While on a short walk from work at lunchtime last week (office is in Tynedale) I saw a dead raptor by road. Near a junction, but not on a fast stretch of road itself. I stopped and took a photo and my mum confirmed my suspicions – a small peregrine. It looked pretty beaten up but I was eating an orange an didn't stop to turn it over or anything. It was gone the next day.

It only then dawned on me that the RSPB might want to know? Especially given how the area is overrun with huntin' finshin' types and wealthy estates full of pheasants.

I'll post the photo when I get home tonight.

If you suspect that a crime has been commited then report it to the RSPB via their website http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/wildbirdslaw/report.asp It could have died from natural causes but I guess if you report it and there is enough information they can investigate.

Not much point if you don't have the corpse as it cant be tested for poisons. Probably roadkill but you never know

I was eating an orange

I like this detail. It adds artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.

JonT – I'm in the wildlife recording business. If you email me the details, and photo, I'll make sure it gets to the right folk in RSPB. Its not just the criminal aspect that they will be interested in.
stw.geoffj@me.com

You could have roasted it and had it on a sandwich. Much better than an Orange. Might taste like chicken.

Yes JonT – for a bird found dead near a road, rather than on or near its nest, then clearly thats the most likely cause of death, evil gamekeepers – 2+2=? 🙄

On a related note, all that time as a keeper I spent volunteering in a wet shitty OP on the side of a fell overlooking Wanney Crags protecting Perry nests from egg collectors was clearly bollocks then!

Still, I suppose I got to make up for it with a couple of the local girls who'd read all about Gamekeepers in Lady Chatterley's lover 😀

They do taste like chicken and the eggs are good scrambled but you do need a lot for a decent meal, mind you'll have earned it getting past that keeper whose riding the local bike(s).

BD, I never took you for a Gilbert and Sullivan fan…

Zulu – the gamekeepers in Scotland are regularly killing raptors – probably the biggest cause of death of mature adult birds.

Lots of evidence of this and a fair amount of proof including a few prosecutions.

a small peregrine

Ehhh – I wouldnt have said a Peregrine was a particularly small bird…

… Merlin perhaps?

best tell Billy Casper

TJ – 2005 to 2009 there were a total of five confirmed Peregrine poisoning incidents in Scotland – not one is acceptable, but I'm afraid your claim of probably the biggest cause of death is a little bit Carlsberg!

I've spent considerably more time talking to and drinking with Keepers than you ever will, and I've met very few with the stereotypical attitude to raptors!

I can understand the problems of associated with eating an orange and taking a photo, but what were you doing with your feet, that you were unable to "turn it over" ? 😕

.

gamekeepers in Scotland are regularly killing raptors

I'm not entirely sure why a gamekeeper might want to kill a Peregrine TJ ….although I guess there might be a reason.

I my experience, the only people I've known who have wanted to kill Peregrines, have been racing pigeon fanciers………the cloth capped, clog dancing, coal eating, northern gits 😐

Mind you, a champion racing pigeon is worth a fair few bob – so it's not entirely surprising.

Zulu, I suspect tj could trump your gamekeeper claim – but from the conservation side.

Domino, TJ – yep, not enough evidence of a crime so I don't want to wast anyone's time. I thought they might just be interested anyway.

Geoff – cheer, YHM.

Zulu – why so defensive? I was merely trying to highlight the obvious conflicts within the area.

Yes it was near a road, but the section past is is very quiet and approaching a junction, hence my doubt.

\edit
the image linking doesn't appear to be working. you can see the image and location HERE

anyway, I certainly wasn't villainising gamekeepers (though that's what this thread is turning in to) I just wanted to know who'd care.

I said raptors – not peregrines. Peregrines are not normally the target of the gamekeepers but Eagles are as well as other raptors.

A total of 22 poisonings were recorded in 2009, resulting in 27 dead raptors, including 19 buzzards, four red kites and two golden eagles.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8570464.stm

Found corpses / known poisonings are just the tip of the iceberg.

http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/tag/white-tailed-sea-eagle/

bikemonkey – close…..

Inmy experience Game keepers love killing stuff,poisoning Buzzards,trapping Weasels and Stoats etc…. more pheasants are killed by cars..but they can't shoot the drivers..
Zulu,I'm not tarring you with the same brush.

BigDummy – Member

I was eating an orange

I like this detail. It adds artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.

PMSL @ BigDummy………..verisimilitude,I like that, I like that a lot! I intend to throw it into polite conversation, even when it doesn't fit in the future! 😆

As nickc notes, I am quoting pointlessly to make it appear that I am a fan of light opera, rather than because I feel JonT is telling fibs. 🙂

TandemJeremy – Member

I said raptors – not peregrines.

But we're talking about "Peregrines".

And using my analytical skills, I have deduced that the unfortunate Peregrine met a somewhat violent death caused by physical trauma, rather than poisoning.

I refer to the evidence provided by the OP : "It looked pretty beaten up"

I love BigDummy!

Be interesting to see pics Jon- would be unusual to find a small peregrine (given the time of year). I'd be inclined to think it might be something else- but could be wrong. Also be interesting to know roughly the location, there have been a few poisonings of larger birds of prey in the NE recently- without a corpse though there's little point in getting in touch with anyone. As for the 'whodunnit' debate going on- I'd agree that peregrines have more to fear from pigeon fanciers than gamekeepers. Unfortunatley a few pathetic large estate owners and gamekeepers still give the rest a bad name in this respect- times are changing slowly though.

What would I have done? Had a good look at it, picked it up, seen if anyone was interested in finding out how it had died, and then got it to a decent taxidermist.

Sparrowhawk

It probably is worth calling someone so they can log it. Some kind of twitchers club?

Oops! I've got me Gilberts mixed up!

Zulu-Eleven – Member
TJ – 2005 to 2009 there were a total of five confirmed Peregrine poisoning incidents in Scotland – not one is acceptable, but I'm afraid your claim of probably the biggest cause of death is a little bit Carlsberg!

I've spent considerably more time talking to and drinking with Keepers than you ever will, and I've met very few with the stereotypical attitude to raptors!

you want to listen to some of the keepers I work with there all for killing anything that's not a pheasant grouse partridge woodcock or snipe if I hear/see any problems with illegal killing of the predator species they get reported to the the police. I also work at a falconry centre with a copper who goes undercover with game keepers and makes arrests for the killing at the end of the day the game gets shot anyway what difference is a few game gone to natural causes?the shoots that I am a member of are just a massacre when we have finished with 200braces shot on a normal day..

Taka,good point 200 brace= sport?

For crouch potato and those who missed the link earlier:

link LINK HERE

good call, maybe a sparrowhawk. I'm not sure peregrine falcons are numerous about here.

Aye Jon, 'tis a sparrowhawk. Not too many peregrines in that area either- though increasingly common (albeit relatively) not too far away.

At least some of the endangered small bird species will be able to sleep a bit easier tonight. Especially after they've had a good feed at some of the wheat put out by the local keeper.

Young Dave riley – Member
Taka,good point 200 brace= sport?

murder im also a member of a grouse syndicate which is lucky to shoot 4brace in a season might just be because there all rich men who buy the most expensive gun they can find because it will make them shoot better… 😆

At least some of the endangered small bird species will be able to sleep a bit easier tonight. Especially after they've had a good feed at some of the wheat put out by the local keeper.

Ah, that'll be the endangered species who's numbers are reduced due to human interference with their habitat, the very cold winter, road kill, feline predation…
The so-called 'sparrowhawk' problem of reduced songbird numbers is a myth, largely put about by pigeon racers and those who hate any type of natural predator. They even blame Buzzards, which mostly scavange and eat earthworms and small mammals, they're too slow and big to catch small birds. I live in North Wilts, and spend a lot of time in the countryside. In the last two years, I have seen a couple of Peregrines, (apart from the pair in Bath), a couple of Red Kites,
a couple of Short-Eared Owls, dozens of Buzzards and Kestrels, and possibly one, perhaps two Sparrowhawks. They're not common, I've only ever seen one in my garden, some years back, and it can't possibly explain the huge population
crash in birds like Starlings and House Sparrows. I get more Goldfinches in the garden than Sparrows, and maybe half a dozen Starlings. It's loss of habitat for nesting, the closing up of roofspaces for prevention of global warming, (gotta cut down your carbon footprint, insulate your roof), that's the problem. A couple of thousand Sparrowhawks can't be blamed for the loss of millions of Sparrows and Starlings, among many others.

There is no great evidence that raptor populations have any great impact on prey species except in very particular circumstances.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/raptorworkinggroup_tcm9-188714.pdf

http://www.snh.org.uk/strategy/sr-rap00.asp

Small birds numbers have been falling for quite a few years now despite generally milder winters. Can't remember the figures but yes cats are responsible for huge numbers of deaths and obviously loss of habitat is a major factor too. Recent figures show that cats caught 55 million birds although this does not include ones that weren't brought home or escaped only to die later. Also modern farming has had an impact for quite a number of years too. My father was a keeper for over thirty years and at his last job oversaw planting of many acres of woodland and hedging. We even planted Pampas grass to provide seeds, mostly for partridges but small birds get the benefit too. Despite improving the habitat it was his opinion that he was seeing a lot fewer small birds. During this time raptor numbers increased fairly significantly. Not saying they had a huge impact but if the numbers were increasing then it must have had some impact. Up to 98% of a Sparrowhawks diet is smaller birds ie sparrows, finches, tits, thrushes.

http://www.sebg.org/casestudies/langholm.htm
http://www.langholmproject.com/project.html
This is a good read.

Peregrines tast **** all like chicken.

They're more like swan.

it's been a hard winter.
there are less songbirds about.
believe it or not animals do die of natural causes.

Red Kites anyone eaten one ?
What do they taste like ?