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Dead hawk in my backyard... mystery?

MrMonty

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Oct 30, 2001
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I looked out my kitchen window and a large bird, at least 1 foot long, is lying belly up on the ground. A dead bird in my backyard isn't unusual. I've been finding three or four robins or sparrows a year. But this guy was much bigger.

I grabbed a plastic grocery bag and went to take a look and remove it before my 6yr old, 90lb yellow Lab got interested in it. I mention my Lab because he may be a reason why I've been finding some of those robins and sparrows. I swear, one time I saw him grab a robin in his mouth, mid flight. Anyway, he was my first suspect.

I'm marvelled at what a majestic bird this is, especially compared to the typical robins and sparrows. Here's where it got odd. I notice the apparent death wound is near its throat. Then I take a closer look at the gob of bloody stuff near it on the ground that I assumed was some of its guts, ripped from the wound. Only thing is, I notice this gob of bloody stuff includes two very recognizable baby robin claws and beak. (I recognize that because for a few days this spring I cared for three baby robins that had fallen out of their nest)

So, my question. Can what I think happened actually have happened? Did this hawk grab a baby robin and the baby robin's last moments were used to claw or peck it's way out of the hawks throat? Grisley to think of but I have to know if this type of "food fighting back" takes place in nature.

I have pics that I may be able to post later, if anybody's interested.

Monty
 
MrMonty said:
I looked out my kitchen window and a large bird, at least 1 foot long, is lying belly up on the ground. A dead bird in my backyard isn't unusual. I've been finding three or four robins or sparrows a year. But this guy was much bigger.

I grabbed a plastic grocery bag and went to take a look and remove it before my 6yr old, 90lb yellow Lab got interested in it. I mention my Lab because he may be a reason why I've been finding some of those robins and sparrows. I swear, one time I saw him grab a robin in his mouth, mid flight. Anyway, he was my first suspect.

I'm marvelled at what a majestic bird this is, especially compared to the typical robins and sparrows. Here's where it got odd. I notice the apparent death wound is near its throat. Then I take a closer look at the gob of bloody stuff near it on the ground that I assumed was some of its guts, ripped from the wound. Only thing is, I notice this gob of bloody stuff includes two very recognizable baby robin claws and beak. (I recognize that because for a few days this spring I cared for three baby robins that had fallen out of their nest)

So, my question. Can what I think happened actually have happened? Did this hawk grab a baby robin and the baby robin's last moments were used to claw or peck it's way out of the hawks throat? Grisley to think of but I have to know if this type of "food fighting back" takes place in nature.

I have pics that I may be able to post later, if anybody's interested.

Monty
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Wouldn't it seem more likely either than the bird threw up as it lay dying, or that whatever ripped its throat open also ripped out the baby robin? Maybe the whole thing began as a fight over the robin?

I like the idea of the prey fighting to its last, but it seems unlikely.
 
It's possible that the two birds' deaths are unrelated. Just because they were in proximity of each other, doesn't mean that the deaths are related.
 
Dava said:
It's possible that the two birds' deaths are unrelated. Just because they were in proximity of each other, doesn't mean that the deaths are related.
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I'll have to figure out how to get the pics posted. I hope they're good, haven't downloaded them off my camera yet. Don't think I want to grab it out of the trash to take more pictures. :boggled:

I can't imagine the deaths being unrelated. I've found dead birds before but never a pile of blood and guts containing pieces of a dead bird before, not to mention coincidentally lying inches away from a dead bird of pery that would consume such stuff.

Unfortunately, Yoink is probably on to it. The pile of baby bird looked slightly digested. Still, in throwing it up, could it have gotten lodged in it's throat? I'm still wanting to believe that the Hawk's last meal caused it to die as opposed to its dying causing the last meal to come up. If the latter is the case, what's the culprit? What preys on hawks? Do I continue to suspect my dog? He's big and old, a bit deaf, and I don't take him out for runs or to catch frisbee, ever.

Monty
 
Robins are very aggressive birds, especially the males when the females are nesting (dont take my word for it, google it!). I would add to the potential causes of death: Male robin attacked the hawk while it was eating the young robin.

Nature isnt always rock, paper, scissors. Maybe hawk didnt beat robin this time?
 
The fact that you mention a wound near the throat makes me think of a burst crop. Was the bird near a window or other obstruction? Often after feeding, a bird's crop can be very full, and an impact with a window or suchlike can cause it to rupture. With unpleasant results.

I've never seen this with a raptor, but I have seen it happen with pigeons and songbirds.

I'd be interested to see the pics, might be able to figure out more from them.
 
MrMonty said:
Can what I think happened actually have happened? Did this hawk grab a baby robin and the baby robin's last moments were used to claw or peck it's way out of the hawks throat?
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No. Absolutely not. And if you'll reflect on the way that hawks feed for a moment, you'll see why: hawks don't swallow their prey whole, like snakes--they hold the prey down with their foot and stand there and slowly tear little gobbets of meat off the carcass with their beaks. So any baby robin would have been dead well before it began to make its way down the hawk's gullet, from having bits of itself torn off.

Now, owls do swallow rodents whole--but this wasn't an owl, and it wasn't a rodent.

Assuming that you're in the United States, this is also the totally wrong time of year for baby robins. Robins aren't breeding anymore, they're getting ready for winter and starting to move south. A house sparrow's claws and beak would have been about the right size.

Also, you're making one huge, whopping assumption: you're assuming that the throat wound was the death wound, but you don't know that. All you've got is a body on the ground with a bloody wound. Cops don't make the same assumption: when they've got a dead body with a bloody wound, they wait for forensics to tell them for sure whether the wound caused the death.

It could have been inflicted by scavengers (your dog, for starters) after the hawk was dead and lying on the ground. It sounds quite plausible to me that the hawk died of West Nile or something, with its crop still full of its last meal--a sparrow--and a dog grabbed at it to eat it and caused the wound in its throat.
 
ooh! it's like a detective story :)

I've got nothing to add, but i'm enjoying it.......


actually, do you have a butler? I reckon he probably had something to do with it......
 
Hi All, I'm a newbie here, just enjoying the posts, then this one pops up! Great stuff!

I would just like to add that birds do occsionally drop dead for no particular obvious reason at all. Birds in general, and I know this from years of experience with pet birds, tend to hide their problems until they drop. It would take some real investigating to determine what caused the death.

If I was going to take a stab at it, I'd guess the dinner remnants were still in the hawk's crop, and it was torn open by an outside agressor. Perhaps it was caught by surprise by a cat (particularly if it was already sick), or a crow could have found it dead and started picking at it to get to the good stuff. It's a wild world out there, and there's lots of critters who move in when another one drops dead.

But it's all just guesses, and worth exactly what you paid for it ;)
 
Pics

Okay, what's the best way to post the pictures? I've got them down to a 140k and 180k pics.

Not sure if it matters, but when found, it was still warm.

Monty

ETA - I'm in Northeast Ohio, near Cleveland. My "backyard" is all of .12 acres.
 
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Hope this works.
 

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Just including a full shot because it's the coolest thing I've found in my backyard. I thought the talons were spectacular to see and feel up close.
 

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chrisjeans said:
The fact that you mention a wound near the throat makes me think of a burst crop. Was the bird near a window or other obstruction? Often after feeding, a bird's crop can be very full, and an impact with a window or suchlike can cause it to rupture. With unpleasant results.

I've never seen this with a raptor, but I have seen it happen with pigeons and songbirds.

I'd be interested to see the pics, might be able to figure out more from them.
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I've seen hawks hit windows a couple of times over the years. Not common, but not unheard of, especially in the vicinity of bird feeders. They hit very hard and broke their necks.
 
bruto said:
I've seen hawks hit windows a couple of times over the years. Not common, but not unheard of, especially in the vicinity of bird feeders. They hit very hard and broke their necks.
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Well, no bird feeders here. It was at least 5 feet from my house, near my sunroom which is all windows; although, very dirty windows. At least two of the dead robins I've found were near the sunroom, but less than 1 foot away.

Monty
 
Looks like a sharp-shinned hawk. Beautiful birds.
It's strange that the only obvious wound is at the throat. Were there feathers scattered around the place?

My guess is that a cat managed to sneak up on it, they had a brief tussle and the hawk escaped with a mortal wound to the throat.

Nothing like a bit of early morning speculation...
 
I'd go with the broke-it's-neck-hitting-the-sunroom-window. Ruptured it's crop too, or a scavenger found it closer to the glass, and dragged it out to it's dinner table. That also solves the mystery of the robins. Animals do know how to serve themselves the best parts first, they go for the liver in mammals. The partially eaten birds I've seen were opened at the throat first...
 
I'd go for it hitting the window hard, head on and causing the beak to impact the throat. Could it have been holding bits of Robin in its Crop/beak in order to feed young back at the nest? If certainly looks like some sort of regurgitation.
Also if you still have the corpse, can you feel to see if the neck has been broken? Slight anatomy skills permitting.
 
Sir Arthur Mortal Coyle said:
I'd go for it hitting the window hard, head on and causing the beak to impact the throat. Could it have been holding bits of Robin in its Crop/beak in order to feed young back at the nest? If certainly looks like some sort of regurgitation.
Also if you still have the corpse, can you feel to see if the neck has been broken? Slight anatomy skills permitting.
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No other feathers around. "No sign of a struggle." I mowed the yard last night, which includes an initial forensic search for dog poo, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

A friend actually wanted the bird so I gave it to him. Not sure exactly what he's going to do with it. Not sure if he just wants some feathers or is planning on preserving it somehow. Next time I talk to him I'll find out what he did and whether he noticed a broken neck or not. I will say, I think I remember the head flopping around a bit.

I'll check my pictures again when I get home. I have one other pic where I was holding it up, trying to show it's impressive wings. I'll see if that might show the head flopped in a wierd, broken neck sorta way.


Thanks everyone for the info and guesses. I've completely let go of my "Alien" inspired theory and am settling on the more mundane broken neck, barfing up last meal theory. Still, I'm going to try and keep an closer eye on my Lab. More and more, I'm thinking that slow, meandering, lackadaisical jaunt he has is all an act.

Monty
 
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