An Ecological Murder Mystery

On the 3rd, I came across a cluster of bird feathers in my side yard, underneath our Eastern Hemlocks. I had to use some forensic biology here. Birds, first of all, do not shed during the winter, as that would ruin their insulation. This means it has to be a crime scene. The snow had no imprints on it, so there couldn't have been a ground animal and there could not have been a struggle on the ground. This means it must have been done by a bird of prey. The feathers were red and black and I assume that they belong to a Downy Woodpecker. It is possible, though that the red is blood and it belongs to a Dark Eyed Junco.

Downy Woodpeckers are native to Massachusetts and are far and away the most common woodpecker I see on our property. Now to identify the killer. We know that it was not an owl because woodpeckers are diurnal and therefore are not owl prey. This leaves it down to 2 suspects: the Cooper's Hawk and the Red Tailed hawk. I will never know which one did this because they both make complete sense and have been seen regularly in my backyard.

Keep in mind that while brutal, it is a good and exiting sign to see predatory relationships in action. You can also see it from the hawks point of view: that fat may be the only thing separating the hawk, and starvation.