Here's part of Webb Lake seen from the spot where we recovered Hix's transmitter.
This is the cove where we found Hix's remains and the transmitter.
We found Hix right along this shoreline.
Looking back the other direction from where we found Hix.
The scene of the crime.
Hix's remains, right at the rack line of the lake. A big rain fell a day or so before the transmitter turned back on. The transmitter was on its side, facing west, so it got a charge from the afternoon sun--not enough for the GPS, but enough for the ground tracking.
We've flipped the carcass over here. It would have been a lot easier to find had the white, undersides of the wings been facing up.
The way the leg bones were pulled up through the skin suggests to me the work of a large raptor. The most likely candidate is a Great-horned Owl.
The only damage to the bones were a few chips taken out of this wing bone. Could have been done by another raptor's beak. I suspect a Bald Eagle would have broken more bones. (Hard to focus these digital cameras up close.)
The view as we drove south--mission accomplished!
