The message
from "BAC" contains these words:
"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from "BAC" contains these words:

snip

I don't believe we should rush to judgement to scapegoat squirrels,
magpies
and sparrowhawks for observed declines in bird populations.

Well, as someone who spends a lot of time in the company of gamekeepers,
and on big estates, I can assure you that Sqrls and magpies (jays and
crows too) have a very significant effect on small bird populations
round here.

Interesting. Are there some estates where they exterminate the squirrels,
magpies etc., and some where they don't, and where surveys of the
pre-breeding populations of the various resident songbird populations
show a
significant variance?

Yes, and no idea.

Sparrowhawks to a lesser extent, but their numbers are rising so fast
that even RSPB people are getting a bit worried about them, especially
where endangered species are concerned.


It's only natural for people concerned with the survival of an endangered
species to get hyperprotective about the risks the population faces. But
sparrowhawks are unlikely to specialise on a particular species. Indeed,
they take whatever is available and easy to catch. So if there are
plenty of
'unendangered' fledglings about, they'll probably take more of them
than the
endangered ones.

Sparrowhawks will take pretty nearly anything that flies and isn't much
bigger than a pheasant, and raptors tend not to care wheter dinner is an
endangered species or not.

In addition to changes in the climate and in agricultural practices at
home
and abroad, there are plenty of gardeners who have been doing their bit
to
destroy birds' habitats, by removing nesting sites (trees, shrubs, holes
under eaves, etc), food stuffs (weeds and seeds etc) and paving over or
decking land which used to produce invertebrate food for birds. Wouldn't
it
be ironic if such people were to start killing squirrels and magpies
because
they don't notice so many birds about as there used to be?

And of course, those who haven't, because the sqrls are digging-up their
bulbs and veg, and raiding some crops, as well as eating the food put
out for the fast-disappearing birds.

Squirrels are clever, but not clever enough to realise that food left
out in
people's gardens isn't intended for them :-)

Why do they run away when caught at it, then? Colon dash close parentheses

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
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