What do you think

A cat has destroyed the robins nest in mother’s garden. I found the uneaten chick yesterday. Killed but abandoned, killed for sport only

I am new to this so 'here goes'. I love reading the posts and this one has been an 'eye opener' as being in Australia I was not aware of some of the animals mentioned and what a lot there seem to be that prey on birds. Somethings always remain a mystery - we were 'baby sitting' our D's chickens and let them out one morning and all healthy. Returned some 30 mins later and found 2 dead - no marks etc anywhere. Still have no idea what happened but suspect a snake maybe a 'night python' as they live in the rain forest nearby. Baby sitting again next week, quite nervous about having another 'loss'.

Thank you Greyduster for your reply.

Baby foxes are finding their own areas at this time of year as mum stops helping them. Most likely a fox. I saw one catch a pigeon last week in middle of afternoon while I was ironing by bedroom window.

Birds are often eaten by blackbirds. The poo the OP found may have had nothing to do with the dead bird or it may well have been a cat. Cats can jump quite high and it may have killed the bird, left it in the garden and a blackbird has finished it off.
I had no idea that birds ate other birds until I saw a blackbird do just that, in my garden.

Sorry but sounds like a cat to me. One of my rescue cats does that - usually in the house - for me to find when I get up Sometimes she leaves just the feathers in the garden too

The female sparrowhawk is larger than the male and can bring down a pigeon whereas the male takes smaller birds. We've seen one in action twice in our garden although a pigeon managed to get away.

If the poo is very small it's likely to be hedgehog. Pull it to bits and, with a magnifying glass, see if there are bits of insects in the poo (legs or wings of flies or moths) or shell from snails which is what hedgehogs eat. Fox poo has a bit of a twist at one end.

rooks are amazing and very protective.a pair of redtail hawks nest nearby and every year as their fledglings try to take territory in my yard.2 seperate murders of crows raise hell.keeping them from my yard.sometimes they team up and there are 3 dozen of them chasing the young hawks.
almost every year one of the hawks ends up hiding in the big pine and caling for help.i try to keep an eye on them.
had a fox but she got fed up and moved/splittail kite comes each year and eats the treefrogs in the pine.
very active and amazing place.
buzzards get sent on their way as well.
doves are so nice to listen to,but they are vicious never did understand the whole peace/dove thing.not after seeing them have air combat and rip each other to shreds.
possums and armadillos leave tiny droppings but i don't think you have them in uk?

OP says her garden is closed off so it doesn’t seem likely to be a badger. Nature really is ‘red and tooth and claw’ isn’t it?!

Fox poo , don't know quite how to describe this but has a sort of twist at the end ? and a very obvious musky smell

I watched a fox scoff a blackbird in my neighbour's garden a few years ago. About 4 bites and everything except the tail feathers was gone. Must have an amazing digestive system!

DH and I were at the kitchen sink one day and watched with amazement and wonder as a sparrowhawk landed on our grass with a bird in its talons and proceeded to strip and eat the lot, feathers and bones included. It was there for a good 15 minutes. DH took numerous photos and also videoed it. Nature in the raw!

It wouldn’t be a badger if you are associating it with the poo. They poo in their own latrines.

My bird feeders are in a large shrub in front of my kitchen window and one day I looked out .and there was this largish, brown speckled bird. It suddenly made a grab for a blue tint and missed.
A few days later there he was demolishing a pigeon on the front lawn. Not a lot left except feathers.

My cat eats birds..usually outside my kitchen window as he has learned not to bring them indoors.He only leaves feathers

There was a lot of 'white bits' down the end of the garden. I went to investigate and as I got nearer I realised it was feathers and as I got nearer still a bird of prey flew out of the shrubs with a pigeon in its mouth. Could be either a fox or a bird of prey.

Brought a smile to my face - reading the various descriptions of animal poo !

My one cat only leaves a few feathers and sometimes a claw when he eats birds! He never brings the feathers back up either, so he obviously can digest them.

Any of the other culprits named are likely too. I thought hedgehogs only ate fledglings that had fallen out of nests.

I believe badgers are carnivorous too.

I’m with a sparrowhawk. They often take our fledgling blackbirds and starlings. I’ve also seen a magpie kill a newly fledged blackbird and just fly off. Upsetting if they are not taking it for food.

Doubt it was a cat as they bury their poo. Foxes usually scurry off with their prey either back to their lair or an enclosed quiet spot. My money's on a bird of prey. I've seen several pigeons taken by a Sparrowhawk in our garden.

Milly rooks will mob anything they think poses a threat to them, even if it is only going on it’s merry way! I have watched them in dogfights with buzzards when the buzzards are a long way from any potential rookeries. They just don’t give up and you have to feel sorry for the buzzards.

Sparrowhawk, especially if the feathers are roughly in a circle.

Almost certainly a sparrow hawk, they devour the bird and just leave the empty shell. I used to find them in my back garden which can not be reached by foxes.

Where can I get a Sparrow hawk from?
Plagued by pigeons raiding my bird feeders.
I am too lazy to shoot them.

My guess would be a badger,especially if hedgehogs have disappeared. We have one that prowls round the village getting into bins and leaving a terrible mess. Apparently they prey on hedgehogs.