SakerSam

I know of 5 well established pairs within a ten mile radius around me hear.

Beleive me, 99% of falconers are as much against the RSPB, RSPCA etc. as you guys. Bill Odie the other year made a comment about falconers being responsible for taking young raptors and eggs but was made to appologise. The RSPB like to say that Peregrines are worth thousands of pounds and that is why falconers take them. Bollo*, a captive bred tiercel will go from about £500 and a female upto £1000. A bird which has to be registered is no good to us with no paperwork or breeders ring on. Most captive bred birds have been DNA tested for bloodlines so it will be the mis-guided that chance stealing and raising a chick.

mickb, the simple answer is yes. i know of a local falconer that has had 3 falcons taken and killed to one pair of Peres. I too have had 3 of my Falcons and Hawks 'attacked' by both Peregrine on a number of occaisions and a Spar had a go at my Harris hawk but the Spar being 1/3rd of the size came off worse. You guys will like this...................................a peregrine attacks as you know from above, my falcon being a desert bird stoop low and close to the ground then comes up under its prey.

Mickb, in a local paper recently a fancier sent in this letter stating that in Wales some 7500 rings were found at 32 nest sites! http://www.theargus.co.uk/yourargus/letters/argusletters/4373018.Winged_threat_of_the_falcon/ If this is true, and it may very well be but you also have to think just how long the nests have been there! If they've been there for 10 years, that equates to 23.4 pigeons per year.................................................. Now I'm not expecting you guys to accept this figure even though it is how it would be calculated. To put it in your terms and against Percy, IF this was over the last 12 months that then equates to 234 pigeons per nest. If that was the case, Peregrines would be the size of Golden Eagles. Sorry guys but that is common sense. Also on that basis there would be so many Peregrines and I mean so meany that they would naturally seek out different prey to sustain this ferrocious appetite. I don't want to see our 2 sports collide and go head long and I also know of plenty of racers that get shot. I've seen pictures of a bootful of wood pigeon with a dozen or more racers seperated..............................

Mum has been away for an hour and is now back..................................actually it my be Mr.P. no food.

I've had a play and made it bigger..............................hope it works out OK!

With regards to Eurasian Eagle Owls, they were once native in the Uk right up until Victorian times but then 'man being man' decided to go out and shoot everything he could back then. At the Booth Museum in Brighton, there are lots of shot and mounted eagle owls BUT the big problem the RSPB have with certain species is because of the damage they 'could cause'!!! The Little owl is classed as a native species but it originally was brought over from Holland a few hundred years ago; because of their tiny stature, they don't pose any major threat to livestock or pets etc, where as an eagle owl could very easily. If/when (i hope) they do ever re-establish themselves here again, and their basic staple diet went scarce, ie rabbits etc. they would then look for something else. They are more than capable of taking fox so if they populated areas near the towns and cities, it wouldn't be too long before the media was full of stories of 'killer owl carried my cat away' or 'big owl savages families dog whilst out walking!!!' Eagle owls will take anything it can over-power and will often take prey the easy way when they are sleeping or roosted up.

Back to the blinkered single mindedness again : Do you swim in the sea..........................................or are you afraid of sharks? Our birds aren't pets, they are working birds; they either do what nature intended and are conditioned to hunt specific quarry or they are used to educate the public in flying displays. The problem with the plastic owls etc. is most people don't know how to incorporate there use properly. They need to be moved regularly, every few hours to be effective. If you've read the posts you'll know why falconers have joined, and that was because of the things that have been posted and now deleted. As for no one being interested in my 'murderous pets', I've received a number of pm's asking about them ;D I'm not rising to get into a slagging match with you as it will not be productive to anyone except make you feel better.

Would they be classed as exotics or is that just parrots, finches etc.? I'm suprised there isn't any insurance for them.

You could get kites of raptors which attach to poles and only need very little breeze. They are of various raptors and look quite realistic. your birds may in the begining be a litle spooked. Failing that, can you not build enclosures that are fully enclosed?

Tammy help us to udersand something; you say and we know that some of your birds are worth thousands. Do you not insure your birds like we do? All my birds are insured for £1500 of vets fees etc. a year, plus the value of the bird through death. As I said previously, my birds have been 'attacked' and here is a short clip of one such time so I guess some of you will enjoy it. I was cacking myself but I had to except that if the worse happened, then as much as I would be deeply hurt and devastated, I would know that it was a chance 'we' took.

sSo cover your lofts and the Peregrines can't get in to them. You have as much responsibility to the safety of your birds as we do. If you are going to let your pigeons have constant open access, you as an animal owner are not doing your upmost to protect your charges. If a dog is caught roaming the streets the warden will catch it and impound it. If you let your birds out constantly expect to lose some; it's not rocket science. Jack Duckworth doesn't seem to have any problems :

I've already stated why, so as to try and educate you that raptors aren't the evil demons you are trying to make them out to be. I have sevaral guys with racers within a 300 yard radius of me, and they have seen me out with the birds and we've chatted and they've even flown my harris hawk; their attitudes have changed towards raptors............................WHY CAN'T YOU?

No, the falconry community were told of the diabolical and illegal comments made by members of this forum; some simply would like to try and educate your people that raptors are not your enemies. I bet more of your pigeons die when they fly over regular flight paths and get shot. Or they are just too exhauseted when racing and then get taken as an inferior or sick bird.

;D it just so happens I keep one as well......................and he is in an aviery next to a falcon and hawk