birds of prey feeling the cold

[rossy]

just read in the local paper, that during the recent cold spell, up at the three owls bird sanctuary, 45% of the birds brought in have been birds of prey, tawny owls little owls , kestrels and sparrowhawks, the chap says the birds have been exhausted and weak , unlike our garden birds who get plenty from the feeders and tables he puts on to leave raw meat if possible at night as food is harder for in particular the owls to find, has there been any reports in other areas ? rossy.

[Stinky Bob]

I read the same thing in the BTO newsletter, they mentioned that Barn Owls looked to have been hard hit. The resident Tawny Owl seems to be still doing okay and I saw it perched on a branch with another the other morning, too dark to sex. Dont dare put meat out here as it will be targetted by rats.

[Jonathan]

I can entirely understand why raptors that eat small mammals might struggle to find food in the snowy conditions we've had recently, not sure why bird-eaters such as sparrowhawks would suffer? During the recent snow I saw several kestrels attempting (and succeeding in one instance - a mipit) to take birds, so they can switch prey when necessary, though I doubt with the same degree of success. Merlins seemed to follow the larks and pipits down to the coast, the Dee and Ribble marshes were full of them recently. I had at least a dozen sightings of merlin (not sure how many birds involved, I had three in view at the same time at one point) one Saturday on the Dee a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers
Jonathan

[rossy]

yes jonathan can see your point as kestrels stock up larders but because the cold spell lasted so long they had none left. one other point is how much energy these birds use up whilst hunting prey, they arent successful all the time so tire more and weaken so if they dehydrate as well , exhaustion follows maybe thats a reason. rossy

[Melus]

Originally Posted by rossy

just read in the local paper, that during the recent cold spell, up at the three owls bird sanctuary, 45% of the birds brought in have been birds of prey, tawny owls little owls , kestrels and sparrowhawks, the chap says the birds have been exhausted and weak , unlike our garden birds who get plenty from the feeders and tables he puts on to leave raw meat if possible at night as food is harder for in particular the owls to find, has there been any reports in other areas ? rossy.

I might be wrong but a wild BOP such as a Red Kite or Buzzard who are basically carion scavengers might take lumps of beef etc in the wild but I doubt a Tawny/Little Owl/Kestrel etc would know a lump of beef would be edible. A chap I know who rescues animals and particularilly BOP has trouble converting wild BOP to eat white mice or day old chicks with the skin on as wild birds do not recognise these food items. We all do our best to care for wildlife but I feel leaving bits of meat out is unproductive to say the least.

Regards
Gary

[rossy]

fair comment gary chicken should be ok, i think one chap on here colin knows a lot on bop maybe he can have some input, rossy