We sadly have to report that we have lost our beautiful Blork. All had been well for a long time when we noticed a small clump of bloodied feathers on the ground near the door to the enclosure. We looked around, but there was nothing else. Many of the birds are squabbling, so we decided it was just a slightly more epic fight than we usually have - until we found more feathers. We immediately feared another rat had got in, and diligently searched the entire perimeter - no holes, no dead birds (we have always found bits of birds after rat attacks). Chloe noticed a feather drifting down from the top of the net, but there were no holes in the roof, so we put it down to normal moulting and a windy day...
We were worried though, and did a head-check count of all our birds. Snowpea and Blork could not be found. Blork, when we last saw her, had a slightly damaged eye, probably from fighting off an amorous male.
I don't know why Seb climbed onto the shed roof, but he did, and there were more feathers. I went up, and there she was (or wasn't, all that was left was a leg and her wings!). She'd been eaten - through the net - by a hawk. We think she flew up onto the shed roof, which is about a metre below the top of the net, and, probably while hesitating and a bit confused about where she was, she was seen and taken. There was no hole in the net, but it would be very easy for a raptor to strike and reach her through the net at that distance.
Poor lovely girl!
So now we are back to square one, with too many males...
Let's hope the latest broods survive and am dominated by females!
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