Peregrine update.

Some of you may recall that the young female Peregrine found in July in Berriew was submitted for post-mortem, and I promised to post the findings which arrived today. The bird was in good body condition, well-feathered and well-muscled. The cause of death was a fractured sternum, which had caused haemmorhage from the lungs and liver, and damage to the vena cava near the heart. There was no evidence of any gunshot causing the trauma, and the tissues which were otherwise unremarkable were not sent for toxicology.
I surmise that the young bird probably met with some form of blunt trauma (?power line/branch), and died as a tresult of the subsequent bleeding, possibly some distance from the site.
I will keep the contact details, and encourage anyone who finds a bird of prey casualty in suspicious circumstances to consider reporting it.
On a more cheering note, the Water Rail at L. CyD. was posing for photographs for about 1/2 an hour this morning. It is usually seen to the right of the hide, and it was a pleasure to point it out to visiting birders. (See photos by Mark & Brian on 23 & 26/10).