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A starter....
Saw a couple of Ringlets and a Large White at lunchtime, together with the first 2nd brood Holly Blue.

1st July

Huge numbers of Ringlets in my local meadows in South Cambridgeshire. Meadow Browns, while not scarce, are well down on usual numbers. The colony of Marbled Whites that became established in 2007 is now spreading from the core area into adjacent meadows and even into the old orchard. Good numbers seen, as many as four at once. Probably outnumbering the Meadow Browns but that is difficult to be sure about; after all Marbled Whites are far more noticeable.

Marbled Whites are now within about 250 metres of my home. How long before a garden tick? (To replace the long-lost Wall Browns that were here some 18 years ago)

Jack

I appreciate that this really is in the wrong forum, but I wanted as many people as possible to see and come up with ideas. About 15 metres up in a tree. No signs of life. Image deliberately large to enable maximum detail.

Any thoughts about what has been going on?

Jack

Nice shot Jack...

some Great Chishill pagan ritual ?

Charles

Curious, you can see the wing feathers on the far side have been deliberately trimmed (or that's what it looks like to me).

There are two – perhaps even three - birds in the picture, a juvenile bottom right and bigger one(s) holding it.

Local landowners do of course kill pigeons – I once came across a pile of some 50 corpses. But they are hardly likely to climb a tree to display a trophy.

Could it be a raptor (Sparrowhawk?) caught the small bird and then while carrying it met with an unfortunate fate? Perhaps it had a fight for possession with another Sparrowhawk?

When I first saw the birds from a distance I couldn’t make out what it was; I thought that some rubbish had blown and got caught high in the tree.
Whatever is going on, as a Norfolk native would say:
“Tha’s a roight rummin tha’ is!” (We might speak funny, but we know about apostrophes).

PS. I always wonder if Admiral Nelson – Norfolk’s most famous son (after Jack Harrison of course) -said that when enemy cannonballs hit his ship?

Jack

Well it's pretty obvious. The tree won - it must be a relative of the triffid.

Personally I can only see one very-banged-up-pigeon that a predator has started to strip, at least on the feet. If you had a couple of supplementary photographs from different angles it would be easier to see. Maybe the head hanging down isn't of the same bird, but it's still difficult to work out. If foxes lived up trees it would make more sense. Send it to Chris Packham, he's bound to know! Interesting though, in a slightly macabre way...

It was difficult to get a line-of-sight through the foliage. But here's another shot.

Jack

The second picture looks clearer to me, and still looks like a single pigeon dead pigeon. On this subject, birds do come to funny (peculiar, not ha-ha) fates sometimes. I came home a couple of weeks back to see both a thrush and a blue tit about a foot away from each other, quite dead, on our patio. Yes, you'd think that birds had got them, but there was no pulling apart or feathers to show a scrap. I wondered if they'd been under attack and had flown straight into the wall of the house. Sorry, there's no answer to that story either

A trip to Buxton Heath, Norfolk today. Only a few ss blues, the Heath has had some major clearence & coppicing since last year. They were very jittery so think I will give up on that for a few days. A few ringlets & skippers & a lovely pristine Red Admiral.

I cannot answer to Jack in my best Norfolk accent as I am from Norwich which is very posh Norfolk!


Angie

Seen around Portland, Dorset, today were- 30+ Silver-studded Blue, with numerous Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Heath and Marbled White at Broadcroft Quarry, plus 2 Grayling and 7 Small Blue at West Cliff. Six-Spot Burnet abundant at most sites visited.

Jon

Angie writ:

I cannot answer to Jack in my best Norfolk accent as I am from Norwich which is very posh Norfolk!

Cor blast me! They allers lernt us at skool at Yarmouth that them lot from Norridge were far less sophisticated – certainly not posh.

Jack

Visited Lindrick Common near Worksop today. Saw a pair of Dark Green Fritilaries and a Marbled White, plus at least 50 Ringlet.
Was surprised at the Marbled White, I didn't realise they existed at this site.
Sadly didn't see any Silver Studded Blue. Anyone know specifically where I should have been looking, or was I too early?

I belikeve there have been quite a few introductions to Lindrick including Scotch Argus. Can anyone confirm the introduction story?

Jack

All I can see is one dead woody too. Thought you'd bagged your tea there Jack, only to have it land in a fork. This happens.

Plenty of intro's around the Worksop area, some of them have been very successful too, Scotch Argus being one of them; Marbled White, Dark Green Frit & SS Blue as well so I hear... I posted something about this a while ago if memory serves...

Felix.

I didn't think farmers bothered shooting pigeons anymore, because of the cost of cartridges (worth more than the pigeon). I suppose there are air-guns tho'. I don't think it is a sparrow hawk, they would ground it and take the breasts out. Maybe it tangled with a helicopter.

Two male speckled wood today at the local young farmers club. Males fighting, didn't manage a photo though. Nearby I saw 3 buff ermine females which were very flighty.

Zonda wrote:I didn't think farmers bothered shooting pigeons anymore, because of the cost of cartridges (worth more than the pigeon).

You're kidding - Wood Pigeons do horrendous damage to crops. The bird is worthless, you're right (because the public don't fancy eating pigeon I guess - shame as it's delish.) but they are still a serious pest.

Felix.

I didn't think farmers bothered shooting pigeons anymore, because of the cost of cartridges (worth more than the pigeon).

They do on my farm, well they only go for a few (not the woodpidgeons though the run of the mill "gutterbird" as some call them, the ones in towns, parks and cities) as they plague the area here and we have to keep numbers in check to stop there being too many. Woodpidgeons are less of a threat here (although a pair did come into my garden last year and eat all my blueberries of the bush which I wanted as I love blueberries)

Jack the pidgeon definatly looks dead, I have seen something like that before, but why would it be like that I wonder and not laying beside the tree? Only time I saw something like that was a dead jackdaw with no head hung from a tree...that reminded me of a rutial of some sort (not the case) but I never really found out why it was there, was there for a month then disappeared.