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NatureBoy

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Posts posted by NatureBoy

  1. 1 hour ago, pigeon controller said:

    I've not watched Spring Watch but each time I see CP he seems to be in a new jacket with product names emblasend across it , sometimes five jackets in a programme. Other such presenters have tape placed over the logo or name. 

    Any others noticed this or is it just me 

    Spot on PC! Very true! I have Watched it! Partly Because of great footage and a lifetime love of all things nature! Now mainly because it 's like know thy enemy! !!!  He may have a massive knowledge of all tings nature but comes across as very being very uncomfortable and so so fake!  Can see it in the other presenters working with him and that is in a heavily scripted and edited program !      NB

  2. 1 hour ago, 243deer said:

    Just a quick point on the original post - the Collared Dove is officially on the red list so it was always unlikely to be included in a GL - I quoted the collard dove to my MP as one of the red listed species (out of the 16 that I listed) that I would be helping on our DIY  pheasant shoot when protecting our game cover from wood pigeons and the nests from the corvids.

    Conversely at a separate location which includes raising cattle I will be applying for an individual licence to control said collard doves as they bring with them one or two real nasties that can kill or at best make very ill, calves - last year we had a vets bill for £1400 for 2 calves to get them well 

    Use the licenses to your advantage - as long as you have good cause there should be no problem

    We must comply completely with the licences - any deviation will simply be used as ammunition (please forgive the pun) against GL's

    Since when has the collared dove been on the red list? Any ref to that 243? They listed in the most top 10 common birds in uk. Big prob in a lot of places and one of the biggest spreaders of tracy desease. Loads my way and they certainly don't get on with and compete with the turtle doves we have got around here.   NB 

    32 minutes ago, blade said:

    Just read the GL36 has anbody read the bit where it says consumption .Says you can eat the birds you shoot but can't be sold for human consumption ?

    Apart from wood pigeon!

  3. Great band! Singer James Hetfield a hunter. Some tried to stop them Headlining Glasto a while back after he shot an posed with a bear! I heard he's found god these days?  Check em out with Lemmy and Motorhead.     NB

  4. Painter & decorator. But wanted to be keeper, conservationist or artist when i left school in 81. Ended up doing old school  3yr city and guilds apprenticeship. Got made redundant twice after. Self employed at 21. Sub contracting, contracting now mainly domestics. Working mainly on/restoring/looking after period properties. Varied jobs from. Churches to  new builds, boats, Mansions, living wagons, museums and get to do a few murals. Get to combine work with shooting, fishing and conservation on some of the big properties. Hard work! But ya get out what ya put in.  NB

  5. Hoopoe's and golden oreals used to turn up on local estate in Suffolk when it was heavily keepered in the 70/80's  Both had very distinctive calls. Red backed shrike to for a few years. Found one of their larders they make on a barb wire fence when i was a kid.  NB

  6. Motorhead and girlschool (please don't touch)! Lemmey in a suit even! . . .Siouxsie and the banshees (peek a boo)!  PiL (Rise)!  All about eve (martha's harbour}! AC/AC (big balls).

  7. 13 minutes ago, JDog said:

    No one as far as I know feeds those birds. I certainly do not. I help them though by liberally spreading pigeon feathers in the garden which are eagerly snapped up for nesting material.

    Interesting that habitat is holding both then. I didn't think they got on? Also lot more song thrushes about this year. Seen a few young about to.     NB

  8. 2 hours ago, twenty said:

    My son received his individual licence yesterday from NE/Defra, so he's happier, I think he is covered for everything he asked for.

    He has got the Otter/mink hounds coming at the weekend to push his lakes and streams through before the ducks come in.

    Did he get all corvids? Does it cover him for all of England? It Should cover you to mate?. .  Falconers have  any trapped corvids at mo.  Another fella has wings and tails for fly tieing. Don't having the hounds through this time of year disturb breeding birds. nests and young? Mink and otter everywhere my way. Clearing out fish but water voles holding up.  NB

  9. 5 hours ago, JDog said:

    I have five House sparrow nests in my house roof and there are loads more in the village. Sometimes I see them sitting on a hedge with Tree sparrows.

    I have rarely seen so many Yellowhammers as this year, Linnets too.

    This part of Lincolnshire has a great many hedges and wide verges which helps.

    Do you and others in village feed JDog? Do the tree sparrows come to feeders? Great to see them. One of my customers has had a small colony of tree sparrows for over 30 years. they never seem to leave her orchard, farm yard and garden. or grow in number. Noticing a few more tree creepers and reed buntings about.   NB

  10. On 06/06/2019 at 08:18, twenty said:

    Yeah it was Trichomonosis wasn't it that did for the finches etc,......we've got chaffinch back in decent number,...and as you say yellowhammer have done well.

    I am amazed at the House sparrow revival in the last few years,.....It is now normal to see 3 or 4 in the garden at any one time, and during a recent garden bird survey for Gloucestershire Ornithology group I was regularly reporting numbers of up to 15 at a time on the feeding stations........During March and April I regularly put down soft feathers that I collect from Pigeon etc, on to the lawn, the number of sparrows that are attracted to these is amazing, and a good handful will normally be taken away within minutes, its great to watch.

    You right there mate! Tricho hit greenfinches hard! Ges it what happens when numbers get so high. Found lot of dead and dieing birds when it happened. Think sparrow numbers really struggle. Nest in the ivy and roof at mine but i think gene pool to small and local for them to build strong numbers up. Lot of nests fail and  others seem to produce some weak looking youngsters. I put woodie feathers out to. Not long going. Used to empty tumble dryer filter out to but being a lot of micro plastic in it probably not good. Saw jackdaw drop down and bang a young dunnock in head yesterday. Grab some grub from feeders and fly off as it's mate grabbed dunnock and followed. I have seen crows clear out buzzard nest in past. 1 killed but didn't eat chicks. Attacked and threw 3 out of nest in seconds while mate sat near by. Buzzards always chance it buzzing the rookery opposite mine. Tell by the different noise when they about.  Barn owls busy last night and this morning. they know bad weather on the way.  NB

  11. This also  might be of interest to folk? Hen harrier day 2019 is coming up! Hosted this year by Wild Justice and Severn Trent Water at Carsington Water Derbyshire on Sunday 11th August. Maybe worth a visit to hear what they have got to say.  Especially after there challenge to stop the brood management scheme failed and the RSPB having pulled out. Shame they will never let our orgs speak. But we may be able to engage with and help educate those attending.   NB  

  12. 13 hours ago, twenty said:

    Blimey,.....not seen a greenfinch locally for years,......gold finches feeding young with regurgitated sunflower seed in our garden yesterday,.....blackbird pair chasing off Jackdaws on a regular basis, second brood of chicks are 10 days old......

    Spoonbill at WWT Slimbridge yesterday.

    Yellow legged gull at Frampton pools yesterday.

    Greenfinches been slow to recover from virus that knocked them back few years ago. Several about this year. Few more bullfinches and linnets to. They ringing record numbers of yellow hammers on the farm. Shows populations can expand with a bit of help, the right habitat, wildlife corridors and pest control!  Think that the same farm being in RBAPS trials help birds and loads of insects this year! Birds still using feeders hard this tie of year shows they still need our help. Jackdaws still hitting birds daily in a lot of gardens in village. Hopefully now we have had some rain they will lay off the birds. 80% of young songbirds don't make the year.  NB

  13. On 02/06/2019 at 12:22, twenty said:

    Yeah ,he has applied for corvid control licence,...........shame about that swifts nest,......reminds me of a couple of weeks ago,....my sons partner was gardening, pulled down a load of ivy off an apple tree, unfortunately containing a wrens nest and 8 eggs, she was gutted,.....but there you go,... 3 nestboxes on their cottage have produced House sparrow, blue tit and robin broods to compensate.....5 Shelduck on his ground this morning.

     

    Saw farmer and more cam footage. Swifts actually fought to the death of one of them. He removed it after pair left box. Ringer recon it 3rd year bird but couldn't sex it as it odd size. Pair back in box already. Got ringed male green and gold finches nesting in my garden. Farmer saw and got a pic of stone curlew other day on drilled cover. Very rare in our part of Suffolk. Hope they hang about.  Jackdaws still battering the young birds! Only one of the young black birds still about. Wrens fledged yesterday morning. bouncing of every thing.   NB

  14. 2 hours ago, twenty said:

    That's a brilliant report mate, I think you  and I are from the same egg, .....My son and I have been monitoring a Heronry on the land he keepers,.. along with the BTO we have had a pretty good season with 14 active nests ( all fledged by mid/late April ).........Also a Barn Owl using a blue barrel in the rafters of an old barn.......30 plus nestboxes for the smaller species, (most in use).....2 raven nests also monitored, and a small rookery,...... along with Buzzard,Kestrel,Greylag,Canada,Coot,moorhen,Mallard,Mute Swan,Tawny and little owl, whitethroat,blackcap,Long tailed tit, plus all the usuals...............unfortunately the magpies are busy,..Larsened about 20 before the cesstation,.. but there you go.

    All the best

     

    Cheers Twenty! Just gota keep on doing what we do and keep banging the drum! Great you doing it with your boy mate! BTO ant all bad! No point in slinging mud! Packham , Avery and co choose to dismiss all what we do and any good science our orgs have done to show the  need for pest control and the real need to control ALL corvids! Might be worth you putting in for license for corvids with what you do with BTO and having red list species. 2 of the farms did and got all corvids! So we back controlling and trapping them. Both got license quick to, Both shoots as well. Having turtle doves, grey partridge other red listers and having  BTO on helped. Jackdaws  biggest problem this year. Being able to really get the corvid numbers down last year made a big  noticable differance!  Numbers of grey partridge ( seen two broods) and turtle doves well up,  More song thrushes in the area and plenty of whitethroat  about, Public support and interest been good since this mess kicked off! Only been other shooters that have questioned why i am still shooting. . . .Has all  kicked off in swift box up farm with cam on it! Another bird came in attacked the pair. big fight to exhaustion and all eggs destroyed. Nest now empty,  Plenty of bees and a lot more insects about again today and saw first pair  of spotted flycatchers of the year.  NB

  15. All  the swift box's up one farm are occupied and nesting now. Cam shows one lot sitting on 5 eggs. Saw swallows over and sitting on new drill last week. They and house martins get mud for nesting round the new flood prevention resivior. Little egrets turn up there to. Never found where they nest. Lot more insects my way this spring. Big hatches after rain. Got  8 turtle doves paired up on same farm to.  BTO ringer managed to get large male and ring it. Kingfisher to. Got several pairs on other farms and in village. Purrring opposite my house. I think the fact we got on top of the growing number of corvids last spring and this helped. As it was so dry they a real problem in the piggery, poultry and live stock units in big numbers. I am glad the rooks have left the rookery near mine. They were the first to start calling at first light. Real noisy. Two pairs of hobbys nesting local and kestrels doing well in boxes this year. Less buzzards and sparrow hawks this year and haven't seen the ravens that were about for a while. See goldcrests regularly and more treecreepers. Less woodpeckers! Got some young black rabbits  on one farm and some white on another. these seem to come thro when numbers are low. Never see mixed colours. Plenty of hares doing well. Got  9 different  species of birds  nesting in my garden. Dunnocks and blackbirds on second broods. Sparrow hawk got some young blackbirds and jackdaws had the pigeons nest. Blackbirds nest on my porch will fledged tonight or in morning i hope. Got some of the growing number of birds ringed on farm/shoot coming to my feeders. they expanding out thro corridors of proper hedge and habitat management! So we must be doing something right! Record numbers of yellow hammers. They even ringed a crow last month. Not bad for a bunch of "casual killers and wildlife vandals" without an oglogy or letters after our name!      NB

  16. 14 minutes ago, ditchman said:

    BRING BACK FARMING DIARY...:big_boss:....with "richard joyce"........

    If only!  Countrybile has very big viewing figures and is only way some folk get to find out whats happening or how the countryside works how ever biased they may report it. It's up to us to expand on educate folk to the bigger picture of topics on the show that may have got peoples interest. WJ may only be a lobby a lobbying croup now and should only remain so but they have bigger plans. Read manifesto for wildlife! What they have done with the challenge om GL has got attention and the public interested. A lot i have spoke to are interested  and favour what we do, our views and the real conservation we do and can show them.   NB  

  17. 1 minute ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

    No can't watch the Fluffy Countryside Show any more, but thanks for the report!

    The bit on nionics rape and flea beetle was interesting.  Just thought strange they had rope bangers crows and hawk kite in it.NB

  18. Talking of paranoia! 😉 Anyone else watching countrybile tonight notice during the piece on pesticides they happened to show rope bangers scaring off crows twice and hawk kite over rape?. Maybe i care to much!    NB

  19. That directorate make good interesting reading! If only more folk would read and abide by it or care. While Packham and co have a go at us because it's part of there bigger agenda there's far to much habitat and nest destruction go on in/unintentionally by various bodies orgs and individuals!  Dioceses having tree work done recently in two churchyards near me. Disturbing breeding red list birds, distroying nests and bat roosts. When i  spoke to church folk they didn't seem to know or botherd! 

  20. A local farm to me in Suffolk uses and spread hundreds of tons of "recycled composted"" garden waste on his fields. Has been doing it for years. We were looking at a load of the same stuff that had been delivered to another farm where i shoot the other day. In no time 3 of us picked hand fulls of just the various clearly visible shredded plastics off the pile. We were amazed at the amount and that this stuff gets supplied by county waste handlers.  The amount of micro plastics in that  stuff must be huge! And we bother and worry about the amount of litter plastic wads and carts cause! Another thing that amazed us was the amount of heat there was in the recently delivered small heap of about 10 tons. Farmer not going to use it or have any more and look in to it!   NB

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