Magpies - a guilt trip…

Huh, tell what's his face at Labour hq, he'll love your opinion 👍🏻
Ive seen partridge and pheasant chicks in the last 24 hours, if they have chicks so do other birds, like my blackbirds at home right now.
Most of our birds have finished nesting, the young have fledged and are no longer readily available to magpies, they’re not equipped to target active prey thats as big as they are.
You're weird...🤔
Thanks, it is indeed “weird” to find someone who’s prepared to engage their brain to try to define the problem, rather than leaving their brains firmly in park and setting traps and engaging trigger fingers to deal with symptoms.
 
Thanks, it is indeed “weird” to find someone who’s prepared to engage their brain to try to define the problem, rather than leaving their brains firmly in park and setting traps and engaging trigger fingers to deal with symptoms.
Oh dear, I smell a hint of narcissism again....🤦.
 
I witnessed an interesting moment on Wednesday morning while I filled the kettle at 5am... we have a nest box just outside the kitchen window, and Wednesday morning was when the 2nd brood fledged... as one little BlueTit took its first flight a Jay came over the fence from the neighbours garden and took it in flight, crash landed on my lawn and stabbed it to death before flying off with its prize.
 
Oh dear, I smell a hint of narcissism again....🤦.
Okay.
What actual harm do maggers do between now and next February?

I’ll grant you that they’ll take whatever late broods they find, but peak nesting season is over, most birds are finished breeding and they wont be having any measurable impact on breeding success from now on.
 
Still lots of nesting activity round us - its only June

I think lots were late this year with the bad weather we had
The only birds still singing here are the occasional song thrush and the wrens and robins who never really stop.
Green finch and yellow hammer are still nesting, but thats about it.
 
Okay.
What actual harm do maggers do between now and next February?

I’ll grant you that they’ll take whatever late broods they find, but peak nesting season is over, most birds are finished breeding and they wont be having any measurable impact on breeding success from now on.
Its ok, I just leave it there....
 
I witnessed an interesting moment on Wednesday morning while I filled the kettle at 5am... we have a nest box just outside the kitchen window, and Wednesday morning was when the 2nd brood fledged... as one little BlueTit took its first flight a Jay came over the fence from the neighbours garden and took it in flight, crash landed on my lawn and stabbed it to death before flying off with its prize.
I've seen a few interesting things like that in the garden.
A few years ago we had a female Sparrowhawk that was a regular hunter in the area, I think because my neighbours feed all the wildlife so much and their garden habitat has been created to suit wildlife.
The Sparrowhawk took in the space of a couple of weeks a Collard Dove, a Green Woodpecker and a Magpie, I was pi$$ed off when it took the woodpecker, but it was very spectacular to witness such a sight.
 
FWIW we get flocks of Maggies taking birds from songbirds to pigeons, we have a number of species that are on the red/amber list and the increase in the numbers of maggies over the past few years, has coincided with a reduction in the numbers of songbirds with specific reference to those on the red/amber lists (e.g. Greenfinches, tree and house sparrows (red); Bullfinch, Dunnocks, Wrens (amber).

It would not be unreasonable to see differing patterns depending on the local fauna from one are to the next, hence e/g/ the Welsh position.

Edit: i am always surprised to see Woodies on the red list, i cant see how they are on the red list but they are and suspect it relates to the overall pattern, as opposed to life round here which is mostly arable farming.
 
On looking after your Judas bird. A friend of mine had one for 14years catching over 400 with it. His latest one is in its third season. He covers them in heavy rain and in really cold weather they are taken into his shed or greenhouse. I leave any alone after July as they are the first to chatter a warning to partridges and other birds if a fox or hawks are about. Start again catching just after Christmas.
 
i am always surprised to see Woodies on the red list, i cant see how they are on the red list but they are and susp
ect it relates to the overall pattern, as opposed to life round here which is mostly arable farming.
Influence from the EU perhaps?
I was in France for a week in 2010 and only saw two woodpigeons, and they were in a town.
 
I find that frozen raw tripe from a pet food outlet will keep a call bird indefinitely, no need for drinking water!
 
I live in a semi suburban house with a modest garden 18m x 16m in Scotland.
I don’t run a bird in a Larsen trap but do bait a Larsen trap.
This is my recent record which I keep to prove the use of my air rifles and show anyone who says they should only be shot early in the year.
If I didn’t shoot them all year round the numbers would not be kept in check - similarly to deer numbers exploding with no predators.
IMG_9240.webp
 
FWIW we get flocks of Maggies taking birds from songbirds to pigeons, we have a number of species that are on the red/amber list and the increase in the numbers of maggies over the past few years, has coincided with a reduction in the numbers of songbirds with specific reference to those on the red/amber lists (e.g. Greenfinches, tree and house sparrows (red); Bullfinch, Dunnocks, Wrens (amber).

It would not be unreasonable to see differing patterns depending on the local fauna from one are to the next, hence e/g/ the Welsh position.

Edit: i am always surprised to see Woodies on the red list, i cant see how they are on the red list but they are and suspect it relates to the overall pattern, as opposed to life round here which is mostly arable farming.

Hi Glenn
Woodies are not red listed
 
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