Who dun it?!

Last night I was checking on a Wood pigeon nest to record it’s status for the Nest Record Scheme. This is the nest were we ringed two pullus from on 27th March (see below). As I was about to climb the tree, I noticed a female Sparrowhawk sat on the nest! So I carried on climbing up and noticed the chicks were missing, but also that the Sparrowhawk was using the nest as a plucking post! A little searching around in the material found me a recovery, as I noticed a birds leg, carrying a BTO ring! One of the Wood pigeon chicks you may think?! But on returning home & checking the database, it turns out the Sparrowhawk had nabbed one of my Starlings that I’d ringed in the garden in May 2010.