felly100 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 It means that the Sparrowhawk won't successfully rear its young if there isn't a healthy prey bird population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Sadly songbirds have decreased not due to predation by Sparrowhawks and the like but moreover by magpies, greysquirrel, loss of habitat and nesting sites ( farmers hedge cutting operations ) and over zealous shooting by so called sportsmen on their migration routes, particularly the Spanish and French, and probably the biggest criminal of all the domestic cat. A large Sparrow hawk population is a sign of a healthy balance. if the prey birds dwindle so too will the hunters. i may have started my topic off wrong and put peoples backs up im afraid im better with a gun than puting words to papper i agree totaly with you fisherman mike and chard i was just stating that they were killing birds on a regulare basis in my garden and as you stated fisherman the maggies are a real pain but we can do some thing about then we carnt do the same with sparow hawks. farming practises are now changeing back to the old ways which will hopefully help. On the farm i keeper we leave 4 and 6 meter grass strips we also do not cut the hedges regulary. And i totaly agree about the domestic cat and i believe its in germany were if a cat is more than 200mts away from a building they are classed as ferrell and can be shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 2 meters away would be enough for me :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 carefull fisherman you could have every one jumping on you for saying that as i did about hawks but fair play to you i agree :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Sadly songbirds have decreased not due to predation by Sparrowhawks and the like but moreover by magpies, greysquirrel, loss of habitat and nesting sites ( farmers hedge cutting operations ) and over zealous shooting by so called sportsmen on their migration routes, particularly the Spanish and French, and probably the biggest criminal of all the domestic cat. A large Sparrow hawk population is a sign of a healthy balance. if the prey birds dwindle so too will the hunters. seems the same people who deny that magpies affect the songbird poulation are in denial again over grey squirel http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/...000/8448807.stm oh and I am doing my bit but it would help if woodie and his collared dove mates would let the little ones in now and then(pic taken through the window and blinds still you can see the culprits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper3 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 lucky down here..the songbird population is good..i scatter corn 3x a day for my chicken and the sparrows, blackbirds robins and thrush all get good pickings :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted January 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) I’ve found that if I throw the bird food around the bottom of the garden bushes then the little birds get it rather than the crows and big birds that bully the little birds off of it. if I just throw it out on the main lawn. It seems that they are shy to move far from cover and they are able to find the food in the leaves ect as there is usually less snow at the base of the bushes. Edited January 10, 2010 by fortune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo33 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Apart from puting seed down to help the wild song birds we should convince the RSPB to cull some bloody sparrow hawks Then move swiftly on to cats! I Have 4 on my left and two on my right not to mention the rest in the road... and despite my best endevours with the bird table theres hardly a song bird left around here... its a total heatbreaker, and we are 100yds from one of the largest areas of National trust and SSI's in the country!!! And the ******ds are now crapping in the drive, vegetable garden and plant pots outside the house!! Edited January 10, 2010 by turbo33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloke Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) So going on that theory once the large sparrowhawk population decimate the prey birds and there isnt enough prey birds to go around and they have to move on....what part of that is good or a healthy balance for the prey birds But i agree about the cat bit...2million birds a year or something dies at the hand of the domestic moggy Not a the hands of my cats - my daughter feeds them more than me! Lardy great things - if they could just lie on the floor with their heads in the feed dish all day they would be happy as ***! They just sit and stare at the birds, unless one jumps into their mouth they don't give a *** Mind you, they do keep the rat population at bay - it seems that no matter how much you feed a cat, they will still rip rats to shreds! I live in the **** end of nowhere and rats are a pest cos of the crop drier and local river; I get about 2 big fat ones a week on my doorstep with a very smug fat cat next to them, so they must be of some use I suppose! Edited January 11, 2010 by Bloke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shot shot Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) Not a the hands of my cats - my daughter feeds them more than me! Lardy great things - if they could just lie on the floor with their heads in the feed dish all day they would be happy as ***! They just sit and stare at the birds, unless one jumps into their mouth they don't give a *** Mind you, they do keep the rat population at bay - it seems that no matter how much you feed a cat, they will still rip rats to shreds! I live in the **** end of nowhere and rats are a pest cos of the crop drier and local river; I get about 2 big fat ones a week on my doorstep with a very smug fat cat next to them, so they must be of some use I suppose! except some of them seem to have a taste for blue ti-t ringing a blue tits neck is not a pleasant experience, trust me :( *edit to avoid the swear filter* Edited January 11, 2010 by shot shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 We put a load of 'song bird' seed out and a fat woodpigeon hoovered 90% of that up last time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.