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Marsh-Harrier with antenna/pod ? (1 Viewer)

S

S_Man

Well-known member
Not sure where to post this one, but here is a strange object seen on a Marsh-Harrier migrating over Switzerland, see attachements.

GPS-sat antenna, or some kind or projectile ? Lines looks too regular to be some branch or wood piece, but position on the body is intriguing, not centered at all. Also the bird is not ringed, is it habitual for birds carrying GPS ?
 

Attachments

  • busard_roseaux_GPS_1.jpg
    busard_roseaux_GPS_1.jpg
    23.7 KB · Views: 113
  • busard_roseaux_GPS_2.jpg
    busard_roseaux_GPS_2.jpg
    28.2 KB · Views: 125
stonechat1 said:
This doesn´t look like any type of antena, totally wrong angle. Also that the bird is not banded is wrong for a legal treatment. Here´s a tagged European Honey Buzzard as comparison:
http://born2bwild.nhm-wien.ac.at/fotos WB/Karin_Web.jpg
Rather a piece of an arrow for me.
Click to expand...

Yes, diameter could match that of an arrow. It seem to be slightly conical, the break would be quite clean. Maybe some kind of detachable arrow head?

Is there another possibility?
 
Marsh Harrier with antenna/pod

S_Man said:
Lines looks too regular to be some branch or wood piece,
Click to expand...
But not too regular for a piece of Phragmites reed stem . . . which there is usually plenty of in Marsh Harrier habitat ;)

Oh, and please, there's no hyphen in Marsh Harrier - that's American ignorance of the English language!
 
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Nutcracker said:
But not too regular for a piece of Phragmites reed stem . . . which there is usually plenty of in Marsh Harrier habitat ;)

Oh, and please, there's no hyphen in Marsh Harrier - that's American ignorance of the English language!
Click to expand...

I agree it could well be some bits of reed stuck to the undercarriage.

BUT, steady on Nutcracker with your 'ignorance' comment after your correction re the rogue hyphen in our Geneva observer's post, I'm not so sure I'd be word perfect if I tried to post in a language other than my native English, would you? ;)
 
Nutcracker said:
But not too regular for a piece of Phragmites reed stem . . . which there is usually plenty of in Marsh Harrier habitat ;)
Click to expand...

This may seem appealing at first, and maybe the best hypothesis so far, although from my experience, reeds are not hard nor sharp enough to enter the flesh. This bird would have fallen at high speed on some sharp bevelled stem, and again at this angle... If it was just a short piece stuck between feathers, I think the bird would have removed it already.

Oh, and please, there's no hyphen in Marsh Harrier - that's American ignorance of the English language!
Click to expand...

Right, it comes from a Canadian list. But sorry, this is far too subtle for my french!


Edit: And Thanks very much for your support Richard.
 
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Living since my birth in harrier country with masses of reed beeds around I´ve never seen a bird of any species pierced by a piece of Phragmites. Harriers carrying them during nesting season that yes, but this is not the case here as we can see in the pictures. Also it would need a lot of force to puncture the plumage and flesh (e.g. sideways motion on the nest), and I doubt that any bird would not remove a foreign object from their plumage if possible.
Conclusion: It´s not a Phragmites stem.
 
colcro said:
William Tell should be prosecuted for this
Click to expand...

Some ancient crossbows used short arrows without any vane. But here it's really too short, and it doesn't look broken.

I was also thinking of detachable arrows heads, as I've heard some Amazonian Indians were using those with poison. The head just comes apart as the shaft could get stuck somewhere and remove the poisoned head from the flesh before the poison makes its effect. But I don't think any of those are used today in Europe or Africa.

stonechat1 said:
Living since my birth in harrier country with masses of reed beeds around I´ve never seen a bird of any species pierced by a piece of Phragmites. Harriers carrying them during nesting season that yes, but this is not the case here as we can see in the pictures. Also it would need a lot of force to puncture the plumage and flesh (e.g. sideways motion on the nest), and I doubt that any bird would not remove a foreign object from their plumage if possible.
Conclusion: It´s not a Phragmites stem.
Click to expand...

I've never seen this, neither. A few pictures of birds and other animals alive with an arrow across their body, yes, but not reed or twigs. Also the birds can reach their rump with the beak, as they have some sort of oil, "preen" gland there ? So the stem would be stuck very deep, not to be removable ? A light piece of reed just stuck between feathers a very short time before, when the bird dove in the reed beeds to catch some prey ? But I didn't see the bird shaking and fluffing his feathers as I have seen other birds doing it in flight.

I have never heard about birds flying low, upside down AND backwards, but this would be the easiest explanation for a phragmites stem piercing the body ! ;)



Well it doesn't really matter, i was just wondering.
 
S_Man said:
This may seem appealing at first, and maybe the best hypothesis so far, although from my experience, reeds are not hard nor sharp enough to enter the flesh. This bird would have fallen at high speed on some sharp bevelled stem, and again at this angle... If it was just a short piece stuck between feathers, I think the bird would have removed it already.
Click to expand...
I never said pierced ;) Just a bit of loose Phragmites stuck between some feathers; that could very easily happen when a bird lands in a dense reedbed, and if it then gets flushed out suddenly (by e.g. a fox or other potential predator), it might not have time to preen out the debris.
 
Nutcracker said:
I never said pierced ;) Just a bit of loose Phragmites stuck between some feathers; that could very easily happen when a bird lands in a dense reedbed, and if it then gets flushed out suddenly (by e.g. a fox or other potential predator), it might not have time to preen out the debris.
Click to expand...

I guess we'll never know either way, but this seems best option for me too.
 
I did, 'Unlikely' isn't really hard evidence against.
I just wondered wether direct sun-light may cause it to look as it does. Although granted I can't see the nail, this could be a trick of the light.
 
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