Instead of pretty flowers, here’s a falcon’s casting

No, it’s not what you think it is. In fact, it’s a pellet or “casting”, which I almost stepped on as I climbed the bell tower of St Mary’s Church in Henley.

It belonged to the resident falcon.

The pellet is a tidy package of indigestible materials that raptors, in this case the falcon who lives there, throw up to get shot of bits of fur, feather, bones, insect parts, plant matter or whatever indigestible material has reached the bird’s gizzard.

Between the muscular churning of the gizzard and the bird’s powerful stomach acids, a pellet can be amassed and regurgitated via the mouth anywhere from six to 12 hours after the meal.

I thought you might like a change from seeing pictures of pretty flowers. — Yours faithfully,

Rodger Stanier

Henley