Oh dear, what is THIS?????

[bawkbawkbawk]

I faithfully refresh the birdbath under our oaks when I clean the chicken coop every morning. Lately, the birdbath has had all manner of weird stuff in it - shells from peanuts, turquoise-colored stones that look like they came from an aquarium. Today I found burger wrappers and plastic in it. Bizarre! I have seen the crows hanging out there so I suspect much of this stuff is coming from them. But worse, much worse, I found this:

It looks like the decapitated head of a nestling. A crow nestling? Why would they deposit their own in a bird bath?

Does anyone have a clue about this?

 

[1 acre willows]

They're bringing you presents? Trying to give the bird bath a little razzle dazzle?

 

[orrpeople]

That is pretty gruesome! I can't quite make heads or tails of it, except yeah, the head and some limbs in the first glob. Eww. Did you do a little more opening up to see if it was a developing embryo when it fell out of the nest or if it'd hatched?

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

I don’t think this fell from a tree. I think it was placed in the birdbath, most likely by a crow. It seems large for a ground bird nestling so I think it must be from a crow. Unless they got hold of a duckling? Lots of ducks in our area right now.

I have never seen anything like this.

 

[orrpeople]

I don’t think this fell from a neat. I think it was placed in the birdbath, most likely by a crow. It seems large for a ground bird nestling so I think it must be from a crow. Unless they got hold of a duckling? Lots of ducks in our area right now.

I have never seen anything like this.

My first thought was duck head.. Mafia Crows? (Don't they call a flock of them a 'Murder of Crows"?)

 

[drumstick diva]

Sorry have no idea, it's just truly gross

 

[drumstick diva]

Raccoons like to wash their food in water, when available. Maybe it was doing that and the crows chased it away.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Raccoons like to wash their food in water, when available. Maybe it was doing that and the crows chased it away.

It would have been in broad daylight, though, because I had refreshed the bird bath in the morning and saw this in the early evening. I've never seen a raccoon in our neighborhood in broad daylight, not that it couldn't be so, of course.

I haven't gone out there yet this morning. Afraid of what else I might find.

 

[debid]

I'm going with house cat for my guess on that grossness. The cat puked at the bird bath where it had gone to drink with its upset stomach...

 

[Frazzemrat1]

It would have been in broad daylight, though, because I had refreshed the bird bath in the morning and saw this in the early evening. I've never seen a raccoon in our neighborhood in broad daylight, not that it couldn't be so, of course.

I haven't gone out there yet this morning. Afraid of what else I might find.

Especially this time of year, if its a raccoon, it would be a female. A female with hungry kits in a nest or den somewhere.