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CATS AND SPARROWHAWKS

Posted on December 24th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

 

I have had two comments yesterday,which were similar, because they are about birds being preyed on.

John says -

It’s a load of rubbish “sparrowhawks go for the weaklings  They attack so silently and swiftl.  They will kill and eat any bird up to the size of a pigeo.  In fact one of their favourite  meals of recent years is the very fit, well muscled racing pigeon, and is well hated for its constant attacks on them.

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Stan says -

I was raised in a rural NZ region and  have always lived with animals- cats especially.   The little darlings certainly may catch birds, but most times they’ll bring prey back home to exchange for praise & tastier nibbles !

The poor bird will usually be shocked (and often needs a dark warm place to recover), but  perhaps half of the birds we’ve had delivered survive to fly off.    But in my experiences cats far prefer mice (which they play with and eventually  EAT), and they do mankind an immense favour by keeping rodents at bay.

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Interesting

Magpies divebombing a nest, keeping smaller birds off the feeders, attacking a cat and drinking from a dog’s bowl

Posted on November 24th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

I have had magpies dive bombing a nest at the front of my house,

 

they are drinking out of my dog s bowl

 

and two of them were attacking a cat in my neighbours tree,

 

they won t let the smaller birds eat the food i have hanging in the tree for them.

 

they walk about my lawn when im in the garden they have no fear .

 

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Hi Valerie, Magpies can do so much harm.  Why aren’t magpies  spoken about when there is talk of a reduction in garden birds?

JOIN SONGBIRD SURVIVAL   http://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/

THEY ARE TRYING TO SAVE SONGBIRDS WITH SCIENCE.  AT LEAST TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR WEBPAGE

BUZZARD BEING CHASED BY A CROW – WITH A SMALL BIRD IN HOT PURSUIT

Posted on November 24th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

Anita

I saw a really funny thing a few weeks ago- a Buzzard flew across our garden, hotly pursued by a crow, who was squawking at the Buzzard as he chased it. But the hilarious thing was…. a small bird about the size of a Finch flying also in hot pursuit of the Buzzard, just above the Crow- twittering away for all it was worth! They both had the same thing in mind- to chase the Buzzard away, but I couldn’t help thinking- would that little bird have been quite so full of himself without out his large and aggressive “mate” beside him!?

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Wish I’d seen it.  Wouldn’t it have been great if you’d had your camera with you.

A Buzzard being chased by a Crow!  It is often Crows who are chasing smaller birds, so I wonder if he knew what was happening.

I bet it was the high point of the little birds day to join in.  But this does prove to me that birds think things out

ADVICE ON ONE WAY TO DETER ATTACKS – FROM SOMEONE WITH 20 YEAR’S EXPERIENCE

Posted on November 24th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

Here is a advice on stopping attacks – especially near a birdtable

 

Being a pigeon fancier for over 20yrs, i have tried many ways to deter attacks.

 

One of the best was when i hung old cds around the lofts, its almost stopped all attacks at the lofts.

 

If only i could hang them in a larger area.  I  hope that this may help those only trying to protect their birdtable.

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Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge.

Trisha

FOR AND AGAINST RAPTORS

Posted on October 28th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

  • Brok said,

    The balance of nature requires that there should be raptors.They take and dispose of the diseased, the sick and the weak.Raptors like the beautiful sparrow hawk are as essential to the well being of the prey species as the lion is to the great herds of the African plain. The metabolism of birds is such that they cannot go very long without eating and raptors will endeavour to capture a meal wherever they can. Although we may be distressed to see a capture and kill, to allow for this is to assist in nature’s great scheme. Logically, to set up barriers is pure nimbyism. NIMBY – not in my back yard.

     I wonder what will happen when the (encouraged) Jays and their cousins the Magpies decide that the meagre pickings of the bird table are not sufficient for their winter metabolism and that a Blue tit or Dunnock or two would make an ideal dietary supplement. Or do we not believe in the predatory instincts of the crow familly?

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  • Bev said,

  • Perhaps its in natures great scheme for the sparrow hawks that visit our garden to catch All 4 song thrushes one by one so that soon there will be none surviving.We have 4 sparrowhawks living within a short distance here and they decimate the gardens. Not to mention the bull finches blackbirds, long tailed tits taken before our eyes feeding with young not ill or weak at the time. Bull finches too are in decline .

    I will continue to try and help our songbirds survive as long as nature and man permits and while a sparrow hawk is a very handsome bird to see we do not wish to see it on our garden in great numbers. While ever the jays and jackdaws chase it away (well thats nature too ) they will continue to be fed on our garden eating nuts and birdcake we put out for them daily. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and enjoyment gained from helping to try and sustain song bird numbers by feeding birds in their gardens

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    Hello Brok and Hi Bev

    Brok,  I know the predatory instincts of the crow family, but sparrowhawks do so much damage and carnage

    Garden birds have enough problems without sparrowhawks decimating an area.   I don’t think people realise how much damage they do.   The garden birds come to see a garden as a place of safety and a source of food.  feeding helps them all through the year, especially during winter.  I know you won’t agree but there are just too many sparrowhawks.

    Sparrowhawks don’t just take the weak and the old.  I have seen a sparrowhawk catch a young, healthy blackbird.  Sparrowhawks take anything that is there and come back until there is nothing left to kill

    Bev,  Did you take a look at Songbird Survival?

    I’ve been computerless and then internet problems came, so it’s good to be back to Bird Table News

    Trisha

    IT WILL BE AN AWFUL WORLD WITHOUT SONGBIRDS

    Posted on July 20th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

    I’ve recently been watching a large group of about 5 or 6 magpies, 3 being the young and very inquisitive.  They have become  the dominant members of our local back gardens.

     

    3 or so months back I used to be waken by early birds, now it’s pretty much silent since these young magpies have been growing and foraging the area. 

    They are an absolute pest. They leave no stone unturned, are contantly pecking at the tarpaulin on our roof which has caused damp on our ceiling.

    The poor blackbirds are absolutely helpless.

    This morning I watched the pack of magpies working their way down the gardens, pecking at bikes, aerials, window frames and even amusingly attempting to disturb a grey squirrel (sadly another pest that has taken over) but with no luck.

    I thoroughly agree that these birds must be culled and the animal rights activist need to stop being so uptight.

    It will be an awful world without songbirds. Magpies are far from beautiful sounding.

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    Andrew please get in touch with a website called Songbird Survival.  They are doing research into this and trying to save our songbird population 

    Andrew got in touch  because he had seen this article on  Bird Table News

    http://birdtablenews.com/2012/02/magpies-raiding-every-nest-in-the-garden-and-killing-every-chick/

    Standing Guard over a Blackbird

    Posted on July 13th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

    Hi,
    My wife and I have been watching a Blackbird nest for the past month or so, the female laid two eggs in the nest which is in a Wisteria growing up our garden shed, the nest is only about four feet off the ground.

     

    The eggs hatched after 10 days or so, and we have had a great deal of pleasure watching the parent birds going in and out feeding their young. Just yesterday, we discovered that one off the babies had left the nest and was found under one of our hedges close to the fence panels. It was being visited by the parent birds regularly.

     

    Now, all of a sudden we are being pestered by a Sparrowhawk who is obviously after a quick meal. Both, myself and my wife have spent the whole day standing guard and trying to scare the hawk away when ever it appears.

     

    I love birds of prey normally, and feel very privileged to have one visit our garden, but we have formed a special relationship with our family of Blackbirds and would hate to see anything happen to them. Isn’t nature cruel sometimes?

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    Hi Chris

    Nature is cruel sometimes.   We forget don’t we, how uncivilised nature is and always has been

    BUT  – the sparrowhawk population is causing a lot of damage to garden birds

    Take a look at the Songbird Survival website  http://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/

    they are trying to save songbirds with science

    thanks for getting in touch.  You aren’t alone with sparrowhawks taking songbirds, and you aren’t alone in spending time in the garden trying to protect the garden birds.

    I get quite a few readers who spend time in the garden trying to keep birds of prey away.  They go to a lot of lenghts to try and protect the garden birds as well.  Maybe we should start a club.

    Trisha

    What is the answer? Let’s ask the RSPB

    Posted on July 10th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

    I received this from a reader today

    I am totally dismayed and horrifield by what has happened and continues to happen in my surrounding area.

     

    5 years ago I used to sit in my sunlounge watching and listening to the beautiful small birds in my garden and round about. Unfortunately a pair of Magpies moved into a large tree a couple of doors away.

     

    To begin with the other birds outnumbered them and managed although attacked to raise some youngsters.

     

    The situation today is unbearable and I feel so helpless, we are inundated with Magpies and they have just about distroyed the small bird population.

     

    I no longer sit and watch my beloved birds as basically there aren’t any left, just the odd survivor and empty egg shells littered about. I see myself as an animal lover but I must admit I detest Magpies and what they are doing to our songbirds.

    Trying to protect blackbirds

    Posted on June 26th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

    I protected a blackbirds nest and 4 eggs from my 2 dogs and i was excited when the chicks hatched the other day.

    As the nest was near my front door i could see the chicks clearly.

    The next day magpies raided and took 3 of the 4 chick. Lucily we saved 1 and return it to the nest on for the magpies to return and take the other 2. Im devastated that i protected them from my dogs and then magpies kill them all.

     

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    Hello Michelle,
    How kind of you to protect the blackbirds nest from your two dogs and I know how you feel when you say you were excited when they hatched.  You were lucky to be able to see them from your front door

    Magpies!!   Magpies can do so much damage in such a short time.  I really don’t know why there isn’t more about this by the RSPB

    I belong to Songbird Survival  -  http://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/

    Why not take a look at their website and you’ll see that this sort of thing happens a lot.

    thank you for telling me about this.  I hope you don’t blame yourself as there wasn’t anything you could have done about it

    Trisha

    Crows and Jackdaws mobbing a sparrowhawk – please read as this is the story of one English garden

    Posted on June 26th, 2012 in Bird Eating Bird by Trish

    Hi Trish, Its been a while since I wrote so thought I would let you know our news on sparrow hawks and crows!! 

     

    I haven’t seen as yet a crow on our garden chasing or indeed eating a song bird but I’m sure things like that happen as Tina wrote in this previous comment. 

     

    As you are aware from my past posts we have a major sparrow hawk problem on our garden. I have in fact had a visit for the last few weeks by crows, joining our jackdaws and jays. This has lead I believe to the two sparrow hawks going hunting across the river on two of my neighbours gardens as if it comes here the crows and jackdaws mob and chase it every time!

     

    This leaves the small birds to eat in relative peace if they are around. On the odd accession they aren’t around the sparrow hawk tries its luck but I have made it more difficult for it.

     

    We bought two ground feeder cages as we have a huge amount of birds so needed more than one. To entice them in we put live mealworms as nothing else seemed to get the blackbirds in! Well its worked and the blackbirds bring their young too and they all sit inside eating .At first I left a door off till they got used to it but have replaced it now and they hop in happily.

     

    Even the small birds love it especially the bullfinches which I find amazing as the seed they eat is sunflower seed hearts on a feeder normally but they are happy to enter a ground cage to eat them from the tray on the floor.

     

    The crows and jackdaws I feed up the garden in a big tray and they love it they eat everything and seem to leave the small birds in peace. The magpies eat there too but they are a bit of a nuisance but the two mallards that have taken up residence on our garden keep them in check from time to time.

     

    Yesterday I saw the sparrow hawk swoop towards the hanging feeder pole but missed because the ten foot garden canes we put around confused it. Then two crows feeding at the same time up the garden,took off after it and it was amazing to see, they flew out of view so I don’t know what happened. In the ground feeder below was a little great tit stood motionless for a good few minutes till he suddenly decided he was safe and carried on eating !So I feel the ground feeders are a success.

     

    My two neighbours have stopped feeding their birds as the hawks had most of them which is so sad. They have more open ground on their gardens so not as much cover as we have, so are looking to change that with covered ground feeders and shrubs etc. It seems the problem is a lot bigger than people believe. Any how we will carry on feeding them all as safe as we can as they are dependant on us now aren’t they.

    Bev
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    Hi Bev
    Lovely to hear from you.
    First – can you tell me which ground feeders you have.  I have a ground feeder but the blackbirds can’t get in as the wire mesh is too small.  This means I have to find various ways to feed the blackbirds separately and that can be a challenge!
    How lovely to see all the birds safe in the ground feeders and I’m glad the canes are working with the sparrowhawk.  I still have some canes plus some chicken wire round an area where I put bird food
    You are feeding them as safe as you can and they do depend on us don’t they.  they cheer the garden up don’t they.  These garden birds also make me laugh when i see their antics when there are a few different types of garden birds together
    they must know they are safe in the ground feeder.  I bet that’s one of the few places they are safe.  It seems amazing how they learn and adapt – even the Bullfinch has adapted and is surviving.
    I wonder if we should invent a safe bird’s nest area.  Now there’s a thought
    Lovely to hear from you and so pleased you are like me and still feeding these garden birds.  I sometimes wonder that they survive at all
    I also wonder if the reason that we don’t get sparrowhawks is because we are troubled with rooks and crows – and they chase the sparrowhawks away here as well.  Maybe
    I hope all this rain hasn’t caused too much damage to the young nesting birds.
    Take care and thank you for getting in touch.  Hope to hear from you about the type of ground feeder you have
    Lets keep feeding these garden birds!!
    You seem to have Garden Ground Feeder Cafe in your garden!  Open all Hours!
    Trisha
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    this is in reply to this post on Bird Table News
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