Dead bird of prey

[thebeard]

Hello, today i was biking down the trent and on the far bank spotted something. it was quite dull and i was looking into the murk of the trees on the far bank, so i couldnt really tell what it was, but i got a photo which is pretty awful and closely cropped.

Just wondering if anyone knows what it is - looks a bit buzzard-like but not sure, looks about the right size. Its quite sad - looks like its wing got caught on something, i might go back for a look tomorrow.

[Littlesparrow]

Could be caught on the dreaded fishing line.

[RKB]

It's a Tawny Owl. The left wingtip is caught on something - is it netting on the bank?

If you able to retrieve it, please send it here Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme - homepage (click on 'sending samples'). You'll get your postage paid, and an autopsy report.

[thebeard]

cheers rkb i didnt even think about owls. i dont think i'll be able to retrieve it, and its probably not the most hygenic thing to do anyway, but i will go and have a look.

cheersw

[RKB]

Originally Posted by thebeard

cheers rkb i didnt even think about owls. i dont think i'll be able to retrieve it, and its probably not the most hygenic thing to do anyway, but i will go and have a look.

cheersw

Dead birds wont kill you, it's just a Tesco chicken without the packaging. Although falling into the Trent might kill you...

[larachmor]

Originally Posted by RKB

Dead birds wont kill you, it's just a Tesco chicken without the packaging. Although falling into the Trent might kill you...

It's worth noting that when dealing with dead birds of prey in particular you must be very cautious. It's always best to wear rubber gloves. Should it be a victim of a poison bait, the type of poisons used are extremely dangerous and can be absobored through the skin.

[RKB]

Originally Posted by larachmor

It's worth noting that when dealing with dead birds of prey in particular you must be very cautious. It's always best to wear rubber gloves. Should it be a victim of a poison bait, the type of poisons used are extremely dangerous and can be absobored through the skin.

I think it's fair to say that this bird hasn't been poisoned - cause of death looks obvious. But general basic hygiene is fine - don't go licking it, wash your hands, use a plastic bag over the hand if you wish. No need to get overly cautious - it would be very difficult to transfer an ingested poison through the skin anyway, as birds are pretty well wrapped in feathers and the concentrations within are very low. I have never heard of a single case where transmission and ill effects have occurred.

The increasingly modern reluctance to handle dead birds is quite a worry for schemes such as PBMS and the BTO Ringing Scheme, as they are getting fewer reports.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Hard to tell from the photo but it looks like its hanging by the wing from some fishing line (as previously suggested little sparrow), rather similar to the fieldfare I saw last year

[Rye]

As someone stated above it's unfortunately a tawny owl.

[thebeard]

yep.

i'm not that averse to touching dead stuff (or alive, RKB!), but if its been in the river a couple of days it might be a bit manky! I presume it is indeed either fishing line, or perhaps something on the bank, there is some protective meshing on some parts of that stretch to avoid erosion, and to stop 'avalanches' as there is a steep escarpment on that side of the river. we'll see i'm about to go take a look.