What Am I?

[Sam the man]

This is a photo of a feathered creature that one of the dogs next door obviously attacked and killed. The dog actually had brought it into our yard. I tried to take a close up of the dog with it but it ran away. The dog went back into his own yard but couldn't take the feathered creature in. I went and took a photo of it outside next door's gate (an edited close up which I'm putting with this post). However he came back into our yard again with it so I took a couple distance shots of it which I've cropped to bring up closer.

I reported it to council yesterday (mainly because of dog being with it in our yard) but no further action yet unless animal control officer came and spoke directly to them. The reason why I've been calling it a feathered creature is because I don't really know 100% what it is but wondering if it is a mapgie goose. BTW I think this is the same dog I wrote about earlier which I reported for being in our yard with a dead pullet. I'm not in contact with our neighbours because a high fence between us, no phone number in book and I'm not one to leave notes in mailboxes.

[FHRP]

Looks like a wood duck.

[kelpiecuddles]

I agree, male wood duck, definately not a magpie goose, well acquainted with them after fending them off at work during breeding season.

[Kirislin]

Yep, I was going to say the same, a maned or wood duck.

[persephone]

I think wood duck as well ... very susceptible to being roadkill ..and also to being caught by dogs/cats ..as they are mainly grazers..and do so along road verges/in parks etc . A lot of 'town' ones I see have leg/wing injuries from vehicles/flying into things ..and wobble around happily until something hits/catches them for a final time .

[gwp4me]

Wood Ducks have the habit of walking straight past dogs in their kennels, so often became history.

[Steph M]

If it's not a first offender I imagine he better be careful he's not taking someones animals.

Are the owners decent enough to swing by and warn them? I'd be most unhappy to hear if my critters were knocking off poultry.

[tdierikx]

It must be the day for it today... I came home to lots of feathers in the kitchen - no body, just lots of feathers - way too many feathers for the bird to have gotten away. It was possibly a small magpie, or a willy wagtail from the look of the feathers.

I'm tipping Pickles as the one who caught the bird, because Zeddy is too old and arthritic to catch one. But how the heck Pickles managed it is a mystery too, because she's mobility challenged (in a sort of spastic way) herself...

Everyone lined up for dinner though, so it can't have been all that filling...

Tomorrow's poo patrol will probably tell me for sure who did it... look for the feathered poops... *grin*

T.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Some of those little magpies just really push their luck. Especially the newly fledged ones.

Meanwhile in my back yard the wattle birds are collecting the dog fur I've been removing from the evil hound - because it seems spring and shedding season has come early.

[Steph M]

Gus has been on guard duty out the back as the maggies keep sampling from the bone he can't drag inside. He's quite annoyed at them!

[Sam the man]

Well it seems the general consensus is for wood duck. I didn't realise they were around here. The Council didn't contact me again but I have a ref no for the phone call I made.