Nest Predation.

mudman

Well-Known Member
I've lifted this this post in its entirety from another forum:

Food for thought if any of you have a number of deer on your rough shoots. Over the past couple of years the woodlarks in the Brecks have been suffering very heavy losses in the nesting and fledgling stages. A team from the University of East Anglia set up a number of CCTV cameras over woodlark nests thinking the main culprits would be crows or foxes. 1 nest was taken by a crow . 1 by a badger , but 12 were taken by muntjac and roe deer. Not only were the eggs taken the deer also eat young fledgelings out of the nests. This may not be as far fetched as it sounds as I seem to remember hearing years ago of sheep that were taking sea bird eggs in the western isles.

I have little doubt that if the deer will take woodlark eggs they will also take gamebird and duck eggs so it your predator culling this spring did not seem to work perhaps you need to look at unsuspected egg predators
 
Yes,I would like to see the footage,it would be very interesting.Or could it be something brought about by anti's,in some crazy way to take the heat off foxes etc.You know how crazy they can be..........Martin.
 
I know what i would rather have on my ground a few pheasants partridge or a good head of deer. ;)
 
I remeber well the footage of deer picking up seabird chicks by the head, shaking them until the body dropped off and then munching the head down. Probably an antidote to low calcium levels due to the poor grazing on the outer isles - just the same as beasts nibbling on shed antlers.

Wish I could remember which island. Hope it was Rum...would love to see Oddies face!
 
I dont think that would be a problem as one of the keepers in that area shot more in the lamp than in day light . No prizes for guessing who MUDDY
 
I haven't hheard of this before, but I have heard of red deer eating dead rabbits before. Again, this is for calcium deficiency.

Interesting post though.

J
 
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