A grizzly and unusual find. Pigeon kill sites are commonplace amongst the forest stands, you regularly see them in double figures, and from a distance I thought this was one. Though as we got closer I noticed the feathers were bigger than those of a pigeon, some dark one too, then I found what remained of the carcass, wings, legs and skull, and to my surprise it was clearly a Heron (Ardea cinerea). In recent years Herons, along with Egrets, have become a common sight along Mill Lawn Brook, Red Rise Brook and Ober Water, some times two or three can be seen on a walk between Mill Lawn and Markway Bridge; a testament to the health of the stream, teeming with small fish. I've always found them very wary birds, taking flight having seen you way before you've seen them; although we have taken them by surprise emerging from cover only meters away once or twice, and I'd imagine whatever was predating would be able to get closer through stealth; it's a possibility that it was taken out by a wild Otter, which have been sighted in the forest in recent years. How ever you look at it, it was an adult bird with as you can see a formidable beak, a challenge to any predator I'd surely. That said, I suppose it could've been already injured or sick or dead making it a softer target for a range of woodland opportunists. Whatever, I was very surprised by this find, having never seen a sight like it before.
Due to it's unusual nature, I reported the find to the New Forest National Parks Authority.
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