Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Strange sighting

A couple of weeks ago I saw a beautiful woodcock dead in the road (in Cumberland Road N22). I understand they are not that rare at this time of year in the UK, with a large over-wintering population. However I've never seen one before. Has anyone encountered one in a natural habitat in Haringey?

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Permalink Reply by h4k on December 24, 2021 at 9:47

I haven’t encountered one locally. You could probably ask at Woodberry Wetland.
I remember some years ago reading about a very knowledgeable person, in Bristol I think, investigating peregrines and predation by going out early morning and collecting feathers and bones dropped on the street. According to the article there was evidence of all sorts of birds you wouldn’t think of being taken by the peregrine while flying over the area at night on migration. I wonder if your woodcock could be from something like that.

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Permalink Reply by Alison M on December 24, 2021 at 18:06

Thanks h4k, that's very interesting. I think this is an article about it:-

https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V101/V1...

I'm not sure that this particular woodcock would have been taken by a peregrine because it was pretty intact, with no obvious injuries, but I suppose it might have been killed by a peregrine and then accidentally dropped.

I'm not really a birder of any description and had assumed birds of prey mainly went for small mammals, so it's interesting to find that even quite big birds can be food for them.