V 14 No.4 - The Scottish Ornithologists' Club

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210 Short Notes S8 14 (4) Although there have been a considerable number of studies of the diet of Golden Eagles, it has often been difficult to decide whether prey has been taken alive or as carrion (Cramp 1980). In Scotland attacks by Golden Eagles on Red Deer and their calves have been documented (Gordon 1955; Northeast 1978; Rebecca 1986), and a calf apparently in good condition and weighing 20.5 kg was seen to be killed (Cooper 1969). Ratcliffe & Rowe (1979) witnessed a Golden Eagle killing an infant Roe Deer. Remains of sheep and lambs at Golden Eagle eyries have aroused much concern amongst the farming community, but whenever the problem has been investigated it has been found that most sheep and lamb meat is taken as carrion, although some individuals may regularly kill small lambs (Lockie & Stephen 1959; Weir 1973, 1985; Hewson 1984). Some Golden Eagles are clearly capable of killing medium-sized mammals, and considering the high densities of sheep and eagles in northern Scotland today it is rather surprising that this appears to be the first documented instance of a fully-grown ewe being killed. References Cooper, A.B. 1969. Golden Eagle kiUs Red Deer calf. J. Zool. (Lond.) 158: 215-216. Cramp, S. ed. 1980. The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol H. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford. Gordon, S. 1955 . The Golden Eagle, King of Birds. London. Hewson, R. 1984. Scavenging and predation on sheep and lambs in West Scotland. J. Appl. Ecol. 21: 843-868. Lockie, 1.D. & Stephen, D. 1959. Eagles, lambs and land management on Lewis. J. Anim. Ecol. 28: 43-50. Northeast, C.l. 1978. Golden Eagle persistently attacking red deer calf. Brit. Birds 71 : 36-37 . RatcJiffe, P.R. & Rowe, 1.1. 1979. A golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos kiUs an infant roe deer Capreolus capreolus. J. Zool. (Lond.) 189: 532-535. Rebecca, G.W. 1986. Golden Eagle's attacks cause Red Deer hind to defend calf. Scot. Birds 14: 86. Weir, D.N. 1973. A case of lamb-killing by Golden Eagles. Scot. Birds 7: 293-294, 299-301. Weir, D.N. 1985. Golden Eagles and lambs in Badenoch, Highland. Scot. Birds 13 : 263-267. P.l. Ewins, NCC, Archway House, 7 Eastcheap, Letchworth, Hertfordshire SG6 3DG. Hen Sparrowhawk taking Rabbit Carrion On 14 August 1986, whilst driving up Glen Clova, Angus, I saw a Kestrel Falco tinnunculus and a male Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus in flight together. After these birds had flown from sight I noticed on the road, about 30 m away, an immature female Sparrowhawk standing directly over a carcass of a well grown freshly dead rabbit. This was on a stretch of road where rabbits are often killed by cars and mountain hares and birds are also occasional casualties. The hen Sparrow hawk stood still and upright with wings held out from its body, angled forward over the carcass with primaries spread and talons gripping the foreparts. It relaxed to take pecks at the rabbit's head. By 8.56 it had been feeding for an estimated 10 minutes. After failing to swallow one beakful with a conspicuous bone fragment, apparently from the skull, the Sparrowhawk gripped it in one talon and pecked at it again, discarding the bone fragment. Later it grasped the neck region of the rabbit with one set of talons and flapped its wings. It was not clear whether this was an attempt to carry off the carcass or to pull back skin to expose more flesh. At 9.21 the arrival of a vehicle forced me to drive on slowly. The Sparrowhawk did not abandon the carcass until my car
1987 Short Notes 211 was within a few metres of it, when it flew a short distance away from the road. At 12.30, when returning along the road, I saw an immature hen Sparrowhawk, probably the same individual, feeding on the remains of the carcass, where it stayed until flushed at 12.45. by this time the carcass was much smaller and entrails were spread a little distance away. The Sparrow hawk again abandoned the carcass only when I was at close range, and flew to a nearby fence post after a first false take off. There was no sign of a bird near the remains at 13.00 but the following afternoon a hen Sparrowhawk in flight was seen nearby. After heavy rain the previous afternoon and night, the day of the observation started misty. A combination of inexperience and low prey availability because of poor weather could have made the Sparrowhawk unusually hungry. Pigeon and quail carcasses, but not rats, placed on plucking posts in the prelaying and laying periods have been taken by Sparrowhawks, Newton and Marquiss (1981). Poisoned baits, freshly killed Song Thrushes Turdus philomelos and Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis similarly placed in the breeding season have illegally killed Sparrowhawks in Scotland (anon. verbal report, pers. comm. J. Young). In late winter a hen Sparrowhawk has been found dead beside a poisoned pigeon (pers. comm. B. Etheridge). There seems to be no previous record of Sparrow hawks taking mammalian carrion. The possibility that some Sparrow hawks obtain significant feeding from road casualties at critical times is of interest. If such scavenging is often of prey readily carried away without trace, such as small passerines, it would be easy to overlook, and consquently underestimate, some kinds of wildlife road casualties. Acknowledgements I thank B. Etheridge, J . Young and M. Marquiss for comments and information. References Newton, I. and Marquiss, M. 1981. Effect of additional food on laying dates and clutch sizes of sparrow hawks. Ornis Scand. 12: 224-229. A.M. Jones, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 28006 Madrid, Spain & Dept. of Zoology, University of Aberdeen. A probable hybrid DunlinlSanderling On 17 May 1981 a group of ringers from the North Solway and Lothian Ringing Groups made a cannon net catch at Waterfoot on the north shore of the Solway Firth. The catch consisted of 180 Dunlin Calidris alpina and Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula on spring passage to Iceland and Greenland, and amongst them was one unusual wader. The bird was in full summer plumage and had the look of a Dunlin except that it had a completely white belly and the scapulars resembled those of a Sander ling Calidris alba rather than a Dunlin. Unfortunately a full description of the bird was not taken in the field. The following description is based on five photographs of the bird. Head resembling a schinzii or arctica Dunlin with distinctive buff ear coverts and dark lores and only a faint supercilium. Crown rufous, extensively streaked with black. Nape like the crown but duller. Mantle and scapulars similar to Sanderling, each feather being black with a rufous patch on either side and a white/grey tip. Tertials and wing coverts all in winter plumage, dun/grey coloured and heavily worn. Lesser coverts near the carpal joint darker, giving a dark 'shoulder patch'. Rump - not seen; upper tail coverts dark in the centre with
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Page 3 and 4: Scottish Birds (1987) 14: 191-198 1
Page 5 and 6: 1987 Dotterel numbers in Scotland 1
Page 13 and 14: 1987 Sea birds of Troup and Pennan
Page 15 and 16: 1987 Sea birds of Troup and Pennan
Page 19 and 20: 1987 Ring Ouzels in SE Scotland 207
Page 21: 1987 Short Notes 209 Short Notes Go
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Page 27 and 28: 1987 Short Notes 215 Kestrels copul
Page 29 and 30: 1987 Items of Scottish Interest 217
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Page 33 and 34: 1987 Scottish Bird Report 1986 221
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November publication TheSKUAS by Ro
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Part 4 December 1987 Contents Dotte
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V 14 No.4 - The Scottish Ornithologists' Club

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