcase either but they are unlikely to have made the initial kill in any case. Foxes nearly always dismember a carcase whereas Mustelids will not leave a carcase in the open, as even weasels can drag a bulky victim away. Another sign is that mammals bite the feathers off at the base rather than rip them out, as is the case with raptors and corvids. I tended to discount the idea of a fox kill simply because it would have removed a carcase of this size. I recently saw the remains of a mute swan that had clearly been a fox victim and the wings had been removed before the carcase was removed. There was little evidence of feathers around the site of the kill.