sparrowhawks in man made boxes ?

[GuernseyFancier]

Hi

 

This is probably in the wrong place but I have joined this forum on behalf of my father and his brother.  They have been racing pigeons in Guernsey for over 40 years - D & C De Carteret.  Unfortunately though it looks like their racing days are over with Bird Lovers wanting to attract Sparrow Hawks to the Island.  Does anybody have any knowledge of Sparrow Hawks nesting in boxes put up for them ????

 

Thank you

 

[Guest Owen]

I have no idea as to what the conditions are like on your Island. Normally Sparrow Hawks inhabit woodland and prey on a variety of bird species. The male is not normally a threat to birds the size of a pigeon.

I think that the problem may take care of itself, where you are. The Sparrow Hawks will kill off their source of food very quickly and then they will be forced to attack domestic livestock like pigeons. As time goes on, I would predict that the General Public will be witness to these kills more and more often. A Sparrow Hawk eating birds alive is a sickening sight and it is bound to have an effect on how these horrible creatures are seen by the Public. This is a situation that, those of you who are opposed to the Sparrow Hawks being there, can exploit. Because it is definately not right to introduce a preditor like that into an environment that it was never intended to inhabit. You need the Public on your side and then even the RSPB can not carry on behaving so stupidly.

[Guest mick bowler]

Sparrow hawks are not as bad as some of the predators because they are preictable and stupid! Usually they will only attack the birds around the loft, as a surprise attack, so if your having probs get  them in as soon as you can after they land.

 

I'm having probs here with one and there isnt a tree for miles, but all the starlings are feeding in the fields so he has abundant chances of a meal at the moment and unforunatly my birds are suffering as a result of it.

[Guest peter.j]

surely if there non native species this is illegal or is it a re introduction...pete

[TACK3727]

Hi

 

This is probably in the wrong place but I have joined this forum on behalf of my father and his brother.  They have been racing pigeons in Guernsey for over 40 years - D & C De Carteret.  Unfortunately though it looks like their racing days are over with Bird Lovers wanting to attract Sparrow Hawks to the Island.  Does anybody have any knowledge of Sparrow Hawks nesting in boxes put up for them ????

 

Thank you

 

Sparrowhawks are tree nesters and not cavity nesting birds which means that they are very unlikely to nest in boxes and prefer to make use of an old crows or magpies nest, when large nestboxes are provided by birds of prey thay are usually used by Kestrels and Owls. The people who are putting up the nestboxes are they placing them on trees or buildings? If thet are bird lovers the positioning of the nestboxes will give you a clue as to what species they are attempting to attract. Let me know what type of nesting box they are putting up and if they are on trees an buildings and I will give you my opinion of what they are trying to do.

[Roland]

they loft Glass.

[Roland]

Good post Owen.

Further only 'Pack' hunters that tackle much larger prey attack and destroy / kill via tearing the insides out. Most kill first....

Simple reality is ALL are alive till killed obviously. Lion / larger cats suffercate via wind pipe stangulation or closing their mouths over the preys  nose and mouth.

[Guest IB]

I was concerned enough about this trend of 'encouraging' birds of prey to nest in built up areas on mainland Britain, to make a Freedom of Information enquiry to my local Council, Falkirk Council (Scotland) to see if they had any intentions / had any approaches to do the same here. You may wish to do the same with your Council to see what plans are afoot, and what they think of them. This was the reply I got.

 

Our Ref: FOI 3022303

 

RE: INTRODUCING WILD BIRDS OF PREY SPECIES INTO TOWNS WITHIN FALKIRK

 

Thank you for your FOI enquiry regarding the “Introduction of wild birds of prey species into towns within Falkirkâ€.

 

I would offer the following response to your three points of inquiry as follows:

 

1)       I can confirm that Falkirk Council has no specific policy on “introducing wild birds of prey speciesâ€. General policies do however promote biodiversity through the approved Falkirk Local Biodiversity Action Plan. I include the following web link which may be of use for your perusal if you have access to the internet:

       http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/development/planning_and_environment/biodiversity/biodiversity.aspx

 

Top predator species, such as birds of prey, are indeed the focus of some Council LBAP work such as the Barn Owl nest box project.  However, to date there is no Falkirk Council policy or action plan to provide man made breeding platforms on any buildings within the area for Peregrine Falcons.   Any plans for species introduction would require to be subject to strict liaison with and the fulfilment of any necessary legal licensing from Scottish Natural Heritage and/ or liaison with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or other conservation groups. You may therefore also wish to seek the views and advice of these organisations on this subject?

 

Notwithstanding the above we understand that Peregrine Falcons already nest and hunt over the towns in the Falkirk Council area as they do in most urban locations throughout the UK.

 

2)   Falkirk Council has a wide range of statutory duties that relate to this issue not least of which is the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act (2004), other regulatory legislation such as Planning powers and the Council’s power as landowner of buildings. The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 places a legal duty on public bodies to further conservation of biodiversity in the course of carrying out their functions. In exercising the duty, public bodies, such as Falkirk Council, must have specific regard to the 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity and to any Scottish Biodiversity Strategy designated by the Scottish Ministers. Whilst compliance with the duty is obligatory, public bodies have significant discretion in relation to the particular action which they consider to be necessary in any particular situation. The duty is not intended to be narrow or prescriptive, rather its purpose is to place the onus on public bodies to take responsibility for the impacts which their policies and operations may have on the environment.

In relation to your specific enquiry relating to Peregrine Falcons, given the carrying capacity of the environment to  support a limited number of pairs or Peregrine and the ability of the birds to nest in locations of their choice it is  highly unlikely that Falkirk Council would use any of the above powers to promote (or prevent) the installation of a breeding platform(s). If planning consent was required for the installation of such a platform each case would be considered on its own merits and would be subject to the normal regulatory planning process. Given the protected status of these birds this sort of specialist conservation advice would normally be led by other conservation

agencies mentioned above ( or Scottish Wild Trust  or Raptor Groups), working in partnership with private landowners and Falkirk Council.  I would again re-iterate that, to date, there is no such plan or programme proposed to introduce man - made breeding platforms for Peregrine Falcons.

 

3)       I can also confirm that no approaches have been made to Falkirk Council by any organisations, agencies or individuals, to introduce man made breeding platforms for Peregrine Falcons.

I trust this answers your inquiry.  If you require a more general discussion on this subject please feel free to contact the Outdoor Rangers based in Development Services on telephone 01324 501017 or 501016.

Kind Regards,

Richard Broadley

Environment Co-ordinator

Development Services

Falkirk Council

 

 

[bruno1]

As you have probably noticed, perfectly reasonable thread went to pieces through one member using improper language in his post to another, which developed into a flame war. The member on Guernsey is looking for advice on here, not a fight.

 

I apologise to members who quoted Mick, their posts are removed only for that reason. This includes Chickadee, I have managed to remove that quote leaving her own comment, unfortunately, can only get it back as a quote.

 

 

These birds are still alive, what do you think the hawk was doing to them, just tasting them :-/

 

A sparrow hawk strips back the flesh and then eats the birds vital organs which are the most nutritious it does not kill it outright, it them comes back the next day to eat the rest of the carcass

 

Please help each other.

[GuernseyFancier]

Thank you to all that have replied I will pass this information onto my father and uncle.

[Roland]

they loft Glass.

  ;D ;D ;D

I meant Love Glass of course.

A greenhouse lol would be great. - Infact a fellow from Peterborough used as such, a double glazed loft with good results.

Hawks hate flying into toughened glass.

 

 

 

[sammy]

why do they want to  put these hawks on the island   Now  :-/  

 

cause every were else has got them

[Roland]

May well be their Meals on Wings are beginning to run a mite short elsewhere.

[Guest rene]

hi all im just wondering if any fellow fanciers know of and also have proof of  ie pictures of the dreaded sparrowhawk using man made nest boxes as we here in Guernsey sre trying to get some man made ones removed but before this can happen we need the proof of these predators using them thanks

ren :-/e

[kev43]

sure this topic been up b4 about ppl in guernsey puttin man made nest boxes up cud b wrong  :-/

[Guest grizzler]

i might be wrong, but are sparrowhawks not platform nesters

[sammy]

they dont use them are yi sure its sparrowhawks and not perigrines ????

[Guest rene]

im not sure if its been on here before  ? yes i know sparrowhawks are ment to be platform nesters yes im more then sure these are sparrowhawks in theses nest boxes i did hear that there were also some in the UK  

[Guest chrisss]

they put on a little way from me it never got used [thank whatever god you go for ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D 8)]

[sammy]

im not sure if its been on here before  ? yes i know sparrowhawks are ment to be platform nesters yes im more then sure these are sparrowhawks in theses nest boxes i did hear that there were also some in the UK  

 

sparrowhawks in boxes how they ate that many racing pigeons they think they can home them now ;D ;D ;D ;D

[billt]

They are tree nesting, never heard of them nesting in boxes, but kestrel will

[Guest rene]

ive seen them my self coming out of these boxes i dont know of any one that could take a pic from the hight it has been put up the size of theses boxes are bout 4 foot long 3 foot high and about 2 foot wide

[bruno1]

There was an earlier thread on this. I've merged the two, the earlier one appears first.

[ch pied]

hi all im just wondering if any fellow fanciers know of and also have proof of  ie pictures of the dreaded sparrowhawk using man made nest boxes as we here in Guernsey sre trying to get some man made ones removed but before this can happen we need the proof of these predators using them thanks

ren :-/e

if they are putting up box's , their is only 1 lodger that they are intended for & PERCY is its name

 

 

[TACK3727]

ive seen them my self coming out of these boxes i dont know of any one that could take a pic from the hight it has been put up the size of theses boxes are bout 4 foot long 3 foot high and about 2 foot wide

 

The size and the height of the nest boxes suggest that they are intended for use by falcons and not hawks, the sparrowhawk is a low level nester, and do not tend to use nesting sites high up or use man made artifical structures, I am positive that the boxes that you have described are intended for peregrines, where abouts have these boxes been placed on trees or bulidings?