[Fleecewife]

I'm a bit stuck as to where to put wildlife questions, so I'll try here this time.

Today I found a 9" diameter patch of tiny feathers plucked from a small bird, in our front garden.  We do have a cat but she has never dealt with a bird by plucking it before.  It looks like the work of a bird of prey.  We have sparrow hawks but when I have seen them take small birds they fly off with them, rather than plucking them on the ground.  Can anyone suggest what might have left the feathers

[shetlandpaul]

im afraid it does sound like a cat. would the sparrowhaw not of pluced it in a tree.

[doganjo]

Check the group of feathers - the guts may be there too - if so then I'm afraid your cat has reverted to nature.  All cats will take birds if they are within reach. How many feathers were ther in this 9 inch diameter patch as that is a big area for small bird.  Are they small or large feathers?

[lazybee]

Lots of birds of prey do pluck on the ground. I have seen them take off when they are surprised on a track. 

[OhLaLa]

Sounds like a bird of prey that was interupted.

[Hermit]

When Ilived in Halifax we had a garden that backed onto awood.The Sparrowhawk used to come on to my lawn and pluck the birds and eat the best bits straight away.It then flew the rest of the carcass away to eat at leisure or feed to young.

[bloomer]

sounds like a sparrowhawk

we have one that often sits on our front lawn plucking its latest kill!!!

[Fleecewife]

The patch appeared to be an entire small birdsworth of feathers neatly plucked but absolutely no guts, feet, blood, gall bladders etc which the cat would leave.  She does catch birds, although fewer now she is getting older, but she has never left plucked feathers around - she is more likely to dump the corpse on the doorstep as a present.  I am inclined to agree that it is the sparrow hawk, which is maybe getting cheekier.  It, or probably they, live in woods just across the road from my garden, they take birds from our feeders and hunt along our hedgerows (spectacular) but the feathers are just outside my livingroom window - which would be a first.  Most of the other wild birds just ignore us, so maybe the sparrow hawks have joined the dissing  Thank you everyone.