Howling Hound Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Walking the dog this morning (about 11.00am) passing through a small housing estate in our village confronted with a strange sight. A large bird flew from between two houses at low level, across the road and disappeared between two houses on the other side. It was about 40 yds away, so did not get a good look. It was carrying what looked like a small / medium cat. Like I said did not get a good look but whatever it was carrying was black with a long thin furry tail. The bird was large (ish) but not as big as a buzzard. Has anyone got come across raptors taking domestic moggies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Karma can be a fickle thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derbyduck Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 I hope it moves over to Derbyshire ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonepark Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Eagle owls are known to take them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Ok, Hound. Competition time. Name that hawk in one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howling Hound Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 2 minutes ago, old man said: Ok, Hound. Competition time. Name that hawk in one? I cant say what hawk / bird it was. Like I say it flashed across the road, but I'm open to suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Where do you live? The only bird I can ever imagine taking a cat would be a Goshawk. Do you have them in your area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, JDog said: Where do you live? The only bird I can ever imagine taking a cat would be a Goshawk. Do you have them in your area? Yes we do. About a minute leisurely fly time away. Edited April 6, 2018 by old man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howling Hound Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 24 minutes ago, JDog said: Where do you live? The only bird I can ever imagine taking a cat would be a Goshawk. Do you have them in your area? Live on the outskirts of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Could the quarry have been a black rabbit? There used to be some (presumably domestic cross) dark/black rabbits on the industrial estate I worked on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 If it was a Goshawk then the quarry was likely to be a squirrel, their favourite food. Have melanistic squirrels been sighted in the area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 I'm also thinking squirrel and goshawk, having seen goshawks hit big cock pheasants in the air and rabbits on the run, a cat would be easy peasy. There again a half grown black cat(kitten) would also fit the bill. Either way, may it continue to thrive. Imagine the outburst of rage now. Cat owners demanding raptors be put back on the vermin list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClemFandango Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) Gos with a squirrel. Think of the physics involved. Google tells me an average adult domestic cat weighs 3.6-4.5Kg You say the bird wasn't as big as a buzzard, that rules out Eagle owl which might just be capable of taking a small cat. I would think 2Kg would be extremely large prey for even such a big bird to carry. A fully grown Eagle owl weighs a little under 3kg, a buzzard 1.5ish. I assume because you say it was smaller than a buzzard you are sure it wasn't a buzzard. There's no reason that a buzzard wouldn't be carrying a squirrel even if it hadn't killed it and had just come across a roadkill one. A goshawk similar weight, 1.4kg for a big one. Very aggressive bird but in no way capable of taking a cat. But as others have said they do enjoy squirrel. I suppose that a kitten may not be outwith the prey range of a gos but I would say it's unlikely. Not impossible. Unlikely. The other possibility is are you sure it was an animal at all and not just carrying nest dressing or nesting material? Edited April 7, 2018 by ClemFandango Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howling Hound Posted April 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Not a squirrel, it was bulkier than that. Not rabbit it had long thin tail. 95% sure it was a small/medium cat. The sighting did not last long (probably less than 2secs)and I concentrated on the quarry not the bird. All the stranger for been in a housing estate and mid morning. The local cat owners reaction could be interesting if news got out, but its a bit like big cat sightings, would you say anything? Will contact the local falcony mob later but I would think its in there interest to poo poo the idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howling Hound Posted April 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Interesting conversation with the local falconry centre, they were not suppressed. From my description they believe it may have been a male goshawk. However they said even a sparrow hawk will take a cat if it was threatened or hungry enough. Lots of local sightings of goshawks recently in the area including two birds on Lichfield cathedral (5 miles away) yesterday. Apparently they even had an incident whilst working with a hawk where it was threatened by a loose Labrador. The hawk attacked and tried to take it out, big insurance job. I now feel better that it was not a figment of my deranged imagination, and I wont be joining the local UFO spotters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 My guess is a Goshawk and possible prey is a mink, fair few Goshawks and Mink around Cannock. Identification, Goshawks look a bit like large Sparrow hawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 16 hours ago, derbyduck said: I hope it moves over to Derbyshire ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClemFandango Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 There is no way on this earth a Sparrowhawk could take a cat. Even a kitten would be pushing it. They are aggressive birds and may swoop on one, even latch on but they absolutely don't have the strength to carry one. A Gos is stretching it but it's a possibility, Female Gos are larger than males. If it was a cat I would say it's likely to have been a very small one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, ClemFandango said: There is no way on this earth a Sparrowhawk could take a cat. Even a kitten would be pushing it. They are aggressive birds and may swoop on one, even latch on but they absolutely don't have the strength to carry one. A Gos is stretching it but it's a possibility, Female Gos are larger than males. If it was a cat I would say it's likely to have been a very small one. I was wondering how big Sparrowhawks are in that part of the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howling Hound Posted April 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 A mink might have the right tail, but what the hawk was carrying was bulkier. As to the sparrow hawk, I can only repeat what the mob at the falconry said. After saying that they did say a sparrow hawk may take a cat, they did not say it would fly with in. There have been a number of reports that sparrow hawks are taking pigeons and eating them on the block paved drives in the estate. Could it be that, like foxs these birds at becoming urbanised? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClemFandango Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 I have found pigeon remains around Sparrowhawk nests so that's not too much of a stretch but I bet it would be at the top end of what they could manage size wise. Also there is no doubt that any raptor can or had become urbanised, look at peregrine falcons nesting in office blocks, Didcot powerstation etc. The Red Kite was at it's most abundant when we had open sewers. In fact proper sewerage has been by some suggested as the cause of the decline of the Red Kite in this country, they were obviously not only urbanised but dependant on Humans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Must agree with others, I doubt a Sparrow Hawk is powerful enough to kill a cat and it certainly would not be able to carry one, my money is still on Mink, if you have ever seen a dead Mink, they are fairly big animals…..here’s one that got away…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelhall Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 Dont know what the bird was but maybe road kill cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 A small cat would weigh around 5 lb, a large prey for a sparrowhawk would be something in the region of 1.25lb. So It would be a very fit female (and a freak of nature) to be able to carry a cat, unless it was a very young kitten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClemFandango Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Dougy said: A small cat would weigh around 5 lb, a large prey for a sparrowhawk would be something in the region of 1.25lb. So It would be a very fit female (and a freak of nature) to be able to carry a cat, unless it was a very young kitten. Very young like weeks old. There's no way it was a sparrowhawk. Gos and Sparrowhawk look similar, that's what my money is on, not sold on the prey item yet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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