Hi everyone, I have been feeding the birds in my garden for sometime, i don't have a great variety of birds, mostly blackbird & sparrows but its nice to see them feeding. However, it looks like someone near by,( i don't know who), has acquired a couple of cats and i have seen them in my garden. I have a greyhound and I am sure that if the cats get chased by him they won't be back in a hurry however my dog does not go in front garden as it is not secure. yesterday my worst fears were confirmed when I came in and found feathers and remains of a bird in the front garden > I am so upset, and I don't know whether to carry on putting food out now. I have to say I am not a big fan of cats because of the sheer amount of harm they do to wildlife, a lot of problems could be solved by people keeping them in from dawn till dusk which is when they kill the most birds. From past experience things to deter cats never seem to work, but if anyone has any ideas i would be pleased to hear them :)
Hello am66, Is there any way you can find a space in your back garden for the feeders, I assume that is fenced off for your greyhound as he would be a good deterrent to the cats. I'm sorry you found feathers and remains of a bird but it is possible a Sparrowhawk could have predated the bird and not a cat as I think cats tend to take their prey away/ home and in tact. There is an ultrasonic device that seems to get good reviews on Amazon website HERE and I know a fellow member on here ( Monkeycheese ) has just purchased two of them so maybe when he has had chance to test them out he can advise you how well they work. Good luck, hope the cats get the message to stay out of your garden so you can continue to enjoy the visiting birds.
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Regards, Hazel
Hi am66 sorry you found the bird remains in your garden, but the feathers do suggest it could have been a Sparrowhawk. I know how you feel as I have a cat problem too and have lost birds to them. My favourite solution is to spray them with water, but that only works when I'm there. You could try Hazel's suggestions, but I wouldn't advise you stop feeding. If you have feeders on the ground make sure birds have a clear view all round and there's nowhere a cat can spring out unseen. Good luck.
Annie
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Einstein
Hi everyone, thank you very much for your replies. I found feathers and what looked like a beak left behind,that was all, really horrible. I have a large laurel hedge and I would be very surprised if it was a sparrow hawk as its not an open space, but I don't know much about them. I had assumed that the cat had hidden in the hedge and pounced. I will have a look at the ultrasonic device, I had seen something similar but was concerned it may upset the dog! :) will look into it. Have not had this problem before as I live near quite a busy road and not good for cats. Hopefully Brian(the greyhound) will give them a bit of a shock and they wont return!
Hi am66, good luck finding a solution to the cat problem; regarding the Sparrowhawk, it has no trouble diving into our Laurel bushes in pursuit of the birds so it looks quite likely that is what happened with finding remains of the bird. I'm sorry it was so upsetting for you but sadly that's the more grim side of nature I'm afraid and the Sparrowhawk needs to feed too, at least it is killing for food and out of necessity and not just for the fun of it. Its never nice to see predatory action but on the bright side, the Sparrowhawk's success rate is less than 10% on average. There is an interesting article here about them - it is a PDF file which you download.
Good luck, hope Brian helps protect your back garden so you can continue enjoying the birdlife .
X-post with Alan (Doggie) !!
Hi, sounds like sparrowhawk and not local cats to blame then! I was upset thinking the cat had got it for no other reason than to play with it as they certainly aren't hungry(unless they are feral cats) as you say its nature and sparrowhawk has to eat. i find it hard with cats as its not for food, its just for fun, know that's how cats are and don't like them because of it! They wreak havoc on the natural wildlife and poo in your garden to boot! :)
Thanks for the info, it amazing what you learn on here, I would never have thought a sparrow hawk would be around in gardens in built up area.
You're welcome am66, I hope you continue to enjoy your bird friendly garden and see lots of nice visitors, especially during the spring season. If you have a nesting box you may find a Blue Tit will find your garden and maybe raise a brood. There is lots of information on this website for nesting boxes and attracting more birds into the garden. If you do want to add a nesting box, for better success try facing it between North and East direction and about 10ft off the ground. For sparrows you could put a box under the eaves of the house. Good luck, sounds like you have a lovely garden with shrubs to attract the birds :)
Hi Hazel, thank you for that. Have never had nest box as neither me or partner great at DIY. My garden is very wildlife friendly as in a lot of it is untouched! I have 2 large hedges, laurel in front & I don't know what the other one is usual hedging plant(box?), but it is a bit of a monster now, probably 15ft, neighbour has asked if he could cut it to 8ft which is fine as long as he does it soon before nesting starts. :)
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And you've got yourself a fun game for all the family! :)
LOl! Brilliant :)