Recently I twice saw a blackbird pecking at a rat bait sachet on our patio. Pest control guy who baited the box says a blackbird was seen going into the bait box and coming out with the sachet - something he said he has never heard of before. I don't think a bird would go into a dark place, where it cannot flap it's wings if it needs to get away quickly, then find a sachet 'around the corner' where they are placed in a bait box and pull it out backwards. I suspect a neighbour is removing the sachets from the bait box as he moans about us feeding birds. Any comments would be appreciated.
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Birds eating rat bait (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter OzzieB
- Start date
Andy Lakin
Well-known member
I would be very surprised if a Blackbird had done this. It would mean it checking inside the box on spec as obviously it can see inside the box or the sachets. Also if it is the usual type you see everywhere 8t would be a very tight fit!
Hello and welcome to the forum, enjoy and all the best.
Thanks to all for the welcome and comments. My wife and I have always been animal lovers and bird feeders wherever we have lived. Been in the estate where we are now for three years - which has a no pets and 'do not feed the birds' policy (because of rats) but we feed them anyway and have only ever seen two rats in all this time. Sometime this year we will be moving to a suitable rural property - ancient woodlands/pasture mix - and undertaking a re-wilding project. Really looking forward to seeing what species of birds and other wild life return to the area. We are complete novices when it comes to birds, but keen to learn and have fun.
Tired
Well-known member
If at all possible, stop putting out rat poison. It kills the rats slowly and painfully, and can poison anything that eats them. It's not humane or environmentally friendly. Better to prevent them from getting into food and houses when at all possible, and see about employing a rat-hunting dog somewhere if needed. Terriers kill rats quickly by shaking them, and love ratting.
Re-wilding sounds exciting. Good luck with all that, it's a great thing to do. I suggest getting yourself an INaturalist account- it's a citizen science project where people can record their nature observations to be identified, and also can look around and see what other people have observed. You can use it to get things identified.
I suggest finding a nice patch of flowers and sitting by it. See what turns up. There are far more species of bee than you probably realize, for one thing, and it's fascinating to learn about what all lives in your area.
Re-wilding sounds exciting. Good luck with all that, it's a great thing to do. I suggest getting yourself an INaturalist account- it's a citizen science project where people can record their nature observations to be identified, and also can look around and see what other people have observed. You can use it to get things identified.
I suggest finding a nice patch of flowers and sitting by it. See what turns up. There are far more species of bee than you probably realize, for one thing, and it's fascinating to learn about what all lives in your area.
