Another casualty

The rough winter is taking its toll on the wildlife. this is an unusual tideline corpse - a Peregrine. Right at the top of the food chain and often cited as the fastest bird in the world, it has no predators other than man and the environment. This corpse is an odd one as it must have died over the sea before being eaten and washed up on the shoreline.
With no wings left, it almost has the look of a dinosaur skeleton - no surprise I suppose as birds are just the next step down the evolutionary ladder from dinosaurs!
Zoom in on the beak and you can see how it can easily tear up its prey. Combine that with the sharp talons and evolution has produced a fast killing machine. Small wonder that every time a Peregrine flies over, all the smaller birds take flight.