Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 09:43:50 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Holmes, David" Subject: Dead red knot MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" While walking along Port Mahon Road 5/26/01 (hoping for a sedge wren), I found a freshly dropped red knot near the edge of the road, by the trailer, close to the tanks. The breast had been removed down to the bones, and the entrails were still in the body. When I picked it up, sections of the intestines fell out - sliced into 3-6" chunks. The rest of the bird was unmarked, flexible, free of insects and even dust. It was near utility lines. No loose feathers were visible around the body. The removal of the breast meat was so precise I'm now wondering if it was killed by an falcon/accipiter or by an illegal hunter. Anyone know if this could have been a normal kill, or could it have been illegal hunting that I should have reported. It was one of only two knots I saw at Port Mahon. DW Holmes ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================