There's been a flurry of publicity for Songbird Survival over the last week - mostly in The Times. This organisation, which I always think as being more anti-predator than pro-songbird, and anti-raptor in particular (but maybe I have got them wrong), may be funding the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust to cull some crows and see whether songbirds flourish. Good luck to them - but I hope they take more notice of this research than they did of the research that they commissioned from the BTO which went some way to exonerate predators from being the cause of songbird declines. That study doesn't seem to have altered Songbird Survival's views at all.
The Chair of Songbird Survival is Lord Coke. Lord Coke hails from Holkham Hall. The head gamekeeper at Holkham Hall was charged with several offences, including some under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, last week. This has led to some interesting comments in some places (see here for example). Lord Coke's father, the Earl of Leicester, is not the biggest fan of birds of prey, nor indeed of the RSPB. As I say, interesting.
The article in the Independent makes the link between the head 'keeper being charged and the fate of the Holkham National Nature reserve. That's an interesting point too.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
Mark,
explain something to me, why do you think it is that so many gamekeepers and countrymen are convinced there is a converse link between predator numbers and the abundance of prey species while the RSPB remains adamant there is none?
EP
Paysan savant
Very much agree with Stackyard Green, especially the last paragraph. But I'd add that some urban gardens, such as adjoining where I live, still support good populations of songbirds in spite of cats, magpies and jays (the latter nest in tall conifers). The only notable reduction in the last 25 years was when one of the long mature gardens was sold off for building - bearing out what Stackyard is saying. The tangled mass of ivy growing over the fence and the old thick box hedges is doubtless a factor in nest survival. But sparser gardens seem to do less well. When magpies moved into the London suburbs in the 60s many people noticed a drop in songbirds but over time the populations seemed to have stabilised. I know of several cases where the introduction of Larsson traps has caused a songbird revival but a better strategy is to look after the habitat and food sources. If a species is in real trouble - such as the spotted flycatcher, predation may just finish them off in a location. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we should wipe out the predators - other factors: summer food and migration conditions were probably the main cause of decline and made the species more vulnerable to nest predation due to reduced numbers and longer trips away hunting for food. But of course the very visible predator gets the blame.
How vigorous should predator management be? A good question Bob P.
My garden, on the edge of a Suffolk market town, is a 'sink' for non hole-nesting garden birds. The abundant magpies and neighbour's cats see to that. Consequently I do nothing to attract birds into the garden. Sad, but not important in the big scheme of things. Controlling the magpies would be pointless; the cats will always be here, some individuals much more leathal than others!
I've recently spent time at a house in the middle of an East Anglian shooting estate. The area is rich in birdlife and habitats - woods, recently planted copses, game cover strips etc. The arable land between is intensively farmed. Last week a buzzard was displaying almost over the garden and sparrowhawks are regular. Magpies and crows seem scarce and are no doubt controlled, as I expect are foxes.
I'm in no doubt that some wildlife populations need to be managed - with as light a hand as possible - to maintain and enhance the biodiversity we all want to see. Habitat is surely the main key to healthy wildlife populations, and the impact of (introduced) deer on the English woodlands is surely something that needs tackling urgently.
Mike, I have just realised my last entry is a bit badly worded and looks as if I might be supporting an increase in predator culling. Local culling of predators can be a useful management tool when needed, but this can be achieved with current legislation which clearly lays down what can be done legally and what would be outside the law.
The Cotswold Water park sightings website
My Flicker page
Not confused with no. But we a serious lack of predators is it any wonder that these birds are becoming a problem for the very people who thought it was in their interest to remove the raptors in the first place?