RSPB reply to my email

[Guest Basin View]

Sent an email to "Big Garden Watch" highlighting sparrowhawk attacks in my garden area on collar doves and song thrush. There was no point in mentioning attacks on my birds as they would most probably not reply.

 

Anyway they have replied as follows, seems to contradict the Big Garden watch results...

 

Thank you for your email. Even though sparrowhawks feed almost

exclusively on small birds, they do not affect their overall numbers.

Songbirds produce far more young every year than would be needed to

maintain the population.

 

All these extra birds will die of starvation, disease or predation

before the following breeding season and there would not be enough

territories or food for so many. Sparrowhawks simply prey on those birds

that would have died anyway. The presence of a Sparrowhawk is a good

indicator of a healthy small bird population.

 

I can, however, appreciate how upsetting it can be to see a Sparrowhawk

take its prey. If you would like to deter the sparrowhawk, there are a

few deterrents available (see below), although their effectiveness is

dependent on the availability of alternative feeding sites for the hawk.

 

 

- Bamboo canes on lawn to turn fast approach route into an obstacle

course.

- Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the

predators away.

- If feeders are under an overhang (eg under tree branches) hang strings

like bead curtain strands a few inches apart around the perimeter of the

overhang to slow down the hawk.

- The GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon works by introducing, what the hawk

believes to be, a higher level of predation, so that it in turn feels

stalked. If alternative feeding areas exist, the hawk may be encouraged

to move elsewhere.  

 

Kind Regards,

 

Claire Thomas (Mrs)

Wildlife Adviser

RSPB UK Headquarters

The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL

Tel: 01767 693299

 

THE RSPB a million voices for nature

 

Want to find out more? View blogs, forums and groups specific to your

interest. Join a million voices for nature - enthuse and discuss current

topics about the natural world and wildlife. Join the RSPB Community-

www.rspb.org/community

 

The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that

threaten our environment. Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way.

Click here to join today www.rspb.org.uk/join

 

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered

charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

[OLDYELLOW]

thats a standard reply think same one was sent out healthy population of song birds as jim royale would say 'my *expletive removed* '

[OLDYELLOW]

surely the arugment to the reply would be this if the song bird population was in such good numbers 1 why is there any red list ????? 2 why are these bops out of the countryside and natural habitat to hunt ????? the answer is there aint enough food to feed them all as there number far exceeded what nature can produce to feed them and if so healthy a song bird population we have then why do these idiots feed bops in the winter ??????

[Guest HEATHLOFTS]

yh but what about are pigeons are they saying that the hawks keep are numbers down other wise are pigeons would over populate  > > > >

[Guest Owen]

I have sent an e-mail to them. It will be interesting to see if I get a reply.

[Guest Owen]

I have tried the CDs and just about everything else to try to keep the damn things away. None of it has worked. I think that it will be even worse than usual this year because so many small birds have died off in the hard winter. The BOP will be grabing all they can if they are hungry. If we are lucky a lot of them will die off as well, but I can not see it somehow.

[Guest mick bowler]

I have tried the CDs and just about everything else to try to keep the damn things away. None of it has worked. I think that it will be even worse than usual this year because so many small birds have died off in the hard winter. The BOP will be grabing all they can if they are hungry. If we are lucky a lot of them will die off as well, but I can not see it somehow.

 

Owen feed them what they want to eat!  

 

 

[Guest Basin View]

I sent them a reply to their email....but just as I thought they have never answered.

 

I said the garden birds being killed now were not the weak, they were the strong as they have survived the hard winter.

 

I asked what preys on the Sparrowhawk and the young they breed every year...your email states more songbirds are bred every year than are needed to maintain the population so surely this applies to the Sparrowhawk as well.

 

 

 

 

[Mealy Cock]

Sent an email to "Big Garden Watch" highlighting sparrowhawk attacks in my garden area on collar doves and song thrush. There was no point in mentioning attacks on my birds as they would most probably not reply.

 

Anyway they have replied as follows, seems to contradict the Big Garden watch results...

 

Thank you for your email. Even though sparrowhawks feed almost

exclusively on small birds, they do not affect their overall numbers.

Songbirds produce far more young every year than would be needed to

maintain the population.

 

All these extra birds will die of starvation, disease or predation

before the following breeding season and there would not be enough

territories or food for so many. Sparrowhawks simply prey on those birds

that would have died anyway. The presence of a Sparrowhawk is a good

indicator of a healthy small bird population.

 

I can, however, appreciate how upsetting it can be to see a Sparrowhawk

take its prey. If you would like to deter the sparrowhawk, there are a

few deterrents available (see below), although their effectiveness is

dependent on the availability of alternative feeding sites for the hawk.

 

 

- Bamboo canes on lawn to turn fast approach route into an obstacle

course.

- Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the

predators away.

- If feeders are under an overhang (eg under tree branches) hang strings

like bead curtain strands a few inches apart around the perimeter of the

overhang to slow down the hawk.

- The GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon works by introducing, what the hawk

believes to be, a higher level of predation, so that it in turn feels

stalked. If alternative feeding areas exist, the hawk may be encouraged

to move elsewhere.  

 

Kind Regards,

 

Claire Thomas (Mrs)

Wildlife Adviser

RSPB UK Headquarters

The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL

Tel: 01767 693299

 

THE RSPB a million voices for nature

 

Want to find out more? View blogs, forums and groups specific to your

interest. Join a million voices for nature - enthuse and discuss current

topics about the natural world and wildlife. Join the RSPB Community-

www.rspb.org/community

 

The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that

threaten our environment. Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way.

Click here to join today www.rspb.org.uk/join

 

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered

charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

 

Compare the two written my two different authors

 

Michael

 

I understand it can be distressing to see BOP feed, one cannot really

pick and choose the birds that visit the gardens of the UK, but by

feeding birds in the garden you automatically attract all birds closer

to view and as a result you will see nature in it rawest form. Even

though sparrowhawks feed almost exclusively on small birds, they do not

affect their overall numbers. Songbirds produce far more young every

year than would be needed to maintain the population.

 

All these extra birds will die of starvation, disease or predation

before the following breeding season and there would not be enough

territories or food for so many. Sparrowhawks simply prey on those birds

that would have died anyway.

 

second reply

 

Bamboo canes on lawn to turn fast approach route into an obstacle course

Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the predators

away.

If feeders are under an overhang (eg under tree branches) hang strings

like bead curtain strands a few inches apart around the perimeter of the

overhang to slow down the hawk

The GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon works by introducing, what the hawk

believes to be, a higher level of predation, so that it in turn feels

stalked. If alternative feeding areas exist, the hawk may be encouraged

to move elsewhere      

 

I think they are reading the same book, or a standard letter

[Mealy Cock]

I sent them a reply to their email....but just as I thought they have never answered.

 

I said the garden birds being killed now were not the weak, they were the strong as they have survived the hard winter.

 

I asked what preys on the Sparrowhawk and the young they breed every year...your email states more songbirds are bred every year than are needed to maintain the population so surely this applies to the Sparrowhawk as well.

 

 

 

 

Write to them again I did, got a reply, then I wrote again when they won't reply, keep writing! don't give up

 

My old saying is, throw enough crap at a wall some of it will stick

[Guest Tooshy Boy]

RSPB.ARE JUST A WAIST OF TIME... THEY COVER UP TO MUCH//  I WOULD NOT BELEAVE AWORD THEY SAY ......

[PIGEON_MAN]

RSPB.ARE JUST A WAIST OF TIME... THEY COVER UP TO MUCH//  I WOULD NOT BELEAVE AWORD THEY SAY ......

 

Problem is millions do believe themso what chance do we have.

[Guest Tooshy Boy]

COMPARE THE TWO WRITTEN MY TWO DIFFERENT AUTHORS .MICHAEL YOUR TALKING   CRAP .. IVE SEEM THEM TAKE PIGEONS AND MAGGPIES////

[Guest lenwadebob]

All it needs is one court case to go against them, and then everyone will see them for what they are. Meddlers in Nature, and will soon be found out. They can only throw so much $h!te at the fans and sooner or later they will get a whole lot back

[Guest Tooshy Boy]

YOUR BANG ON MATE////

[Mealy Cock]

COMPARE THE TWO WRITTEN MY TWO DIFFERENT AUTHORS .MICHAEL YOUR TALKING   CRAP .. IVE SEEM THEM TAKE PIGEONS AND MAGGPIES////

 

Not sure what you are getting at, where am I talking crap I am merely pointing out the RSPB write the same to every one

 

???????

[Guest Tooshy Boy]

NOT GETTING AT YOU MATE JUST MAKING A POINT .SORRY.//////

[lightning fast]

I have joined a garden bird forum and posted a spead on the demise of songbirds,

I got this post that people might find interesting

 

http://www.bto.org/news/news2010/marapr/Are_predators_to_blame_for_songbird_declines.html

[Mealy Cock]

I have joined a garden bird forum and posted a spead on the demise of songbirds,

I got this post that people might find interesting

 

http://www.bto.org/news/news2010/marapr/Are_predators_to_blame_for_songbird_declines.html

 

Have you noticed that all these studies are as much as 5-11years out of date?

 

Why won't they commission an up to date body to look at hawk numbers

Funny they always have some form of standard answer

[lightning fast]

I sent a reply stating that on that study which backed my mail up was that I thought the demise of bullfinches was related to a incresed number of sparrowhawk was right..

 

come and join  http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/discuss/discus.cgi?pg=topics

 

the more the merry