Chicks wiped out (AGAIN) (3 Viewers)

[alcedo.atthis]

Todays news
"Birds get sucked into jet engine."
Was the catalytic converter to blame? Do they really turn birds into breakfast cereal, "Shredded Tweet".
Government to set up enquiry into the destructive nature of afore said item.
Save the Ozone, destroy a flock of birds with your jet.
Ban all jets from flying as they are killing birds.
We also require less water. Far too much rain. Don't know about the carbon dioxide though!!


Malky @ Westhill, always on the side of things o-natural! and it's Friday.

 

[Hippywench]

Interesting debate about cats, and something I've wondered about - being a cat owner.

My two have bells. One is too lazy to hunt, and we've now got our back garden securely fenced so they are confined there for the duration (nesting season). At least I hope our more active cat doesn't manage to jump the fence!

Has anyone got tips for dog walking? One of mine is being a real pest. Can you still buy those high pitched whistles, and would they disturb the birds? Where I live is quite open, and he is a master at slipping his collar!

 

[Egret]

A that wonderful sense of deja vu! All the same arguments going round and round. Personally I try to make the environment as difficult for the cats, including my own, as possible. Feeders are located near cover and nesting bushes aren't tidied. Much can be done without resorting to insanity. Guile is needed - never let a cat see who has just hit it with a water pistol or rotten apple.

Get the habitat right. We used to have no slow worms and a tidy garden. Now we have a compost heap that gets turned once a year and is otherwise untouched. so despite the best efforts of the cats its full of slow worms and frogs.

I always enjoyed this thread on UK.birding. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we all start to foam at the mouth and yet we wonder at how easy terrorism begins!

 

[deniseMN]

Where I live there is a leash law not only for dogs but cats as well. If a neighbor's cat is a nuisance one can trap the cat and take it to the Humane society. Many cat owners do not want to bail there cat out over and over. And, if one lives in a rural area, it's legal to shoot feral cats.

 

[Richard D]

Just a brief observation in relation to the original post - we don't know for certain that cats were responsible for this loss of brood. It could have been another Magpie, another bird, a rat, a stoat, a weasel etc. etc. all of which could leave chicks on the ground, particularly if disturbed. And no I'm not denying cats do sometimes raid nests.

 

[crazythalia]

Cats are NOT a natural predator!
Don't be fooled into thinking cats with bells can't catch birds,
They learn to stalk silently, bell or not,
and just because you're not finding evidence doesn't mean they're hunting!

I love birds.
I like cats, and they're lovely pets,
but they belong INSIDE!
not only better for the cat (increasing the lifespan average by about TEN YEARS (from 4 years)) but better for local wildlife too~!

People who can't be responsible enough to keep their cats indoors shouldn't own cats!
My neighbors all have cats, living on the borders of a park/march/large field,
and the local bird population IS surviving, but I don't know how!
Every day I walk and find feathers, and decapitated heads,
thanks largely to house cats who already have enough food to eat, and DO NOT need to hunt to survive!
Call it instinct,
but it is NOT natural!
Domestication is very UN natural and house cats would NOT be in such dense populations if they weren't fed and protected by people!

Keep your little killers indoors,
Save birds!

BELLS DO NOT WORK!http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/factsheets/predation.pdf

 

[trooper]

Interesting debate about cats, and something I've wondered about - being a cat owner.

My two have bells. One is too lazy to hunt, and we've now got our back garden securely fenced so they are confined there for the duration (nesting season). At least I hope our more active cat doesn't manage to jump the fence!

Has anyone got tips for dog walking? One of mine is being a real pest. Can you still buy those high pitched whistles, and would they disturb the birds? Where I live is quite open, and he is a master at slipping his collar!

I´ve got a hunting whistle for my dog and he´s trained to come back as soon as he hears it, as for slipping his collar, I use a harness which is a)better for the throat of the dog and b)he can´t slip out of it.

I do not have to many problems in my Garden with cats because of my dog, it works a treat!!.