Late one Friday evening in early March, I received a most peculiar message. A local birdwatcher had been wandering along a forest ride in the Derwent Valley in the Peak District National Park when he had come across the body of a squirrel, lying on its back, on top of a wall.
On closer examination, he saw the animal was lying on a mat of strands of baler twine and that a translucent substance had been applied in obvious broad lines across the body. When he touched this with his gloved hand, he realised it was a very powerful adhesive.
He was worried that a bird of prey trying to feed on the corpse might get tangled in this sticky mass, so sensibly he decide to hide the carcass nearby and contact the RSPB.
Unfortunately, in common with much of upland Britain, there have been problems of bird of prey persecution in this area. In 2006, the RSPB produced a hard-hitting report, titled 'Peak Malpractice,' about these issues, and in particular the problems faced by goshawks and peregrines.
I knew the forest in question was a regular breeding place for the rare and elusive goshawk, and we had evidence of goshawks being illegally killed here in the recent past. In view of this, I dashed across the following day to meet the finder.
As we made our way through the forest the significance of what had been found became clear. The squirrel was on a forest ride within 100 yards of two large goshawk nests built during previous breeding seasons.
Whilst I was appropriately licensed to visit the nest sites of rare breeding birds, I was conscious that the breeding season would soon be underway and one of the nests was probably about to be refurbished in preparation for egg laying.
Sure enough, the squirrel - and the wall where it had lain - had traces of a very sticky, non-setting adhesive. I didn't want to cause any undue disturbance, so quickly took photos and took the squirrel away in an evidence bag.
The goshawk is an impressive and powerful bird, and squirrels are a popular prey item. I had no doubt this was a deliberate attempt to interfere with the birds. A goshawk fancying an easy meal could have become hopelessly entangled and stuck to the baler twine and this could easily have lead to the death of the bird.
We quickly left the area, hoping the goshawks would be left in peace. However, this was not to be. In April, a further ball of baler twine and glue was found close to the nest site – had another 'sticky squirrel' trap been laid out? Things then seemed to be improving when the birds started to raise four chicks, but during a 24 hour period in June, the four chicks promptly disappeared.
There seems little doubt this was human interference and this seems to be another sad chapter in the recent troubled history of goshawks in this area.