So just who is the Sandringham bird murderer? Spate of mystery deaths at Queen's Norfolk retreat have police stumped as FOUR investigations fail to find any culprit

Protected birds of prey have been mysteriously killed on Sandringham grounds
A sparrowhawk has been poisoned two months after the death of a goshawk
Punishment for killing a sparrowhawk is up to six months in jail and a £5,000 fine
Two years earlier a rare Montagu's harrier fitted with a tracking device vanished

By Andrew Young For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 22:03, 20 May 2017 | Updated: 18:00, 21 May 2017

It has all the ingredients of a country house murder-mystery: poisoned victims, accusing letters, vanishing evidence and a host of suspects.

Sadly, it is no work of fiction, rather a real-life whodunnit that has cast a shadow over the Queen's Norfolk retreat, Sandringham.

Thankfully none of the victims were house guests. Instead, the case involves protected birds of prey who are believed to have met their end on the estate, or nearby, in curious circumstances.

The Queen's Norfolk retreat, Sandringham has had a spate of bird of prey killings

And in the best traditions of Agatha Christie, the crimes have baffled the local constabulary.

One of the mysterious cases hit the headlines two months ago when The Mail on Sunday revealed the death at Sandringham of a goshawk, the body of which was later incinerated.

Two years earlier a rare Montagu's harrier fitted with a tracking device vanished, and before that there were claims that two hen harriers – which face extinction in the UK – were blasted out of the sky while flying over the 20,000 acre estate.

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Royal fflier: SSPCA rescuers shocked to discover lost bird is one of the Queen's racing pigeons

14:43, 25 FEB 2016

BY KARRIE GILLETT

THE exhausted bird, belonging to Queen Elizabeth II, was rescued at Traprain Terrace in Haddington, East Lothian.

ANIMAL welfare officers who rescued a lost pigeon in East Lothian were surprised to discover it had a royal owner - the Queen.

The Scottish SPCA was called when the exhausted bird was spotted at Traprain Terrace in Haddington on February 2.

Staff traced it back to its owner and the racing pigeon has now been returned to the royal loft at Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

The charity's animal rescue officer Connie O'Neill said: "I've rescued many pigeons during my career with the Scottish SPCA but this was certainly a first for me.

"I was really excited when I found out it was one of the Queen's racing pigeons.

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Dramatic duckling rescue in Sandringham

Firefighters in central Auckland had a special emergency callout this afternoon - five ducklings stuck down a drain.

They spent an hour working carefully to save them, but one proved especially elusive.

"We got called to a number of ducks that had been stuck down a drain, with the mother duck quite anxious about it, so we've come down to see what we can do to help them out," says firefighter Mark Griffin.

What they did was search the drains, rescuing the ducklings one-by-one, until there was just one left. It had wandered too far in and couldn't be reached.

As mother and siblings looked on, the firefighters searched all the nearby drains.

When all that failed, they turned to their traditional tool - a hose - and flushed the duckling into a pond.

"We've picked it out from there, so a happy end in the end," says Mr Griffin.

Mum wasn't far away, and with her little ones in such safe hands she had no need to worry.

"It's not the sort of thing that we expect, but it happens from time to time, for sure."

One hour's work for these firefighters, and one happy feathered family waddling off together.

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