Any ideas what predator?

[ChicKat]

Hi BYCers,

Found this pile of feathers on my property.

no bones or body parts of the bird that lost them. no red or white feathers near by.

By the markings, black feathers with white dots and some research, I think that the bird was a woodpecker. There are some varieties here in East TX Piney Woods.
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-to/identify-wildlife/how-to-identify-common-feathers/
Feathers looked more like this than any others I could match, but I don't think this area is in the range of Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Occasionally I see woodpeckers, and I guess they are not of concern for extinction but they are a bit rare. I'm sad that Mr. or Mrs. Woodpecker met their demise.

My worry is if the predator that got the woodpecker would look around for my chickens, and I've curtailed their free-ranging.

Someway I thought maybe an aerial predator, but I have also seen a bob-cat around.

can't believe I got that shot...from indoors through a window screen, in daylight. How often do you actually SEE the bobcat? Bobcat right? Not a juvenile cougar/puma? Didn't notice big ear tufts.

Does anyone have any thoughts of what predator did the kill?

Hawks are pretty plentiful around here. The land is mixed pine and hardwoods with acres of pine forest adjacent. Eagles are occasionally seen in this area, the local school team is called the Eagles. Owls are very occasional.
Thanks if anyone has ideas.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Texas this time of the year. Not many critters are going to have babies at home. Just feathers, no body parts. A woodpecker looks like a great guess. They are relatively small so critters could more easily carry them away than a larger chicken. Do you know if it was day or night?

I don't think it was a hawk, eagle, or owl. I'd expect them to eat it on the spot and often they will leave the head behind. It's always possible they did the kill and ate some, but something else carried the body off. The birds of prey they could carry it off, especially if they had babies to feed.

I'd also not think the smaller critters like raccoons, skunks, possum, weasel, or mink. I'd expect body parts left behind. Again maybe something else carried the body off.

If they could catch it or found it feral hogs would eat it, bones and all.

I think that would be consistent with a fox or coyote. Maybe even a dog. They'll carry the body off.

It could be a feral cat. They would be big enough to kill it and carry it off. That would suit their character.

My main suspect would be that bobcat. Bobcat tend to carry the uneaten body off and bury it somewhere so they can come back and finish it off. Bobcat are often out during the day but are so good at hiding you seldom see them.

I'm just guessing out loud. Could be a lot of things.

 

[PirateGirl]

A bobcat (yes, your photo is a bobcat, not a lion, easiest way to tell the difference is the tail, puma/mountain lions have a HUGE tail, about as long as the rest of their body) or a fox would snatch a bird and carry it away to eat somewhere else, vs. many other predators that may leave more behind and/or eat on the spot.

 

[debbie22]

@ChicKat It may be that the woodpecker got away? I have seen one of my bantams being attacked in the garden and there was a terrifying amount of feathers left behind as it ran, large tail ones particularly where the first strike occurred, like in your picture. The bantam survived without so much as a cut. Birds have a zillion feathers. So whether it was an air or land strike, it's nice to think the woodpecker got away, just leaving behind a small pile of dignity....

Amazing picture of the Bobcat - that is a seriously scary predator to have wandering around your garden. We have hawks too, but our biggest chicken killers are the foxes in the UK, which turn up in the suburbs regularly because people feed them. However, I am diligent about locking everyone up at night, and if I'm not around I have deputy chicken locker-uppers. If I'm away they have to stay in their runs instead of free ranging. But I can't be here guarding them all the time during the day, so I have to attach a lot of hope and good luck to my flock when I'm out. I know that my German Shepherd would go bezerk at the window if he saw a fox in the garden, so hopefully the noise would be enough to send any red fellow on his way.

 

[ChicKat]

My main suspect would be that bobcat. Bobcat tend to carry the uneaten body off and bury it somewhere so they can come back and finish it off. Bobcat are often out during the day but are so good at hiding you seldom see them.

I'm just guessing out loud. Could be a lot of things.

Thanks~ I hadn't thought about one predator doing the kill and another one removing any remains that were left behind.

a fox would snatch a bird and carry it away to eat somewhere else, vs. many other predators that may leave more behind and/or eat on the spot.

Thanks for weighing in. Have seen fox around here...and there is plenty of habitat for them.

It may be that the woodpecker got away? I have seen one of my bantams being attacked in the garden and there was a terrifying amount of feathers left behind as it ran, large tail ones particularly where the first strike occurred,

So interesting to get the UK point-of-view. Thank you. I know just what you mean about keeping them locked up to keep them safe. Sometimes I say -- you may not be happy as you would free ranging -- but you will be alive - and that's worth a lot.

Thanks to each of you!! Giving me you ideas is much appreciated.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Fox is my guess.I have a fox around now and that's about all that's left of a chicken! I have been keeping mine locked up but the neighbor lost one the other night.

 

[blackandtan]

Actually I’d guess it was a housecat, perhaps a feral one. Owls and hawks also pluck feathers but most owls being nocturnal wouldn’t catch a woodpecker and a hawk will fly away with the whole thing before perching and plucking his dinner.
A housecat will often pluck right at the kill site, I actually have a sad little pile of woodpecker feathers on my front lawn right now where my kitty got a bird a few days ago

 

[ChicKat]

Fox is my guess.I have a fox around now and that's about all that's left of a chicken! I have been keeping mine locked up but the neighbor lost one the other night.

Thanks, I was hoping to encounter others with insight -- and what kill patterns they have seen.
Sorry to hear that you lost a chicken.

 

[ChicKat]

Actually I’d guess it was a housecat, perhaps a feral one. Owls and hawks also pluck feathers but most owls being nocturnal wouldn’t catch a woodpecker and a hawk will fly away with the whole thing before perching and plucking his dinner.
A housecat will often pluck right at the kill site, I actually have a sad little pile of woodpecker feathers on my front lawn right now where my kitty got a bird a few days ago

Thanks.... Also thought that an owl could only get the bird if it encountered it perching on a limb at night. Hawk could have struck in the air -- and then the cat-idea, could have climbed a tree or gotten it on the ground.

 

[sorce]

Spending most of it's time on the side of a tree, likely higher than an easy cat jump, I'd lean toward a Bird.

Where is the nearest tree?

Sorce