Rolling Avian Issues Thread

i wonder what the most outrageous birdfight upset of all time is. inevitably unseen by human eye. 45,000 years ago a sparrow offed a swan, kind of thing

lots of baby seagulls around where I live now. a bit too far away for me to get good pictures but they look like this:

http://wildlifeambulance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/gull-chicks.jpg

'ello

what fine little fellows

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/02/sandringham-royal-estate-linked-to-many-deaths-and-disappearances-of-protected-birds

The Guardian has documented 18 cases of alleged shootings, poisonings and disappearances of rare birds and related incidents linked to the Sandringham estate or surrounding land owned by the king

2003
Red kite found dead, poisoned by two highly toxic insecticides on farmland owned by Sandringham. No suspect identified

December 2005
Tawny owl was put down after being badly injured in an illegal trap. The owl had significant levels of toxic rat killer in its body. A Sandringham gamekeeper fined £500 and £470 costs

May 2007
A marsh harrier found dead on the boundary of Sandringham estate, suspected poisoning by toxic pesticides. No suspect identified

October 2007
Two female hen harriers were shot over Sandringham estate. The police searched part of the estate. Prince Harry, a friend and the head gamekeeper were interviewed by police. The birds were not recovered and no one was prosecuted

October 2009
A sparrowhawk found on Sandringham estate poisoned by an insecticide, next to a dead pigeon laced with it. The police and Health and Safety Executive searched Sandringham buildings. They did not find the same substance but uncovered “significant safety issues” with pesticides rule breaches. Warning letter sent to Sandringham

August 2014
A female montagu’s harrier, Britain’s rarest bird of prey, disappeared on land owned by Sandringham. It was fitted with a satellite tag, which also disappeared. No offence could be detected

August 2016
A goshawk died near Sandringham House. Its body was incinerated by estate staff before it could be examined. Its satellite tag was posted back to the British Trust for Ornithology. No offence could be detected

September 2016
Up to 40 dead wood pigeons were found piled up near Sandringham estate visitors centre. One was alive and had blood coming from its beak. The next morning the birds had been removed before they could be examined by Natural England. No offence could be detected

March 2017
A dead stock dove was found close to where the dead wood pigeons were found in September 2016. Because of that previous case, it was investigated but believed to have died of natural causes

August 2017
Another female montagu’s harrier disappeared near the site of the first missing montagu’s harrier. Its satellite tag also disappeared. No offence could be detected

May 2020
A little owl was found dead in a Fenn trap, designed to catch stoats, on the Sandringham land. Those traps were no longer authorised for that purpose. Police said no offences were committed but the RSPCA gave advice to the head keeper to prevent this happening again

December 2020
Further Fenn traps and poisons were found by anti-snaring campaigners, who complained to Norfolk police. No offence recorded

January 2021
A fox was reported “spinning around” in distress in a snare on Sandringham, which led anti-snaring campaigners to be concerned about the estate

January 2021
A pet dog was trapped around its neck by a snare on Sandringham land. The dog owner complained

March 2021
A dead red kite was found on Snettisham beach, very close to Sandringham. Rat poisons and a shotgun pellet were detected by tests. Investigators could not identify a suspect

July 2021
More Fenn traps, river traps and snares, some with poisons, on Sandringham estate were reported to Natural England, and then followed up by the HSE. No action taken

August 2021
Rat poisons allegedly left in the open on Sandringham land. The HSE did not visit the rat poison locations, so no samples were analysed, but the case was added to its database

August 2022
More allegedly unauthorised traps found on Sandringham. Norfolk police investigated and stated they “don’t seem to comply with best practice at the very least”

avian best practices

a friend told me that he used to have a male duck that died because it couldn't put its dick away? Is this a common thing?

louis qk