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Our birds are declining, let's stop it now!


Fuglet

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I have politely deleted it unread :wink:

Now let Fuglet have his thread back unless you wish to point out another typo??

That is why I sent the message, however here is the message in public.

 

Your remark regarding my copying images is partially inaccurate Paul, I do copy an image, most people do when using them to display on a website whether it be on FB or Warrington Worldwide, however my adjusting the exposure is a tiny part of what is required, most have to be enlarged without reducing quality, then repaired, lighting and colour balance adjusted, perspective corrected, Gaussian blur, noise and sharpness adjusted to hopefully give a reasonable image to display on a website, as a photographer you will be fully aware of all these procedures. The reason I place a small "Edited by Alan Barton" watermark usually in a discrete area is to make people aware of what I have done, and I feel totally justified in doing this. The aim of my displaying these old images along with hopefully an accurate description, is to give pleasure and information to fellow Warringtonians, if you are accusing me of plagiarism I shall cease displaying these images and publicise my reason for doing so although I doubt that would bother you in any way.

 

Fuglet, I apologies for this intrusion of your topic and promise this is the final word from me to Paul on the above.

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Fugs, we had a buzzard perched on a tree at the bottom of the garden this morning, it never moved off as I walked down to the garage no more than 10 metres away from it, great sight but with this fellow around there are not many smaller birds wnating to feed on from the feeder.

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And there's another question. Why are there so many buzzards around these days because i can't ever recall seeing any back when i was into bird spotting. I saw my first buzzard about twenty years ago but that was in deepest darkest Wales but these days you cant go anywhere without spotting them.  :roll:

 

 

Bill :)

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Since the EU managed to ban most of the harmful chemicals that farmers and others were using there has been a marked increase in the amount of buzzards Bill.  Also there is much less illegal killing by gamekeepers and suchlike now.

 

You're completely right PJ, less chemicals and far fewer people shooting them! However, the shooting of them has now been permitted to protect pheasants. Yes, pheasants. Lets just run through that again, a buzzard (native) can now be legally shot to protect a pheasant (introduced). What goes through your head to allow this?!

 

Buzzards are mainly scavengers, anyway and there'd have to be no carrion or rabbits around to even think about pheasant! And even then it would be a young bird!

 

Ridiculous.

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This report is from the website "phead.jpg

Raptor Politics

Speaking out for raptor conservation everywhere.

 

Mike Raeburn

I have seen buzzards kill a variety of smaller hawks and owls. Buzzards are opportunist hunters, smaller birds occupied on the ground with their own prey are an easy target. Once a buzzard gets into the habit of killing like this there will be a rapid decline in smaller hawk species. The RSPB seem to think they can release large raptors and encourage the proliferation of other large raptor species like buzzards around the country without having an effect on other species of birds. We used to have large numbers of ground nesting birds here in Aberdeenshire, now we have none. No partridge, no curlews, no oystercatchers, no skylarks. I have not seen a hare either for years and we used to have a lot. Agricultural practices in this area have not changed markedly during this decline so that is not the cause. What has changed is the rise in numbers of buzzards. If you challenge RSPB on this you get the reply that buzzards are scavengers and do not take live prey, this is patently wrong. Buzzards and other large raptors will kill whatever they can get their talons into. I have been told that the only thing that predates on buzzards is the eagle owl so perhaps RSPB should be releasing large numbers of these."

 

I believe that the protection of these birds has allowed them to breed prolifically and their increase is getting out of hand at the sacrifice of other smaller species of bird, it has been reported that they are also responsible for the decline in the UK kestrel population. We are a small island and although we have large expanses of open countryside most of it is open heath/moorland with little woodland providing no suitable nesting areas for large hawks, consequently they are taking over rural woodland in agricultural areas at the expense of other birds. The buzzard has no native predators in this country other than eagle owls with very few breeding pairs here other than a few that have escaped from captivity and have reported to have nested in the forest of Bowland.

algy

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FJ, you would have seen a family group of two adults and three juveniles of which the adults would eventually chase the young ones away to find their own territories as a breeding pair require a large area to feed themselves and also the next seasons young.

 

Yes!

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  • 1 month later...

I forgot about it but I only ever seem to see wood pigeons here anyway.  

Saying that me and the neighbours don't put bird feeders out now because although they attracted wood pigeons, and the odd blue tits, blackbirds and sparrows they were attracting more rats than birds and even in the day time :(

Horrid things rats !

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