What predator could this be? Am I right?

[Skye'sDucks]

One of my Muscovy drakes was killed this morning sadly, I'll for sure miss him a lot but I have to admit I'm grateful it wasn't one of my very favorite ducks.

Anyways, all that was left was a wing and a foot and some feathers. Where I live, it's in a fairly busy neighborhood in FL and I know what predators we have, which include hawks and raccoons. We have red shouldered hawks and most of them are as big as or smaller than my hens. (all Muscovies) We have one big red shouldered I see around but there's no way it could carry off a big drake. Lately we have caught and removed 3 raccoons, and while I'm sure there are more around, I have seen 0 evidence of one in a long time, plus they normally leave their kill. Perhaps it was possible the body got dragged off?

My guess was it could have been an eagle. I say this because a few weeks ago, I thought I saw a hawk in a nearby tree and went to chase it off. When I got closer as it flew away, I realized it was way too big and the wrong color. From googling and from my knowledge, the biggest possibility of what it could be would be a juvenile bald eagle. It's pretty rare to see one near our house but I have heard and seen one flying nearby in the sky. For this particular juvenile, I haven't seen it since.

But: is it possible it could have been an eagle?

I just don't know what it was, and I'm worried it'll be back for more of my birds. Thanks so much for any replies.

 

[1muttsfan]

It could also be a fox or a coyote - just because you don't see them doesn't mean they are not there. Anywhere there are raccoons you can see just about anything. Also could include stray dogs and weasels.

And whatever it was, if it knows where there is a free dinner, it will likely return. Maybe keep your birds penned in for a few weeks.

 

[hayley3]

One of my Muscovy drakes was killed this morning sadly, I'll for sure miss him a lot but I have to admit I'm grateful it wasn't one of my very favorite ducks.

Anyways, all that was left was a wing and a foot and some feathers. Where I live, it's in a fairly busy neighborhood in FL and I know what predators we have, which include hawks and raccoons. We have red shouldered hawks and most of them are as big as or smaller than my hens. (all Muscovies) We have one big red shouldered I see around but there's no way it could carry off a big drake. Lately we have caught and removed 3 raccoons, and while I'm sure there are more around, I have seen 0 evidence of one in a long time, plus they normally leave their kill. Perhaps it was possible the body got dragged off?

My guess was it could have been an eagle. I say this because a few weeks ago, I thought I saw a hawk in a nearby tree and went to chase it off. When I got closer as it flew away, I realized it was way too big and the wrong color. From googling and from my knowledge, the biggest possibility of what it could be would be a juvenile bald eagle. It's pretty rare to see one near our house but I have heard and seen one flying nearby in the sky. For this particular juvenile, I haven't seen it since.

But: is it possible it could have been an eagle?

I just don't know what it was, and I'm worried it'll be back for more of my birds. Thanks so much for any replies.

Could be two predators...The fact that something ate most all of the bird is not very common. Foxes and coyotes take their kill. Raccoons eat the head. Red shouldered hawks in my area never bothered my chickens. Don't know the MO of an eagle but a hawk plucks the feathers and eats the neck/breast.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

It could also be a fox or a coyote - just because you don't see them doesn't mean they are not there. Anywhere there are raccoons you can see just about anything. Also could include stray dogs and weasels.

And whatever it was, if it knows where there is a free dinner, it will likely return. Maybe keep your birds penned in for a few weeks.

I'm not certain about foxes or coyote...I've been living here my whole life and I'm 19 and while we do have these two predators in the town/county we live in, I've never seen one or heard of one in our neighborhood. A stray dog is much more plausible, I know there is someone with 2 pitbulls that get loose a lot. Although, all my birds can fly, and fly well, so it seems odd that a dog would be able to get him. But it's a possibility. I'm also uncertain about the weasel situation, too.

Thank you for the help, I'll definitely be keeping my birds safe.

Could be two predators...The fact that something ate most all of the bird is not very common. Foxes and coyotes take their kill. Raccoons eat the head. Red shouldered hawks in my area never bothered my chickens. Don't know the MO of an eagle but a hawk plucks the feathers and eats the neck/breast.

I did find it weird that there was no body. I looked in the area and I can always do a deeper search, but it seems gone. There really aren't many or any places for the body to be hidden. I can only think of one or two patches of bushes that I didn't search.

I know there is a pair of hawks that have shown up recently, but I don't know if they hunt together or not. And even so, I feel like most of my poor drake would still be there. The red shoulders usually never bother my adult birds, either. They'll get the babies if I'm not careful but I have never seen or had a hawk attack on any adult bird. Doesn't mean it won't happen. But I'm just saying my experience.

I'll have to research eagle attacks in the meanwhile and see what I can find. Thanks so much for the input.

 

[hayley3]

Audubon says they take the whole bird:
Swooping down, the eagle unfurls its hand-like claws, scoops up a chicken, and sweeps up to a tree, whereupon the larger bird lays the smaller bird on a branch to allow for easy consumption. It's unclear exactly when the chicken dies, but the eagle's beak is quite effective at pulling out the other bird's meat.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Audubon says they take the whole bird:
Swooping down, the eagle unfurls its hand-like claws, scoops up a chicken, and sweeps up to a tree, whereupon the larger bird lays the smaller bird on a branch to allow for easy consumption. It's unclear exactly when the chicken dies, but the eagle's beak is quite effective at pulling out the other bird's meat.

Thanks for the reply, I tried looking up some stuff and had some mixed answers.

The thing that baffles me the most is the fact that the wing and foot were left behind. I looked again at the wing and it looks like it was torn off cleanly at the bone/where it connects with the body.
When I read about eagle attacks, and like you posted, it seems like the eagle will carry it off. Hawks eat onsite and I know the red shoulders we have wouldn't have been able to carry this drake. Raccoons would have left a body too. I'm assuming a stray dog would do the same? Or that it would at least be messier?

I also believe this was probably a surprise attack, which makes me lean toward it being an attack from the sky. All my birds can fly, and even though the drake was in need of a good molt, his feathers were in good enough shape that he would have been able to get away if he saw something coming at him from the ground. I guess he could have been caught off guard sleeping, but I'm no expert in attacks as I've had very little experience in them happening to me...

 

[hayley3]

I watched as a large grey fox walked right up to my large goose...she didn't make a peep, when normally she honks at everything. She can also fly but she did not attempt to move. Just like us, they have to register the danger before they can act.

But in your case, say a raccoon got your duck, ate the head and left the corpse. Later on a possum comes along and devours the rest.

But really you will never know for sure. Having a game camera will allow you to see what predators are hanging around.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

I watched as a large grey fox walked right up to my large goose...she didn't make a peep, when normally she honks at everything. She can also fly but she did not attempt to move. Just like us, they have to register the danger before they can act.

But in your case, say a raccoon got your duck, ate the head and left the corpse. Later on a possum comes along and devours the rest.

But really you will never know for sure. Having a game camera will allow you to see what predators are hanging around.

That's true, anything can or could have happened. I will stay on high alert these next few days, that's for sure. We don't have a game camera but I'm wondering if we should get one. I'd certainly like to see what goes on out there, especially now that we have a predator on our hands.

 

[1muttsfan]

My boyfriend has a house in a quiet neighborhood, suburban, in southwest Florida. He saw his first coyote in 12 years in the neighbor's yard this winter. Believe me, they are very comfortable in suburb and even urban settings, and very good at concealing their activity.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

My boyfriend has a house in a quiet neighborhood, suburban, in southwest Florida. He saw his first coyote in 12 years in the neighbor's yard this winter. Believe me, they are very comfortable in suburb and even urban settings, and very good at concealing their activity.

I am aware of this, and thank you for telling me. I don't want to sound like I'm dismissing the idea, because I'm not, I'm just saying where I live it would be very unusual. It's still a possibility for certain, I just think of other more common predators first is all.