Thur writes

I do hear that the Goshawk is now returning to some areas,
and I see with my own eyes Buzzards wheeling overhead
(and searching our nesting sites) which were once completely
absent from my area. (North Midlands)

We have had buzzards (SE england) since I came here in 1975.
They bred here from then on too. Note the date carefully.
Kites and spars (occasional others eg hobby) common.

I hear (tv) that these predators were reduced by one or both of
the problems mentioned.

Many raptors were shot by gamekeepers up until the 70's, and some later,
to this day in more isolated areas we are told.

Poisoning and egg stealing and capture still go on if we are
to believe the Courts, where the odd one or two of those found
are fined.

Except for rate birds, I doubt this is a major source of loss.

Your trust in gamekeepers is heartening, but to a cynic like me,
mistaken. Their job is to increase their crop of game by suppressing
natural predation which increases with the increased prey supply.
How else can they keep their jobs?

Hopefully a gamekeeper will tell you.
The main losses seem to be in rearing pens, which should be netted all
round.

But the point is that as predator numbers have risen, populations
of their prey will have reduced to a balance.

My personal opinion is that the larger english raptors were very badly
hit by myxi. As this has become ineffective (70's and particularly 80's
onwards) numbers have risen. Certainly the recent rabbit disease more-
or-less wiped rabbits out locally for a year (or two) and the raptors
more-or-less vanished.

Whether this accounts
for the sudden drop in sparrows mentioned is another matter.

I suspect less available food and Mr Spar.
He did our farmyard ones in in three years, they have never recovered
but the netting of feed stores and verminproofing of grain stores came
in not so far later, so this might explain why they never recovered.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
DEMON address no longer in use.