He had stated he took the birds as well. If you have A string of birds, a shotgun, and empty hulls, well, they will figure you were the one to get them.
Leaving birds reminds me of EWa a number of years ago. Guy came into the butcher shop with a dead quail not knowing how to clean it. Makes me wonder if the morons that left the birds did not know what to do with them? Easy enough to ‘YouTube’ it, but they would have to be willing to get their hands bloody.
Perhaps they were surprised that when they fell they were not clean, in a tray, and covered with plastic wrap?