No surprises

[henry d]

I àint surprised except that it took some people this long to wake up http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5026222.stm

[lurcherboy]

ABOUT BLOODY TIME

 

 

 

LB

[JohnGalway]

.

Edited September 4, 2009 by JohnGalway

[Browning GTS]

Come on Wild Cats!!! It`s bloody domestic cats do the most damage. May be they will be on the general licence soon

[henry d]

They are too dumb to say it`s FERAL, not WILD,and who says a feral isn`t a legitimate target........answers on a postcard......

[the pelt man]

SORRY BUT I DONT THINK ITS TRUE.

 

The blame has to fall on our shoulders.

 

Work done on houses these days closes most holes for nesting.

We've tarmaced over the grass verges & driveways.

& farming well.

 

I passed my driving test 26 years aog, you could drive for 30 mins & then have to clean your Windscreen for dead flies. I can now drive 6 hours across british country side & the windscreen is still clean.

 

Sorry but there just aint no food to support any population of birds.

 

around where i used to live the houses had a good 30 - 40 nesting pairs of House Martin, useing the mud from the puddles of the grass verges that the Cars used to make by parking.

The Council tarmaced it all over. The following year there were half a dozen nests, now they have all gone.

 

Maybe but only maybe Cats & Squizz do nearly as much damage to the presant song bird population as modern Farming. But please "LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE".

 

If you feel that we should go & blast all Cats & Squizz with lead because of this report,

Maybe we should aim a bit closer to home.

 

 

"STOP SHOOTING FROM THE HIP WITH THE LEAD OUT THE SINGLE BARREL BETWEEN OUR LEGS"

 

If there wernt so many of us then the Song Bird population would start to recover.

 

 

 

Thats my 2 penith worth.

 

 

PELT MAN

[Hodmedod.one]

SORRY BUT I DONT THINK ITS TRUE.

 

I passed my driving test 26 years aog, you could drive for 30 mins & then have to clean your Windscreen for dead flies. I can now drive 6 hours across british country side & the windscreen is still clean.

 

 

Try coming to Norfolk mate. Drive 15 miles round here in the summer and there will be enough fresh meat on your windscreen for you to open up a Chinese Takeaway.

[velveteens]

SORRY BUT I DONT THINK ITS TRUE.

 

I passed my driving test 26 years aog, you could drive for 30 mins & then have to clean your Windscreen for dead flies. I can now drive 6 hours across british country side & the windscreen is still clean.

 

 

Try coming to Norfolk mate. Drive 15 miles round here in the summer and there will be enough fresh meat on your windscreen for you to open up a Chinese Takeaway.

Since moving to the suburbs my old lady has transformed the back and front gardens. They are a haven for birds from the housesparrow to woodpeckers and sparrowhawks. Unfortunateley it is the domestic cat that rips the hedge open an tears the young and nest to pieces. It would be so easy to lessen them but 1) they would just replace it 2) every body seems to have remote spycams fitted up. Just wish I was back in the country. Dave.

[Axe]

Peltman, its funny you should mention the flies and screen thing. I drove 400 hundred miles yesterday. From Brighton I drove the the coast to Dorchester before cutting through country to Weston Supermare then back across country to Salisbury before driving the M27 back again. It was traversing the A38 through Glastonbury that I thought, hmm the windscreen is pretty clear. I put it down to the weather we've been getting.

 

But I know in the summer months (when they finally get here) that a 14mile drive to work, will have the screen absolutely covered. Its a real BUG bare (sorry) of mine, as I really hatye a dirty screen. I still love the opening sequence to Men In Black.

[MC]

The lack of the flies on the windscreen probably has more to do with the aerodynamics of modern cars. Take a Mk1 cortina or a land rover for a 30min drive these days and see what your screen is like.

 

If you look at wind tunnel tests with a smoke trail it will pass over a car without touching it.

 

That is not to say that you are right and there is is less food and habitat for songbirds. Although I have several feeders and a bird table in my garden and there is a noticable increase this year to last.

 

Cheers

 

 

Martin

[Axe]

The lack of the flies on the windscreen probably has more to do with the aerodynamics of modern cars. Take a Mk1 cortina or a land rover for a 30min drive these days and see what your screen is like.

 

Did you know, a Mk1 Escort is actually more aerodynamic than a Formula 1 race car! Perhaps Ford should have re-launched some of those original classics than launching the hiddeous creation known as the Sierra.

[lurcherboy]

I am sick of peeling bugs off my windscreen and I have a landie!!!!!!!!!!

 

Axe, you sure about the escort

 

 

LB

[Axe]

Axe, you sure about the escort

 

Absolutely! If you actually think about it a little it all makes sense. Aerodynamic's for car manufacturers is about reducing the drag coefficient, the Escort amazingly had a very good shape that actually had a very low drag cooefficient. A Formula 1 race car has some very clever aero dynamics but to keep the car on the ground they use front and rear wings. These create masses of high and low pressures forcing the car to the ground, but this actually creates great amounts of drag. Thus the drag cooefficient of a Formula 1 Race Car is actually greater than that of a Mk1 Escort.!

 

Regards,

 

Professor Axe. :yp:

[Teal]

Speaking from personal experience, farming has been improving a lot (in terms of encouraging biodiversity) in the past 10 years. Agree that there is still a fair way to go though.

[MC]

It will be a shock to the world when Williams unveil their 2007 car :yp:

 

I did say Mk1 cortina anyway.

 

I know what you mean LB, my disco has plenty of bugs over the windscreen. I must admit I was waiting for the "landies don't go fast enough to kill a fly" comments

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[flytie]

[Did you know, a Mk1 Escort is actually more aerodynamic than a Formula 1 race car! .

?.......... I know that formula one cars are designed to have huge downforce to keep them on the track when cornering, but a Mk 1 Escort, what pills are you on? Can I have some please?

 

As to songbirds and other garden birds, we have plenty of all sorts here. I am lucky enough to be able to lay in bed and hear skylarks too. We have noticed no lack of sparrows, starlings or finches over the past few years. They have to be quick mind, because the cats do take their toll. I would still say that here we suffer more from magpies though.

 

I find it amazing that researchers manage to get grants to come up with answers that anybody who takes an interest in nature could tell them for free!

 

Different point I know but, there were still plenty of hares round us in the early 1980's, then they brought in the stubble burning ban one main aim of which was to protect the hare. Hedges had been pulled out but by the middle 80's that had pretty well stopped and agricultural practice has not changed significantly since then. Apart from the machinery getting larger, it's still winter wheat, winter barley, oilseed rape some linseed and a few beans/peas. So why has the hare almoat dissappeared from our area? I would love to know.

[the pelt man]

So i take it that you all feel that Cats & Squirrels are just as much to blame for the decline in Song Birds as we are ?

 

Still think your all wrong.

 

A Man sent a letter in to the Local paper about Cats stopping Birds coming into his garden & they wouldn't use his Bird table. He then went on to say how a Cat had came into his house & used his fine wooden Coffee Table as a scratching post.

 

What he failed to look at is all the Wood used in His house, to Make his fine Coffee Table & Bird Table that Birds would love to Hide, Feed & Nest in. :yp:

 

 

"LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE"

 

 

PELT MAN

[MC]

Pelt man,

 

No I don't. I think that there are several variables that contribute to the songbird population. Squirrels and cats are one of them. As is modern farming, the construction industry, new roads and the general destruction of their habitat.

 

The original post was about the fact that certain people are realising the the grey squirrel and wild cats are not helping.

 

All the best

 

Martin

[the pelt man]

Sorry Martin

 

Just had to read it again.

 

It dose say including other preditors.

 

It dose say that 85% of Adult Birds are lost to Preditors I take it that is 85% of lost Adult Birds & not all Adult birds in genral. It dosen't say what loss of Genral population?Habitat there is due to Man & his way of life.

 

So there % figure is a % of what is left after other facters are taken into account (i think).

 

So i feel that we are not Addressing the real problem. Also the issue of reducing the population of Squirrels is being addressed by people like us.

 

Its a shame that we dont have the brains to Address the real problem & reduce our population which even if reduced by the sum total population of Cats & Squirrels would not be enough.

 

 

 

PELT MAN

 

 

PELT MAN

[flytie]

Its a shame that we dont have the brains to Address the real problem & reduce our population which even if reduced by the sum total population of Cats & Squirrels would not be enough.

PELT MAN

Peltman, I believe there was an Austrian house painter who had the same idea as you, but it didn't catch on!

 

Ft

[JohnGalway]

.

Edited September 4, 2009 by JohnGalway

[invector]

The latest research has got the British farmer off the hook. Apparently song birds are disappearing in Eastern Europe, where farming is not as intensive, and probably quite backward, compared to the west.

 

The 'experts' have blamed this on - yes you've guessed it - global warming!!

[the pelt man]

Right I'd typed out a much longer reply but binned it as it had me annoyed. All I'll say is I'm rather sick of Farmer being used as a derogatory term in modern society. There are good bad in all walks of life and most of the damage done to the environment was based on scientific advice from the 70's & 80's. This damage is actually being adressed in the form of schemes such as REPS and other enviromentally positive thinking which is coming into modern farming. Blame the ******* scientists for once please. I don't sow,plough or plant anything but I know over here nature islands and corridors are being pushed as a good thing and I agree with it. I myself have a REPS plan for my farm. I've lots of songbirds on my land as there is around here thankfully, their biggest enemy is the magpie. Also lots of hares, badgers, otters etc. Rabbits are scarce only cos of mixy but are slowly making a comeback. Sorry I don't mean to be having a go at anyone in particular but for the most of farmers they have a tough job on low pay trying producing good food. The business of being all lumped into one "category" truly makes me mad. A bit of respect for all walks of life wouldn't go a miss while seeing the bigger picture.

 

John

 

 

JG

 

Hope you dont think I think this is a Farmer problem Far from it.

It's over population.

 

Keep up the good work & take a holiday if you get time

 

PELT MAN

[JohnGalway]

.

Edited September 4, 2009 by JohnGalway

[lurcherboy]

Axe, you sure about the escort

 

Absolutely! If you actually think about it a little it all makes sense. Aerodynamic's for car manufacturers is about reducing the drag coefficient, the Escort amazingly had a very good shape that actually had a very low drag cooefficient. A Formula 1 race car has some very clever aero dynamics but to keep the car on the ground they use front and rear wings. These create masses of high and low pressures forcing the car to the ground, but this actually creates great amounts of drag. Thus the drag cooefficient of a Formula 1 Race Car is actually greater than that of a Mk1 Escort.!

 

Regards,

 

Professor Axe.

 

 

Err, is was with you until you typed Absolutely Axe

 

Martincavie, all these newbies are a bit slow but lets give them some slack, the old guard would have attacked in seconds

 

Peltman I have come to the conclusion after much consumption of the heavy that you must member of greenpeace or some wood preservation society. Please correct me if I am wrong but don't expect a answer this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

LB