Life and death on the lawn

[Hornbeam]

I just witnessed a life and death drama on my garden lawn! A crow took a frog from the pond and tried to kill it. The frog was flipping and flopping around and got away from the crow several times. But before it could get back into the water, the crow caught it again and threw it around. Eventually, it held the frog to the ground with its foot and repeatedly stabbed it with its beak. Then when it was sure that the frog was dead, it flew of with the body to its nest in a poplar tree.

[Olly]

I always find things like this stir mixed emotions. You feel sad for the victim but do get to see nature in its rawest which is something not everyone has the opportunity to do.

I watched a heron try to take a moorhen chick on Sunday but thankfully the parents managed to fight it off. There were several children around so I wouldn't like to guess at how many nightmares there would have been if the heron was successful.

[canonman]

Hi Hornbeam
Nice story I know how you feel, would have been nice to have saved the frog, but sorry to say you have to let nature go its own way.
Mick

[goosey]

I rescued a moth from a cobweb just an hour ago, I was very pleased with myself and was glad I saw it fly into the web. My husband said I should have let nature take it's course and now I feel justly chastised, but it's so difficult not to intervene.

[nightshade]

I found a Woodpigeon youngster at the bottom of my drive
a cat had climbed a conifer and taken it from the nest it was
a large well developed youngster but badly mauled there was
nothing I could do for it

[kaz]

My son heard a lot of noise outside and looking out of his bedroom window saw a sparrowhawk take a dove off the lawn - he grabbed his camera and took the following photo from his window as it settled down to pluck the dove.

[nightshade]

Terrific shot ,give your son a pat on the back for being so quick off the mark

[Hornbeam]

Well done - terrific shot!!

With regard to the crow and the frog - no I was not tempted to interfere. If I had saved the frog it might have died anyway of its injuries. The crow chicks would then have gone hungry or the adult would have killed something else.

The only time I intervene is when a cat catches a bird. I justify that because the domestic moggie is only here because of us.

[jennyb]

What a great shot of the sparrowhawk. It really upsets me when something takes one of "my" birds, but that is nature, I guess.

I am a bit concerned that there have been a couple of magpies hanging round the house and garden recently. I think they are just waiting for all the baby birds that are going to emerge sometime soon. There are a lot of birds nesting in the conifers near the house. I really don't like magpies.

Jenny

[kaz]

No, I don't like magpies either - I imagine them taking all the little chicks in the hedgerows.