Caution: this article contains no blood, but one of the photographs of an insect could be upsetting to sensitive readers.
Mallow beside the ramp meadow in Gunnersbury Triangle local nature reserve
A Magpie on the prowl for prey
Magpies are rather omnivorous predators, feeding on whatever they can catch – the eggs of other birds are a favourite, along with chicks, and the juicy caterpillars and larvae of insects. Unlike foxes, which will crunch up even large beetles whole (leaving wing-cases and other recognisable body parts in their droppings), they feed selectively, eating the soft abdomen of large beetles like the Stag Beetle, and abandon the heavily-armoured thorax and head. The beetles, their bodies broken and their chances of reproduction gone, clamber slowly and pitifully about, sometimes for days.
A newly-emerged male Stag Beetle in Gunnersbury Triangle, its abdomen and left wing-case removed by a Magpie, its right wing-case and legs broken.
On a happier note, we saw a Red Admiral resting in the woods on some Ivy. The Nymphalid butterflies are all getting scarce, so it was a welcome addition to the usual suspects — Brimstone, Small White, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue — on a day without much sunshine to bring the butterflies out.
Red Admiral
The surprisingly handsome flowerheads of Hemlock Water Dropwort, in the wet woodland
Scene of Crime in London Wildlife Trust’s Gunnersbury Triangle Local Nature Reserve
OK, you see a blizzard of feathers, the entire mortal remains of a Wood Pigeon that once proudly flew the woods, jauntily sailing away from a mere human. Who did it – Sparrowhawk or Fox? You might think it impossible, given that both eat most of their quarry, leaving little but bloodied feathers.
The Guilty Party? Sparrowhawk in Gunnersbury TriangleThe Culprit? Red Fox in Gunnersbury Triangle
But you’d be wrong. Each leaves distinctive clues in the debris of their dastardly deeds.
How would one tell if the brutal murder was the Butler with Carving Knife in Pantry, or Doctor with Stethoscope Hose in Library? (with apologies to Cluedo) Or rather, Sparrowhawk with Beak and Claw in Mid-air Murder, or Fox with Teeth in Ambush from Shrubbery? Here’s how to be a wildlife detective …
Sparrowhawk with Beak and Claw in Mid-air Murder
The Sparrowhawk has no teeth; and it doesn’t like to eat feathers. So, it grips each one, and boldly plucks it from the dead prey, leaving whole feathers – the shaft tapering to a point that was once inside the bird’s skin – neatly removed, each in one piece.
Pigeon plucked by Sparrowhawk, detail
Fox with Teeth, Ambush in Shrubbery
The Fox, however, wastes no time on single feathers, biting off and spitting out fluffy mouthfuls as quickly as he can. They may be bloodied, as below, when the skin gets torn, but the feathers generally have broken shafts.
Pigeon feathers bitten off by Fox, detail
The overall effect is still a blizzard of feathers, all that remains of the ex-Pigeon. But, though the Pigeon is no more, its traces indicate quite clearly whodiddit.
Pigeon feathers bitten off by Fox
Now you know.
Sentimentality
There is a sad little postscript to this tale. Near both murder sites was a scatter of bird-seed. Some kind, well-meaning person, perhaps lonely, perhaps seeking friendship, had put out some food for the pigeons to eat in the cold weather.
Well-meaning, but unwise. The pigeons became accustomed to feeding on the ground … in poor light … without looking about them too much … and fell victim to two keen, hungry, unsentimental predators.
The English seem unemotional … except for their passion for nature
