birds of prey

[speedbird]

ive lost 3over the last few months 1stock bird 1fantail & 1of my best distance birds

all during the breeding should all stop now with a bit of luck as the only time the birds come out is to excercise then straight in my only concern now is all the young that have just been moved as they have no chance to get away till they fly!

[frank-123]

any bird that is has just been attacked  the hawk wont go away until its had its diner the said pigeon must be wrapped in fine plastic wire mesh

 

 

 

this shall be its last supper

[THE FIFER]

if u are getting hawk problems around ur loft never let ur birds out at the same time each day hawks know when to visit if u do, and do not let them out before12 noon and after 6pm, this is when they are looking for feeding, first thing in the morning and before roosting.

[Guest]

i lost one of my nicest birds to a hawk a few weeks ago, i only had 5 birds so it seems harder to loose one, one i had from a baby too, did break my heart to see it being eaten  :'(   but i have learnt not to let them out so early in the day, it was my fault, just inexperience i suppose

 

 

 

You can't blame yourself for a chance happening like a hawk attack, especially so the first one.  

[Guest]

Missed a good pic this morning - better than words - huge bugger being seen off by crows; by time I had camera ready, it was all over and sky cleared.

 

Also saw another pair come over west to east, same level, around 200/300 yards apart. One came around,  but didn't come back over the garden - got two birds that were out in and doors shut for the day anyhow.

[westy]

i saw crows before went to get the cam but when came back they were gone

[Guest]

the worst time i find if the hawk is going to have them is when i let them out for bath and they are on the floor outside the loft

 

Edited your post down to show clearly bit I'm responding to Rose. Agree 100% with you, and I've adapted my set-up so that birds bathe inside undercover.. usually behind closed doors.

 

Rainy day here and birds showering in aviary so put bath down and  took 3 pics:

 

(1) deep litter brushed back and bath put down on concrete floor;

 

(2) quite happy to flake-out on deep litter or dry-off on bar perches afterwards.

 

(3) always one comedian happier to bathe in a dirty puddle 1/2 inch deep! Always a light-coloured bird too!!  But door behind him shows original 'mesh floor to ceiling' idea was altered with 18" of board added to protect the birds from prying eyes,

 

[jimmy white]

had a phone call from a fancier, fom e of scot. telling me the rspb have put a box up for the perigrines to breed, at cockenzie power station, and are monitering them

HOW THE HELL CAN THEY DO THIS WITH THE THREAT OF AVIAN FLY ARROUND, ITS ALLMOST A CRIME IN ITSELF

[square_peg]

seems like RSBB are a law unto them selves       what we need is something like a tea party at sandringham with the press  mp's queen sitting down having tea and a hawk strike take place lets hope it's a young hawk  doesnt kill straight away  and all there see what does happen to ANY  bird they take

[THE FIFER]

WOULD IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE AS THE ROYALS ARE INTO BLOOD SPORTS ARE THEY NOT

[Guest]

Yes, I think they might have a nightmare PR job looming in the near future.

 

Bill Odditty did mention that a pair of percies had set up home at Buckingham Palace. Wondered at the time wot the manager of the Royal Lofts at Sandringam thought about that?  :-/

 

And wasn't it ze Queen or Princess Ann who caused public outrage when she got her photy took a few years back despatching pheasant or grouse by hand in the 'traditional' way?   :-/

[jimmy white]

IT DOES SEEM THE RSPB ARE A LAW UNTO THEM SELVES, QUITE A FEW PERIGRINES FOUND DEAD IN CONTINENT, NOTHING EVER MENTIONED HERE ABOUT THEM, BUT IVE SENT A LINK IN TO WEBMASTER, SO HELL HOPEFULLY POST IT IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO, WITH A WEALTH OF INFO ON IT,

[Guest]

Ukraine have filed an OIE report showing the following AI deaths amongst birds of prey late February:-

 

Cormorant, owl, falcon, scops owl, kestrel.

 

 

Strangely, pelican also amongst the dead. With cormorant thought these ate only fish. Are fish in the AI firing line now too?

[westy]

had a phone call from a fancier, fom e of scot. telling me the rspb have put a box up for the perigrines to breed, at cockenzie power station, and are monitering them

HOW THE HELL CAN THEY DO THIS WITH THE THREAT OF AVIAN FLY ARROUND, ITS ALLMOST A CRIME IN ITSELF

 

yes jimmy a crime it is WHAT THE HELL DO THEY WANT BOXES UP FOR THE PERIGRINES TO BREED, IF I WAS UP IN SCOTLAND, AT NIGTH I WOULD BE UP AND GETTING THE BOXES DOWN AND DESTROYOING THEM TERRIBLE THIS IS.

[mealybar]

Just read this on the RSPB site :-/

Peak Malpractice

 

After more than a century in which their populations crashed and reached near extinction, the recovery of birds of prey in the UK over the last 30 years is a reason for celebration.

 

Society's more tolerant attitude towards these awe-inspiring birds, combined with legal protection and a ban on certain pesticides, has seen a turnaround in their fortunes in many parts of the UK.

 

Sadly, however, this is not the case in all areas of Britain. In the uplands, many birds of prey, such as hen harriers, goshawks and peregrines are still absent...

[Guest]

Caught the last 15 minutes or so of a programme on BBC2 tonight, 1720-1800 on the Scottish Islands of Colonsay & Oronsay, just where programme 'handed over' from the locals and their work & lifestyle, to RSPB and its work on the Islands, including owning and leasing a farm where traditional farming methods were madatory. Beneficial effects of this on local bird populations were shown, including establishment of a stable colony of Chuffs, last in UK.

 

Grain harvesting had also encouraged a colony of rock doves to set up home there too. Looked just like blue bar pigeons to me, with a 'dovey' head and shorter face. And guess whats 'recently' moved in, to feed on these pigeons, er sorry, doves?

 

A pair of peregrine falcons.

 

 

[tam pepper]

 

 

               hi bruno

                             i saw the programe , about 150 rock doves , a years supply for the 2 peregrines , wonder what will be on the menue when the rock doves dry up ,

. choughs and corncrakes no doubt , the birds they are trying to encourage

                                                              tam pepper

[Guest]

 

               hi bruno

                             i saw the programe , about 150 rock doves , a years supply for the 2 peregrines , wonder what will be on the menue when the rock doves dry up ,

. choughs and corncrakes no doubt , the birds they are trying to encourage

                                                              tam pepper

 

 

My thoughts exactly. But no doubt the experts will have all the bells, whistle and taste deterrents, TUFF CHUFF and all that.

[Guest]

Received a reply to my complaint to BBC Pigeon . Peregrine chase this morning:- Worth reading, though perhaps for the wrong reasons.

 

 

Finding by the Governors’ Programme Complaints Committee, ratified 22nd March 2006.

 

Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie, BBC2, 7th June 2004.

 

(a) The programme

 

Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie was a series in which the presenter travelled the length of the country examining the best of British wildlife and the state of nature today. This episode looked at a family of peregrine falcons.

 

( The complaint

 

The complaint relates to a specific sequence of a peregrine chasing and catching a pigeon. The complainant stated that:

 

He believes the pigeon that was killed was a homing pigeon, not a wild creature. It was inappropriate to show the killing of a domestic bird.

 

The chase footage shown was pure falconry and deeply offensive.

 

The clip was preceded by misinformation about persecution of peregrines causing numbers to decline.

 

This misinformation would encourage the audience to favour the peregrine over the pigeon. Indeed, Bill Oddie describes the TV crew cheering the peregrine on, as the footage was played. In contrast the pigeon was portrayed as ‘worthless’.

 

Only one professional body (the RSPB) appeared in the programme and was subsequently quoted in BBC responses.

 

There is possible conflict of interest as, he says, the RSPB commissions wildlife programmes from the BBC.

 

The Head of the (then) Programme Complaints Unit rejected the complaint and the complainant appealed to the GPCC.

 

*He also objected to the response he received from the PCU, stating that the reference to fox hunting included in the letter was distasteful, as essentially he believed this inferred that there was a great deal of support for hunting, so many people would not object to the pigeon killing. This illustrated ‘duplicity and bias’ he claimed.

 

*(Only bit of their summary of my complaint that I'd disagree with: the fox hunting reference was actually implicit support for the hunting lobby's threat to break the law because hunting was popular and the lobby didn't agree with banning it. The duplicity and bias was that in their first response to me the BBC had said that there was no excuse for people to break the law on bird of prey protection just because they didn't agree with it.)

 

© Relevant programme standards

 

(skipped)

 

(d) The Committee’s decision

 

The Chairman requested that the Committee take into account all the documentation provided to them by the complainant.

 

The Committee took the view that people who watch Natural History programmes are aware that they will see nature in the raw. Natural History programmes regularly contain footage of killing in the wild, other challenging images, and audiences take account of this when framing their expectations of such programmes. It is reasonable to expect audiences to take such precedents into account. The Committee noted that the footage of the killing was shot from some distance away.

 

There was no evidence that the killing of the pigeon was staged. The Committee noted that this was a serious allegation to make against the Natural History Unit, yet there was no evidence to support it. The chase was well shot and a compelling piece of television. It demonstrated a central fact of the natural world: that some creatures kill in order to survive. There was no evidence that this was a homing pigeon. However the Committee concluded that whether or not the bird was a homing pigeon was immaterial: even if it were, many such birds find themselves lost in the wild, having been released by their owners. There was no reason to suppose that if the pigeon were a homing pigeon the killing had been staged.

 

The Committee agreed that Bill Oddie’s account of the reaction behind the scenes as the footage was shown might have been regarded as distasteful to some viewers. However, it took the view that his appeal as a presenter is due to his exuberance and enthusiasm, of which this part of the programme was an example. It was to be expected that his commentary would include light hearted references to what was being shown. His style of presentation would be known to the audience. The Committee was of the view that overall the programme was sensitively presented.

 

The Committee also noted that the complainant offered no evidence of an improper relationship between the RSPB and the programme makers, to support that claim in his complaint. The comment in the programme that peregrines had faced ‘persecution’ was supported by RSPB research. The RSPB was judged an independent, valid and respectable information source regarding the survival of peregrines. As such, due impartiality was shown.

 

Overall, the Committee took the view that the programme was made with professionalism and integrity, and the footage well shot and sensitively presented. The content and presentation fell within the boundaries of audience expectations. The Committee agreed that it complied with the relevant editorial standards.

 

Finding: Not upheld.

 

 

(e) Complaints handling

 

The Committee agreed with the complainant that the reference to fox hunting in the stage 2 response to the complaint was inappropriate and irrelevant.

 

 

[jimmy white]

i think what you might have expected bruno, but at least "you got in there"

 

nature in the raw,,,,on these wild life progs, you see all sorts of animals,kill ,but you can bet itll not be the one thats tagged???

[Guest]

Bit about Eider Ducks causing mayhem for Mussel fisheries on the Wash, on BBC's Countryfile today.

 

Interesting: fishermen want to use non-lethal deterrants, wailers, fireworks and the like, English Nature / RSPB having none of it. Going to a public enquiry.

 

 

[Guest]

Bruno and all, be careful about writing to the RSPB, they got so fed up of e-mails from me about Peregrine Falcons that they used their influence and had me kicked off Freeserve several years ago, a truly democratic organistation - NOT

[Guest]

i think what you might have expected bruno, but at least "you got in there"

 

nature in the raw,,,,on these wild life progs, you see all sorts of animals,kill ,but you can bet itll not be the one thats tagged???

 

 

Posted earlier in the thread when others were talking about RSPB funds that the main thing RSPB have is NOT money but influence, if they say black is white, then for many black IS white.

 

BBC reply showed it sees the RSPB as the only Professional Body whose opinion it needs to  canvas. Maybe not the proper way to take it, but felt that this must mean that the BBC doesn't consider the likes of SHU and RPRA as Professional Bodies, and ordinary Joe Bloggs like meself saying birds of prey levels declined to near-extinction due to pesticides in 50s/60s (true) won't be heard when RSPB say numbers declined due to persecution (false).

[tam pepper]

 

 

                 pompey micks question on the best time to train his birds from work has been on my mind a lot , thinking back over the years of all the strikes by peregrines and sparrowhawks, it occurred to me that i never got a single strike when it was raining, i wonder if any body has noticed this , or is it peculuar to me ..

rain doesnt put me of for training , if the birds can fly around the loft for an hour and a half in rain they can train in it

 

                                                            tam pepper

[Guest TAMMY_1]

AS REGARDS TO BIRDS OF PREY WE MAY HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS ARISING WITH THE BIRD FLU VIRUS BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED ON THE 26TH MARCH THAT THE FIRST PEREGRINE FALCON HAS DIED OF THE HN51 VIRUS AND WITH A BIT OF LUCK IT WILL SPREAD TO ALL RAPTORS.