Surfbirds News: July 2007 Archives
Bird of prey killers develop sickening new technique
Late one Friday evening in early March, I received a most peculiar message. A local birdwatcher had been wandering along a forest ride in the Derwent Valley in the Peak District National Park when he had come across the body of a squirrel, lying on its back, on top of a wall.
On closer examination, he saw the animal was lying on a mat of strands of baler twine and that a translucent substance had been applied in obvious broad lines across the body. When he touched this with his gloved hand, he realised it was a very powerful adhesive.
Goshawk, copyright Bill Baston
He was worried that a bird of prey trying to feed on the corpse might get tangled in this sticky mass, so sensibly he decide to hide the carcass nearby and contact the RSPB.
Unfortunately, in common with much of upland Britain, there have been problems of bird of prey persecution in this area. In 2006, the RSPB produced a hard-hitting report, titled 'Peak Malpractice,' about these issues, and in particular the problems faced by
goshawks
and
peregrines
I knew the forest in question was a regular breeding place for the rare and elusive goshawk, and we had evidence of goshawks being illegally killed here in the recent past. In view of this, I dashed across the following day to meet the finder.
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