Moorhen's demise is a mystery, says Sheffield wildlife expert

I had an email from Ky Moynihan, of KYS Travel, saying: “I came across this bird, unfortunately, dead in my yard on Claywheels Lane, Hillsborough, but having tried to identify it with all my bird books I had no luck.
A moorhenA moorhen
A moorhen

“Do you have any idea what it is?”

Well, yes I certainly do know what it is – a moorhen.

Remarkably, about two days prior to this message I also saw a dead moorhen by the roadside of Dronfield bypass, although my wife baulked at the idea of my stopping to take a closer look!

Now in that latter case, I suspect it was a bird moving through the area and which had been struck by a vehicle.

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Moorhens do range around a bit local industrial estate so perhaps that was where it had come from.

Ky’s bird, however, almost certainly came from the nearby River Don, but how it ended its days in their yard I can’t say.

It looks in good condition, but I guess it was a road traffic accident that just made it across to their premises.

More positively, Ky has had up to five common buzzards overhead; not bad for urban Sheffield.

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Prof Rotherham, a researcher, writer and broadcaster on wildlife and environmental issues, is contactable on [email protected]

Follow his Walk on the Wildside blog at ukeconet.org for more information.

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Read more from Prof Rotherham:

Talking about hedgehogs, he says…

Hedgehogs love piles of twiggy rubbish under which they can nest or in winter, hibernate.

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So, when rewilding your garden, it is worth using cuttings of woody shrubs and the like to form low, dry mounds which can be covered with green herbaceous material over the top.

You can buy a pre-made ‘hedgehog house’, but the brash pile is cheaper and equally or more tempting for would-be residents.