"Phil Cook" wrote in message
...
On 28/12/2014 20:25, Christina Websell wrote:
"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

In article , Christina Websell
writes

Unfortunately, the sparrowhawk nested in my garden hatching 6 chicks so
it
will be quite a while before I can feed the birds again.
Feeding the birds used to give me a lot of pleasure.

Then carry on doing so. Sparrowhawks deserve to feed, too, and each will
be satisfied by the equivalent of one starling per day. By having them
nest in your garden, they were taking up to 8 times that.during the
rearing period, so there's no logic in a different attitude during the
winter!

I don't care what you say, I'm not going to feed birds in my garden while
I
have sparrowhawks here that will pick them off the birdtable.
I so wish they were not protected.

If you are willing to skew the prey/predator balance by feeding the prey
you can have no complaints when the predator takes some of the birds.

I wish I could attract a peregrine by feeding the pigeons.
--
Phil Cook

If you like to see a predator killing the birds you've attracted, well, it
must be a man thing is all I can say.
Actually, I won't be kind to you, it's sick if you deliberately do it and
it's why I've stopped feeding on the birdtable when I know the sparrowhawk
will come. I'm setting up the small birds to be killed.