Deceased Kite (bird) in Clarke’s Bottom

Sat 9 Oct 2021, 06:13

Birds of prey are also vulnerable to rat poison, which builds up in them and apparently is routinely detected in carcasses that are tested. Perhaps we could agree as a community to avoid the use of rat poison (and slug pellets, which kill hedgehogs) altogether?

Fri 8 Oct 2021, 10:15

There was a second dead hare just a few metres from the first on the path between Fawler and Stonesfield Lane this morning. Seems too much of a coincidence. 

Mon 27 Sep 2021, 13:31 (last edited on Mon 27 Sep 2021, 13:34)

Yes, Christine, I had also read about the myxomatosis jump to hares from rabbits and did wonder if it could be disease. I often see them when I am running through the Fawler/Stonesfield area and saw several the other evening on the road back from Asthall. They are so beautiful and elusive. I will see if I can report the one I found.

Mon 27 Sep 2021, 12:40

There have been hare coursing incidents, but also possibly a new disease of hares: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/27/new-viral-cocktail-killing-hares-in-uk-and-ireland-scientists-warn-myxomatosis

Scientists are asking that hare bodies be reported. Not sure of the best way to do this, but the Hare Preservation Society has a reporting form (for live and dead hares) here: http://hare-preservation-trust.com/helping-hares/sightings/

Mon 27 Sep 2021, 12:14

There was a dead hare lying in the middle of the path between Fawler and Stonesfield Lane, as you come out of the woods and turn right towards Fawler. It also looked a bit suspicious - did I read that there have been hare coursing incidents recently in this area? 

Mon 27 Sep 2021, 10:20

Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme

Telephone: 0800 321 600

Sun 26 Sep 2021, 21:48 (last edited on Sun 26 Sep 2021, 21:50)

Some years ago when Cotswold Voluntary Wardens had a publicity stand at an event in Chippy Town Hall, we were visited by (then) PC Simon Towers, a former 'Beat Officer' for Charlbury. Simon had another role as Wildlife Officer and, knowing that we work in the countryside and lead guided walks, he asked to be notified if we saw any deceased wildlife, particularly birds of prey, which might have been poisoned (which seems to be at least a possibility in this case). This was over 10 years ago and Simon will certainly have moved on, up or out of the Police Force by now but there may still be a designated Wildlife Office who is similarly interested. Could be worth a call to TVP ?

Sun 26 Sep 2021, 20:21

Is there anywhere that a sighting of one of these birds should be reported? It had been dead long enough for rigor to have set in (and correspondingly not long enough for rigor to have relaxed. There were no obvious wounds and there was no sign of it being got at by any carrion consumer. Just lying there in the middle of the field.

There had been signs of a Kite nesting in the area and a couple of weeks ago there was a large and fully fledged Kite in the trees along Clarke’s Bottom and up Hundley Way heading east, sounding quite distressed and plaintive for some days- in the words of one of the worst “ohrwurms” (or how it’s spelt in Germany where the term was coined) that met me the first summer I’d had in England on moving from Canada - and I’m STILL plagued by it coming into my head even after all these years…”woke up this morning my mother had gone coo eee chirpy chirpy cheep cheep chirp” aargh I couldn’t let anyone one old enough to remember that to get away without inflicting the agony on them.. <fx muahahaha > evil cackle…

My guess would be that if was this juvenile who died of starvation as the rabbits that had started to show up around the Bottom have disappeared. We found a rabbit recently dead in Clarke’s Bottom only last week lying out in the open and would wager it had succumbed to disease (again).

Is there anything one should do with deaths like that of the rabbits and now the Kite?