Fellside Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 9 minutes ago, holloway said: Pretty much exactly the way I see it ,I started to wonder when I saw the Mallard on the amber list as to the justification of shooting them ,but then with a little more research I notice so is the Wood pigeon and I wonder who decides these lists and is there an agenda behind them . Yes - it’s hilarious that the woodie is amber listed. Officially the most common bird in Britain according to the latest BTO census. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted April 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 Lookimng at the photo of your tube I tend to think it is a bit small in diamter, perhaps the hole is not big enough. Just a thought . Also I have heard comments about height. Three feet seems the average with one subsciber putting them at 6ft. I am planning to put ours at about 2 ro 3ft. Difficult to decide which way to point them so will set them at different angles. The pond is pretty well shaded from south westers by the wood alongside. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 6 hours ago, Fellside said: Yes - it’s hilarious that the woodie is amber listed. Officially the most common bird in Britain according to the latest BTO census. Yes but its its range through europe and the percentage of the whole population we have - i think numbers have perhaps declined the last few years Its a bit like woodcock - red listed here but we have hundreds of thousands if not millions of migrants and thats the same i think for mallard I do wonder if the in breeding with released mallard has an impact ? 8 hours ago, holloway said: Nice to see other species benefiting from the tubes that can’t be a bad thing ,now please bear in mind I am playing devils advocate here and am not a rabid anti…. but how many of you do or would consider stopping Mallard shooting for a season to really cement your conservation endeavours ? Hence my question about proper conservation as against a self serving conservation to increase your own sport ? It would be nice to get reasoned considered answers as I am in no way trying to judge and most of my shooting is limited to wildfowl myself . Since i really started doing what i do conservation wise - i have not shot a mallard on our place - I let the beaters and the helpers have a flight or two through the season and get more pleasure from that and their (limited) successes( hahahah) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 13, 2023 Report Share Posted April 13, 2023 First hatchling out today ! Circa 15 Cold wet and not much fly life about yet Hope they get on the mealworms ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fellside Posted April 13, 2023 Report Share Posted April 13, 2023 11 hours ago, jall25 said: Yes but its its range through europe and the percentage of the whole population we have - i think numbers have perhaps declined the last few years Its a bit like woodcock - red listed here but we have hundreds of thousands if not millions of migrants and thats the same i think for mallard I do wonder if the in breeding with released mallard has an impact ? Since i really started doing what i do conservation wise - i have not shot a mallard on our place - I let the beaters and the helpers have a flight or two through the season and get more pleasure from that and their (limited) successes( hahahah) The red amber green listings are for the UK. Some call it ‘ring fence conservationism’. The wood pigeon is definitely not under threat here in the UK and is increasing across its range. Yes the woodcock has a Eurasian distribution and is officially classified as a ‘least concern species’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The UK hosts less than 5% of the global population. Recent studies indicate declines in the south east of the UK, yet not in the north. This is typical for many taxa due to human population and intensive farming factors, so even if the UK was to be evaluated as a whole this would also distort the true and proper context. However, while man made factors are often assumed, we can’t know this for certain. It is worth noting that the Eurasian woodcock has always expanded and contracted on the edges of its range - and over long time scales this is perfectly normal. For example early naturalist in the 1800s did not record a single breeding pair in the UK, yet by the 1900s breeding pairs became common. We are certainly on the very edge of its western extent here in the UK, so it is possible that we could be witnessing a natural shift. Many also allude to the decline of young deciduous woodland habitats in the UK. Again, this is hardly significant relative to the massive influx of migrants each winter. Certainly an interesting species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fellside Posted April 13, 2023 Report Share Posted April 13, 2023 Why my typing came out in two different fonts I don’t know…?! Anyway, well done on your hatchlings jall25. Good effort! We have had BASC helping us with nesting tubes. No chicks yet. Hopefully we’ll get some success - it’s great to see them on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted April 15, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2023 Welll managed to get two nesting boxes onto the refurbished pind today. Easy peasy when you have a front end loader handy. I did try to have the lady driver nudge the bucket control and give him an early bath. The pond looks a bit bare at the moment although apair of Canada geese have taken to it and pretty certain she has a nest somewhere as they did not want to leave whilst we did the work just retired to the centre of the field and watched the operation. Planted some herbage on the bank and also some primroses. Further seeding this week should see it nice and green by theend of the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 15, 2023 Report Share Posted April 15, 2023 Great job Walker All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 16, 2023 Report Share Posted April 16, 2023 Mother ducks sure do pull them about Maybe not pretty but certainly functional ! Expecting lots hatching next week ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 21, 2023 Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 About 50 ducklings on one pond today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted April 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 Brilliant!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 21, 2023 Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 Thanks Walker Looking well -so it is ! Got ducklings on most of the ponds now too ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted April 22, 2023 Report Share Posted April 22, 2023 Counted 62 ducklings this morning and i know of at least half a dozen broods still to hatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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