Battle of the Bird of Prey

 I had just put the camera trap out ( it is out at the time of writing this, in the spot where we caught some deer) and was walking home along the canal when I saw some feathers. My first thought was buzzard but I knew it could have been a tawny owl as well.

Here are the three feathers - but they haven't been lost naturally as they are attached to flesh!

What bird did these feathers belong to?

Like I said earlier I reckon these are buzzard feathers. The only other bird would be a tawny owl. There are plenty of buzzards in the area but there are still a few owls. Here is a comparison between the feathers.

Tawny owl feather

Buzzard feathers

Both are quite similar and those are the best images I could find but the feathers here could be from different areas of the bird hence them looking different to the ones I have. But like I said I am sure it was a buzzard.

What happened?

My guess is that the bird got in a fight with another animal and a little chunk of it got torn off. I reckon it was earlier this morning before people started walking along the canal as there was still blood on the end of the feather. It may have been resting but then got attacked by another animal. It then flew off still losing it's feathers since it was injured.

Suspects

My main suspect is a red fox.

They have been known to attack buzzards mainly to scare them off.

Pictures taken by me :-)

The fox probably bit into the buzzard, not killing it but injuring it and scaring it off.

Also the other week I found lots of pigeon feathers together in the woods. I think a fox got to that too.

So that's what I think happened to the bird which these feathers belong to. What do you think the animals involved in this fight were? And do you want to see my entire feather collection?

Please say what you think in the comments :-)

Top 5 Favourite Photos/videos of 2022

 Happy new year! 

I know I haven't been uploading for a while (my camera trap got taken in Nottinghamshire but I now have a new one)  but I will now be uploading regularly again!

Anyway these are my top 5 favourite photos/videos of 2022!

5.

Bumble bee

I love this video as the bee is so close and you can really hear it!

4.

Elusive fox 

Although its not the greatest fox video we've had this year it is certainly my favourite.

I love the way it's sneaking around and that's why it makes it into my top 5. This could also be the same 

fox at night?

3. Pheasant

We usually get foxes and badgers on the camera trap (which I really don't mind!) but its always nice to get something different. Like in this case we got a fantastic pheasant strutting around the woods.

2. Baby badger

I really couldn't decide out of the final 2 which one should come first. Anyway in place number 2 we have the cutest baby badger.

.

It's also one of our only badgers in daylight.

1. Roe deer

The number one spot of the year goes to the roe deer.

It was so unexpected as the wood isn't huge and deer often like big forests!

So those are my favourite photos/videos of the year. Stay tuned to find out what else we'll catch!

Bison are back!

 One century ago, European bison were declared extinct in the wild. But thanks to rewinding projects they now live across Europe one again! But up until July 2022 there had been no bison in Britain. But now, a little herd of them are roaming free in Kent! 

Bison being reintroduced to England

Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey

 Golden Lion Tamarins are critically endangered due to their habitat being shrunken down into small unconnected areas. They live in southeastern Brazil and normally have up to 2 offspring but can have triplets and quadruplets. They get their names from their impressive manes. Hopefully lion tamarin monkeys will increase in population soon.

Golden Lion Tamarin with offspring 

Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey

Fact File

Speed: 6

Size: 3

Intelligence: 8

Life Span: 8 - 20 years

Diet: Fruit, Insects, and other invertebrates

Harpy Eagle

 The harpy eagle is considered to be the most powerful eagle in the world. They live in central and South America and make their nests in the canopy. They have killer talons which can be up to 3 to 4 inches long. They are the third biggest and heaviest eagle in the world. Sadly, their numbers are declining. Most birds are scared and will keep away from humans but these don't! They have even been known to attack humans!

Harpy eagle nest

Harpy eagle hunting

Fact File

Speed: 7

Size: 7

Intelligence: 8 - you have to be clever to catch monkeys!

Life Span: 25 - 35 years 

Diet: Monkeys, sloths, opossums, anteaters, reptiles and other birds.

Poison Dart Frogs

There are many different types of  poison dart frogs and each one of them are poisonous. The golden poison dart frog is bright yellow to show predators that they are deadly.  This is the same with all frogs- bright colours to warn predators not to eat them. The reason they are called dart frogs is be cause people used to use their poison in darts. Like normal frogs they lay frogspawn which will hatch into tadpoles. Don't touch one of these as it won't end well.

Blue poison dart frog

Golden poison dart frog

Fact File

Speed: 4

Size: 1

Intelligence:  5

Life Span: around 10 to 15 years

Diet: Small insects such as ants and termites

Coatis

Coatis are relatives of racoons that live in South America.  Their long, stripy tails help them balance when climbing trees. They do spend a majority of their time on the ground though, foraging for food. Coatis live in groups called bands. They have many natural predators including jaguars, anacondas, ocelots and maned wolfs. They resemble a red panda with their orangey colours but have a pointier snout. Coatis are normally friendly to people but can attack at times. 

Coati

Fact File

Size: 3

Speed: 6

Intelligence: 6

Life Span: around 14 years

Diet: Fruit, invertebrates, small rodents and lizards