Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
crows, magpies, and jackdaws. I blamed it on the sparrowhawk, as there
are very few cats around here. However, there are ever more squirrels,
surrounded, as we are, by the Evelyn chestnuts.

And then:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05 /29/nsquir29.
xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/29/ixuknews.html

so that's it ;-(((

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:04:16 +0100, Klara wrote
(in article <+VJ6h3NQFveEFwMU [at] comcrafts.demon.co.uk>):

>
> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
> crows, magpies, and jackdaws. I blamed it on the sparrowhawk, as there
> are very few cats around here. However, there are ever more squirrels,
> surrounded, as we are, by the Evelyn chestnuts.
>
> And then:
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05 /29/nsquir29.
> xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/29/ixuknews.html
>
> so that's it ;-(((
>
>

It certainly is. We get some squirrels here but not many and it's a brave
cat that ventures into our garden, as we have 3 dogs of our own and one that
visits most days. While I do appreciate that people love their cats, there
is no doubt that they contribute dreadfully to the loss of wild birds and I
wish people could either restrain themselves to owning one at a time, or
putting bells on them.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

Klara wrote:
>
> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.

We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs.
At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
cats - get a Larsen trap.

"Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C0A0B1FE0016BC79F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...

> It certainly is. We get some squirrels here but not many and it's a brave
> cat that ventures into our garden, as we have 3 dogs of our own and one
that
> visits most days. While I do appreciate that people love their cats,
there
> is no doubt that they contribute dreadfully to the loss of wild birds and
I
> wish people could either restrain themselves to owning one at a time, or
> putting bells on them.

I am sure I will regret posting this.... but I have three cats. only one
goes out and about hunting. he is the one with the loudest bell on his
collar. we can hear him walking over the field. but I am afraid to say
that my efforts to make birds more aware of his presence is not enough.

we live next to farmland and as a result we get lots of mice and rats. he
catches a fair few rodents on his travels. he's welcome to them so long as
he doesn't bring them in through the cat flap.

could someone recap the telegraph article? the link would not work for me.

On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:26:32 +0100, Space wrote
(in article <ssqdnVTthIsfa-fZnZ2dnUVZ8qWdnZ2d [at] bt.com>):

>
> "Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
> news:0001HW.C0A0B1FE0016BC79F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
>
>> It certainly is. We get some squirrels here but not many and it's a brave
>> cat that ventures into our garden, as we have 3 dogs of our own and one
> that
>> visits most days. While I do appreciate that people love their cats,
> there
>> is no doubt that they contribute dreadfully to the loss of wild birds and
> I
>> wish people could either restrain themselves to owning one at a time, or
>> putting bells on them.
>
> I am sure I will regret posting this.... but I have three cats. only one
> goes out and about hunting. he is the one with the loudest bell on his
> collar. we can hear him walking over the field. but I am afraid to say
> that my efforts to make birds more aware of his presence is not enough.
>
> we live next to farmland and as a result we get lots of mice and rats. he
> catches a fair few rodents on his travels. he's welcome to them so long as
> he doesn't bring them in through the cat flap.
>
> could someone recap the telegraph article? the link would not work for me.
>
>

Here's an extract:
"The grey squirrel and the domestic cat are preventing the recovery of
Britain's songbirds, which were devastated by intensive farming and the
removal of hedges in the post-war years, says a new report.

The report says that in areas of high grey squirrel density, 93 per cent of
small bird nests are raided.
Of the two introduced predators, the grey squirrel kills more young songbirds
than the cat.
The findings of the report, commissioned by the charity, SongBird Survival,
are likely to challenge the received wisdom about the decline in songbird
populations since the 1950s and what has prevented many from recovering over
the past 15 years when farmers have been using fewer chemicals and
participating in green farming schemes.
The author of the report, Prof Roy Brown, of Birkbeck, University of London,
estimates that overall some 180 million adult songbirds, or their eggs and
young are killed by mammals every year - chiefly squirrels, cats and rats.
That is out of an estimated natural population of 260 million of the main 15
songbird species - blackbird, song thrush, blue tit, great tit, robin,
skylark, meadow pipit, wren, dunnock, whitethroat, greenfinch, chaffinch,
yellowhammer, reed bunting and corn bunting.
The report says that in areas of high grey squirrel density, 93 per cent of
small bird nests are raided. Where this is combined with sparrow hawk
activity, it can result in 100 per cent breeding failure and a loss of 85 per
cent of adult songbirds."

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:21:23 +0100, Derek Turner wrote
(in article <447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):

> Klara wrote:
>>
>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
>
> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
> the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs.
> At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
> cats - get a Larsen trap.

We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden and
nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how tame
they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around here at
times. We feed them all year round, we encourage them in by giving them
plenty of areas in which to nest and by using biological controls in the
greenhouses and wherever possible, in the garden, too. Our rooks (and
jackdaws) are most certainly not reducing our songbird population.


--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

"Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C0A0B890001846E3F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
> On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:21:23 +0100, Derek Turner wrote
> (in article <447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
>
>> Klara wrote:
>>>
>>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
>>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
>>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
>>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
>>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
>>
>> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
>> the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs.
>> At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
>> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
>> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
>> cats - get a Larsen trap.
>
> We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden and
> nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how
> tame
> they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around here
> at
> times. We feed them all year round, we encourage them in by giving them
> plenty of areas in which to nest and by using biological controls in the
> greenhouses and wherever possible, in the garden, too. Our rooks (and
> jackdaws) are most certainly not reducing our songbird population.
>
>
> --
> Sacha

We have lots of songbirds, including corn bunting and yellowhammer, reed
bunting and whitethroat, sedge warbler and all the regular garden birds,
plus sparrowhawk everyday, buzzards, kestrels, and lots and lots of crows,
rooks, magpies, and a cat next door. Blaming predators for the decline of
songbirds is barking up the wrong tree- improve the habitat, make sure the
food sources are there (insects! yes, even for seed-eating birds in summer)
and populations will do well, including birds of prey. It is not the
predators which control the prey numbers, it is the prey that controls the
predator numbers. Good numbers of sparrowhawks and buzzards indicates
healthy populations of prey species.
Paul D.

"Derek Turner" <somewhat [at] odds.invalid> wrote in message
news:447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net...
> Klara wrote:
>>
>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
>
> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end the
> farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs. At
> the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
> cats - get a Larsen trap.

I couldn't find corvid in my dictionary!

But if you mean the damned tree rats, then these should be destroyed, I have
three traps, but this year, so far, haven't caught a single one, did well
last year and the year before that though.

Alan

"Alan Holmes" <alan.holmes [at] virgin.net> wrote in message
news:3vDeg.7568$sX1.4371 [at] newsfe1-gui.ntli.net...
> I couldn't find corvid in my dictionary!
>
> But if you mean the damned tree rats, then these should be destroyed, I
have
> three traps, but this year, so far, haven't caught a single one, did well
> last year and the year before that though.
>
> Alan

it had me stumped too

http://tinyurl.com/qk6hh

Alan Holmes <alan.holmes [at] virgin.net> writes
>
>"Derek Turner" <somewhat [at] odds.invalid> wrote in message
>news:447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net...
>> Klara wrote:
>>>
>>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
>>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
>>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
>>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
>>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
>>
>> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end the
>> farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs. At
>> the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
>> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
>> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
>> cats - get a Larsen trap.
>
>I couldn't find corvid in my dictionary!

A member of the crow family
>
>But if you mean the damned tree rats, then these should be destroyed, I have
>three traps, but this year, so far, haven't caught a single one, did well
>last year and the year before that though.

Maybe you've killed them all and can now relax ;-)
--
Kay

"K" <k [at] scarboro.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:huSPrjIDeweEFwc3 [at] scarboro.demon.co.uk...
> Alan Holmes <alan.holmes [at] virgin.net> writes
> >
> >"Derek Turner" <somewhat [at] odds.invalid> wrote in message
> >news:447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net...
> >> Klara wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> >>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> >>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> >>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young
except
> >>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
> >>
> >> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
the
> >> farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs. At
> >> the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> >> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
> >> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
> >> cats - get a Larsen trap.
> >
> >I couldn't find corvid in my dictionary!
>
> A member of the crow family
> >
> >But if you mean the damned tree rats, then these should be destroyed, I
have
> >three traps, but this year, so far, haven't caught a single one, did well
> >last year and the year before that though.
>
> Maybe you've killed them all and can now relax ;-)

More likely, the rodents are outwitting him :-)

"Easynews" <news [at] ww.co.uk> wrote in message
news:WaDeg.63568$sY5.44580 [at] fe10.news.easynews.com...
> "Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
> news:0001HW.C0A0B890001846E3F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
> > On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:21:23 +0100, Derek Turner wrote
> > (in article <447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
> >
> >> Klara wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> >>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> >>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> >>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young
except
> >>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
> >>
> >> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
> >> the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his
lambs.
> >> At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> >> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
> >> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
> >> cats - get a Larsen trap.
> >
> > We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden
and
> > nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how
> > tame
> > they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around
here
> > at
> > times. We feed them all year round, we encourage them in by giving them
> > plenty of areas in which to nest and by using biological controls in the
> > greenhouses and wherever possible, in the garden, too. Our rooks (and
> > jackdaws) are most certainly not reducing our songbird population.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Sacha
>
> We have lots of songbirds, including corn bunting and yellowhammer, reed
> bunting and whitethroat, sedge warbler and all the regular garden birds,
> plus sparrowhawk everyday, buzzards, kestrels, and lots and lots of crows,
> rooks, magpies, and a cat next door. Blaming predators for the decline of
> songbirds is barking up the wrong tree- improve the habitat, make sure the
> food sources are there (insects! yes, even for seed-eating birds in
summer)
> and populations will do well, including birds of prey. It is not the
> predators which control the prey numbers, it is the prey that controls the
> predator numbers. Good numbers of sparrowhawks and buzzards indicates
> healthy populations of prey species.
> Paul D.
>
>

What you say is true, however, a shortage or even complete absence of garden
birds will not 'control' the populations of generalist predators such as
domestic cats, or urban foxes or squirrels, or magpies, because humans
provide them with plenty of alternative food, either deliberately or
accidentally.

"Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C0A0B890001846E3F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
> On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:21:23 +0100, Derek Turner wrote
> (in article <447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
>
> > Klara wrote:
> >>
> >> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> >> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> >> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> >> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
> >> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
> >
> > We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
> > the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs.
> > At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> > surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
> > Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
> > cats - get a Larsen trap.
>
> We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden and
> nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how
tame
> they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around here
at
> times. We feed them all year round, we encourage them in by giving them
> plenty of areas in which to nest and by using biological controls in the
> greenhouses and wherever possible, in the garden, too. Our rooks (and
> jackdaws) are most certainly not reducing our songbird population.
>
>

They might not be reducing the populations of other garden birds at your
premises, but jackdaws are opportunistic feeders, their recognised diet
including eggs and hatchlings.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/guide/atoz/j/jackdaw.asp

The majority of fledglings fail to make it to adulthood, through 'natural
causes', including predation.

Easynews <news [at] ww.co.uk> wrote in message
news:WaDeg.63568$sY5.44580 [at] fe10.news.easynews.com...
> Blaming predators for the decline of
> songbirds is barking up the wrong tree- improve the habitat, make sure the
> food sources are there (insects! yes, even for seed-eating birds in
summer)
> and populations will do well, including birds of prey.

Of course spraying the garden to buggery just when the greenfly and black
fly and other small aphids emerge doesn't help. Songbirds need insectivorous
high protein foods to rear nestlings. When Mr and Mrs Suburbia throw up
their hands in horror at the sight of a few greenfly on their precious
roses, they rush for their can of chemicals. They can always blame the
decline of the songbird population on someone else like cat
owners/farmers/sqyuirrels/corvids and the like after all.

In message <JdCdnWG5T5yJjebZnZ2dnUVZ8qKdnZ2d [at] pipex.net>, fenwoman
<fenwoman [at] gotadsl.co.uk> writes
>
>Easynews <news [at] ww.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:WaDeg.63568$sY5.44580 [at] fe10.news.easynews.com...
>> Blaming predators for the decline of
>> songbirds is barking up the wrong tree- improve the habitat, make sure the
>> food sources are there (insects! yes, even for seed-eating birds in
>summer)
>> and populations will do well, including birds of prey.
>
> Of course spraying the garden to buggery just when the greenfly and
>black fly and other small aphids emerge doesn't help. Songbirds need
>insectivorous high protein foods to rear nestlings. When Mr and Mrs
>Suburbia throw up their hands in horror at the sight of a few greenfly
>on their precious roses, they rush for their can of chemicals. They can
>always blame the decline of the songbird population on someone else
>like cat owners/farmers/sqyuirrels/corvids and the like after all.
>
We have habitat (7 acres of our neighbour's derelict orchard behind us),
we put out food (of course the predators end up with some of it too,
squirrel-proof feeders notwithstanding), neither our garden nor the
orchard have been sprayed in some 30+ years, we're awash in greenfly and
caterpillars, we have lots of corvids and some pheasants (and squirrels
and foxes and deer and badgers...), hardly any cats, just our old tom
who is festooned like a morris dancer and isn't that interested in any
case - all that is missing are the birds we used to have...

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

On Mon, 29 May 2006 15:56:12 +0100, BAC wrote
(in article <1148914946.25438.1 [at] proxy01.news.clara.net>):

>
> "Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
> news:0001HW.C0A0B890001846E3F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
>> On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:21:23 +0100, Derek Turner wrote
>> (in article <447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
>>
>>> Klara wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
>>>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
>>>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
>>>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
>>>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
>>>
>>> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
>>> the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs.
>>> At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
>>> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
>>> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
>>> cats - get a Larsen trap.
>>
>> We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden and
>> nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how
> tame
>> they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around here
> at
>> times. We feed them all year round, we encourage them in by giving them
>> plenty of areas in which to nest and by using biological controls in the
>> greenhouses and wherever possible, in the garden, too. Our rooks (and
>> jackdaws) are most certainly not reducing our songbird population.
>>
>>
>
> They might not be reducing the populations of other garden birds at your
> premises, but jackdaws are opportunistic feeders, their recognised diet
> including eggs and hatchlings.
>
> http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/guide/atoz/j/jackdaw.asp
>
> The majority of fledglings fail to make it to adulthood, through 'natural
> causes', including predation.
>
>

Perhaps because we encourage birds into the garden in a pretty active way,
they achieve their own balance. When we had ducklings, we netted the pond
for safety but none of the rooks or jackdaws showed any interest at all. We
are totally surrounded by fields and our nearest neighbour is the churchyard,
so perhaps they're well provided for in other ways.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

Derek Turner <somewhat [at] odds.invalid> wrote:

> Klara wrote:
> >
> > Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> > decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> > food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> > etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young except
> > crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
>
> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
> the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his lambs.
> At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our garden.
> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget the
> cats - get a Larsen trap.

Amazing how any songbirds are left at all really, considering they've
been living side-by-side with corvids for thousands of years ......
--
Larry Stoter

"Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C0A0E49100229705F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
> On Mon, 29 May 2006 15:56:12 +0100, BAC wrote
> (in article <1148914946.25438.1 [at] proxy01.news.clara.net>):
>
> >
> > "Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
> > news:0001HW.C0A0B890001846E3F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
> >> On Mon, 29 May 2006 14:21:23 +0100, Derek Turner wrote
> >> (in article <447af554$0$2699$ed2619ec [at] ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
> >>
> >>> Klara wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Since we started summer feeding two years ago, there has been a huge
> >>>> decline in the numbers of birds and numbers of species coming for the
> >>>> food: a tenth the number of various kinds of tits and of blackbirds,
> >>>> etc., and, most worryingly, no parents of any kind feeding young
except
> >>>> crows, magpies, and jackdaws.
> >>>
> >>> We have two active farms, one at either end of our village. At my end
> >>> the farmer is very proactive in destroying corvids to protect his
lambs.
> >>> At the other the farmer does nothing to control these pests. Surprise,
> >>> surprise, we have dozens of species of song-bird feeding in our
garden.
> >>> Villagers at the other end are wondering why they have none. Forget
the
> >>> cats - get a Larsen trap.
> >>
> >> We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden
and
> >> nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how
> > tame
> >> they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around
here
> > at
> >> times. We feed them all year round, we encourage them in by giving
them
> >> plenty of areas in which to nest and by using biological controls in
the
> >> greenhouses and wherever possible, in the garden, too. Our rooks (and
> >> jackdaws) are most certainly not reducing our songbird population.
> >>
> >>
> >
> > They might not be reducing the populations of other garden birds at your
> > premises, but jackdaws are opportunistic feeders, their recognised diet
> > including eggs and hatchlings.
> >
> > http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/guide/atoz/j/jackdaw.asp
> >
> > The majority of fledglings fail to make it to adulthood, through
'natural
> > causes', including predation.
> >
> >
>
> Perhaps because we encourage birds into the garden in a pretty active way,
> they achieve their own balance. When we had ducklings, we netted the
pond
> for safety but none of the rooks or jackdaws showed any interest at all.
We
> are totally surrounded by fields and our nearest neighbour is the
churchyard,
> so perhaps they're well provided for in other ways.
>

Quite possibly - if a preferred food is plentiful and easily available,
they'll eat that.

Sacha wrote:
>We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden and
>nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how tame
>they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around here at
>times.

Indeed. When I was over on Saturday, the most noticeable sound was the
sheer volume of bird song - especially in the garden. It was marvelous
to hear them in such fine voice. There was a blackbird scrabbling
around under the herbaceous benches behind the poly-tunnel and he
hardly bothered to look as I walked within 5 feet. Bird song has
gradually disappeared from everyday life over the past decades and
relatively few people realise it is missing. Even I had almost
forgotten what it was like to hear blackbirds, thrushes, dunnocks,
robins, warblers and the like in full voice. I've only just realised
that I've not even heard the chatter of blue tits in the garden for
years and they were my best ally in the war against greenfly and
caterpillars.

Back home, all I hear now is the calls of gulls, crows and woodpigeons
plus the occasional screech of peregrines as they try to catch the
pigeons. Out of 12 households along the drive here, there are 8
resident cats that are visited or fought by numerous visiting cats.
Those damn yankee squirrels are everywhere and there's not a blackbird
to be seen. If I put food out, the squirrels come down from the trees
in droves and then show their gratitude by chewing the bark off a
standard Abutilon before snipping emerging fronds from a tree fern.

On Tue, 30 May 2006 09:05:09 +0100, DavePoole Torquay wrote
(in article <1148976309.397927.266180 [at] 38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>):

> Sacha wrote:
>> We have a very active rookery at the end of our garden and the garden and
>> nursery are alive with songbirds. Customers comment frequently on how tame
>> they are and how unafraid of the many dozens of people milling around here
>> at
>> times.
>
> Indeed. When I was over on Saturday, the most noticeable sound was the
> sheer volume of bird song - especially in the garden. It was marvelous
> to hear them in such fine voice. There was a blackbird scrabbling
> around under the herbaceous benches behind the poly-tunnel and he
> hardly bothered to look as I walked within 5 feet. Bird song has
> gradually disappeared from everyday life over the past decades and
> relatively few people realise it is missing. Even I had almost
> forgotten what it was like to hear blackbirds, thrushes, dunnocks,
> robins, warblers and the like in full voice. I've only just realised
> that I've not even heard the chatter of blue tits in the garden for
> years and they were my best ally in the war against greenfly and
> caterpillars.

Blue tits are coming back to to the garden and my first memories of Hill
House were of blue tits absolutely everywhere. I think blackbirds,
chaffinches, sparrows and dunlins are our highest numbers of birds but there
are plenty of others, too. Lately, the volume of birdsong has increased
enormously - the rooks were *very* rowdy yesterday - and it's an absolute
joy.
>
> Back home, all I hear now is the calls of gulls, crows and woodpigeons
> plus the occasional screech of peregrines as they try to catch the
> pigeons. Out of 12 households along the drive here, there are 8
> resident cats that are visited or fought by numerous visiting cats.
> Those damn yankee squirrels are everywhere and there's not a blackbird
> to be seen. If I put food out, the squirrels come down from the trees
> in droves and then show their gratitude by chewing the bark off a
> standard Abutilon before snipping emerging fronds from a tree fern.
>

I now hang a seed feeder from the upstairs window of my study and get a mass
of birds on that, including blue tits and coal tits. At least the pesky
squirrels can't get at that, though I must admit I haven't seen a squirrel
here for ages.


--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

In article <0001HW.C0A0E49100229705F0284550 [at] news.individual.net>, Sacha
Hubbard <sacha [at] privacy.net> writes
>We
>are totally surrounded by fields and our nearest neighbour is the churchyard,
>so perhaps they're well provided for in other ways.

Ah yes - in the absence of food and in the face of a predatory enemy,
spiritual succour doubtless supports them:)

--
regards avian maria