What predator did this?!

[chickencheeper]

so today I went out to our [wild] bird feeder(in a very close proximity to our coop) and not to far into the brush there was a songbird eaten. The bones and feathers were still there but it was eaten. I saw some tracks but none of them were in good condition since today the snow is melting rapidly. The prints where sunk deep into the snow and were about an 1 1/2 inches across(paw) what could have done this? And are they a threat to my girls? My biggest fear is a fisher or cat or something in the weasel family. We do have coyotes and we do have dogs but I don’t think they would have been as neat as this was.its a possibility that it was carrion since I know what kind of bird this is and we have lots of them so one may have died from the cold or something but it was still eaten afterwards

 

[Welshies]

A picture of the tracks would be great.

 

[lazy gardener]

Most likely cat.

 

[chickencheeper]

 

[Welshies]

How big are those tracks would you say?

 

[chickencheeper]

How big are those tracks would you say?

1 - 1.5 inches diameter

 

[Welshies]

1 - 1.5 inches diameter

Probably a cat, potentially a marten. Fisher and marten are two different animals, and fisher like to live near creeks and streams. They love fish. Marten love to prey on birds and live in forested areas, often hunting in trees.

 

[chickencheeper]

We have 2 small ponds in our backyard however they are runoff ponds without any fish. We have had sightings of fishers in our area but I have never heard of martins near us.we live bordering vegetated wetland and we have lots of woods in our backyard though we live in a suburban area. Are martins dangerous to the girls?

 

[Welshies]

Martens aren't very dangerous, but you should keep an eye out. They usually favor smaller prey like songbirds, mice, and voles.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

am going with mink, you said you live by a pond/wetland? we just caught a mink and the nearest river/water source is well over a mile away. fisher tracks are about 4.5 inches in length my book says. and no a fisher rarely eats fish (that is a mink) and they live in the same habitat as marten. preferring trees not sure where welsh heard they live by streams and creeks.