Found Headless Red tailed Hawks while detecting... Identify?

[Holly_squirrel]

Hi. Sorry this isn't a happy find. But Im hoping for some insight before I notify anyone. My grandparents' passed away and the now owner of their property has let it sit Abandoned for years. I have permission from him to still enjoy their land . Yesterday I was detecting and first found a headless red tailed hawk in the old chicken coop


Then not far away I found what I originally thought was another red tailed hawk... But someone on another post pointed out the fuzzy feet



Could this be another red tail or is it an owl? What. Could be killing large birds of prey .. If not human with a gun? And does them being headless make any sense?
I want to notify the owner if somebody could be messing around on the property killing these birds. I also saw a red tail flying right above where these dead birds were.
To add to the saddness I also found an old trap with the bones of either a cat or raccoon paw still in it. ( I friggen despise trapping.. It's Inhumane . Took that damn thing home and trashed it) Now I do t know if it was dragged there from a nearby property or what... Didnt see other bones... But it wasn't there a few weeks ago. I doubt it's even legal to trap in the area. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

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[wainzoid]

Im not sure what killed your birds, but cats will often eat just the head of a bird or rodent. Some animals will 'chew' their way out of a trap. Sad but true.

 

[echodog]

What a moron, I don't know what to tell you. That kind of stuff makes me mad. I guess you could try the game warden, I don't know about the trapping, however the raptors are protected. Had a boss that use to shoot them to protect his wife's poodle. We got into it over that a handfull of times. Anyway good luck bud, and hope they get there's.

 

[Digs68]

In my area, the hawks are so overpopulated, that the rabbits, quail, squirrels, baby turkeys, etc are suffering because of it. I really have no idea why they are even protected. I think they could be population controlled just as coyotes, feral cats, etc are. That being said, they could have maybe been brought down by another bird, like a bald eagle. I've seen eagles attack full-sized turkeys before!

 

[stewielouie]

A word to the wise, if your thinking about keeping any part of those birds I would advise you not to. They are federally protected and just keeping feathers or other parts from them is a serious federal crime. Sorry to see there demise, they could have died from lead poisoning, from eating dead animals that were shot and ingesting lead pellets. Its what kills lots of raptors.

 

[calisdad]

I've had several doves I was keeping show up headless. Raccoons team up on them in a cage and the only part they could get through the wire was the head. If your coop was intact and the bird didn't get in on his own someone put him there. I don't know what the laws are where you're at but here keeping hawks is by permit only and I don't believe you can keep owls at all. Without a falconry permit you can't even have parts in your possession.

If I were you I would destroy the trap. If it happens again call fish and game. If I was really wanting to find out what was going on I'd set up a game camera.

Sounds like an interesting place to detect.

 

[Holly_squirrel]

A word to the wise, if your thinking about keeping any part of those birds I would advise you not to. They are federally protected and just keeping feathers or other parts from them is a serious federal crime. Sorry to see there demise, they could have died from lead poisoning, from eating dead animals that were shot and ingesting lead pellets. Its what kills lots of raptors.

Perhaps the lead pellets could be.... But finding them in such a close proximity seems very odd. Could a hawk kill an owl or another hawk?

 

[Holly_squirrel]

No there is no wire or anything around tbe coop, just an open building. Would an animal of any sort have an area where they bring their meals? 😒. It's very odd that 2 birds of prey and a trap containing a foot were all found within 15 yards of each other. And , no... I definitaly am not keeping any parts of these poor critters. I wanted to bury them actually, but figured I better leave them as I found them

 

[Holly_squirrel]

Calisdad... A trail cam might be a really good idea. Don't think I could watch it... I couldn't bare to see something killed, but I could get somebody else to

 

[JmCraz8]

In my area, the hawks are so overpopulated, that the rabbits, quail, squirrels, baby turkeys, etc are suffering because of it. I really have no idea why they are even protected. I think they could be population controlled just as coyotes, feral cats, etc are. That being said, they could have maybe been brought down by another bird, like a bald eagle. I've seen eagles attack full-sized turkeys before!

That must've been a sight to see an eagle attacking a turkey lol

 

[Blskypilot]

Not that uncommon to find headless birds. My folks used to keep chickens and it happened once in a while. Weasels, coons, opossum all seem to be likely suspects but you usually find it where the birds were attacked at night and caught off gaurd. Course it usually happens when their stuck in cages and have no escape.

Weirdto see an owl that way though being nocturnal birds you'd think they would fly away from any predator before having its head eaten.

 

[ynpto804]

These birds are very territorial. There is a very good chance that the could have killed each other an another animal would have taken the chance at a free meal. That said the federal law about keeping their feathers came from the 1920's when people would go in to the Everglades and kill hundreds of bird to make hats. Yes they are protected but no you would go to jail for a thousand years for keeping a feather of a bird that died naturally. That's just my knowledge be a former park ranger.

 

[Holly_squirrel]

Not that uncommon to find headless birds. My folks used to keep chickens and it happened once in a while. Weasels, coons, opossum all seem to be likely suspects but you usually find it where the birds were attacked at night and caught off gaurd. Course it usually happens when their stuck in cages and have no escape.

Weirdto see an owl that way though being nocturnal birds you'd think they would fly away from any predator before having its head eaten.

Yeah, I'm aware of chickens having there heads removed and sucked dry... Eeck. But a hawk? And an owl? Which that's not the biggest mystery to me... The biggest mystery being what could kill a hawk and an owl... Anything could have eaten it after really. The fighting therory ... Perhaps .. But not with each other...one was fresh, one was not