mark clements
New member
I've had none in my garden since I moved in 3 years since.
I have seen some (very few) in villages nearby.
Harry
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Birds you don't like... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter RichieTwitchy
- Start date
I've had none in my garden since I moved in 3 years since.
I have seen some (very few) in villages nearby.
Harry
You’ve already seen them in their “natural habitat” which is us, human beings, wherever we go in the world with our waste grain, junk food debris, bread crusts and bird feeders. Of all the environmental conditions favorable or unfavorable to House Sparrows these, not geographical location, are the ones that count. You’ll accordingly find House Sparrows in the same kind of places in England as you find them in Canada.
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This is a tricky one I don't like to use the term "Birds I don't like' because I like all birds but I suppose the birds I don't really care for are Crows & Jackdaws.
I am afraid it is Starlings for me because they eat all the bird food without a thankful word.
I love all corvids, but to me the bird feeders is not the place for them because they are too larger species to be able sit on a bird feeder in any shape or form
:gh::gh:
I love all corvids, but to me the bird feeders is not the place for them because they are too larger species to be able sit on a bird feeder in any shape or form
:gh::gh:
Sangahyando
Well-known member
I think the more relevant criterion is whether they arrived on their own or were imported by humans.
That is true I always get them in my garden round May eating all the bird food and they sometimes fool me mimicking other bird calls so I suppose I dislike Starlings too.
I remember hearing a Starling impersonating Oyster Catchers at Hunstation, Norfolk. The thing is that Oyster Catchers do not sit on high roofs. and it fooled me for a while LOL.
Sparrowhawks and goshawks, because they look very sinister and evil and eat their prey alive.
I wouldn't say I necessarily dislike them, but they're certainly a long way down the list of birds that I do like.
I still get excited if I see a sparrowhawk pass over though. I saw one yesterday with a small bird in its talons while flying - it was a fair way away but I could hear the little bird squealing, and either a crow or magpie harassing it, and the small bird was dropped and fell to the ground.
Special mention to the wren - I find their call to be very irritating, especially if heard first thing on a morning right outside your bedroom window. I will happily take all the magpie chatter and collared dove cooing in the world over that.
Speaking of house sparrows - I must admit, I am always surprised to hear that they are seemingly uncommon in certain areas, considering they're by far the most commonly seen bird. My garden is inundated with house sparrows - if every other bird disappeared then I'm certain they'd still be there. I love them though. There was a couple nesting in a brick vent in my wall and occasionally they would fly on to the ledge outside my window, with insects in their mouth, and would give a side glance to me as if to say 'What the hell is that?!'.
I wouldn't say I necessarily dislike them, but they're certainly a long way down the list of birds that I do like.
I still get excited if I see a sparrowhawk pass over though. I saw one yesterday with a small bird in its talons while flying - it was a fair way away but I could hear the little bird squealing, and either a crow or magpie harassing it, and the small bird was dropped and fell to the ground.
Special mention to the wren - I find their call to be very irritating, especially if heard first thing on a morning right outside your bedroom window. I will happily take all the magpie chatter and collared dove cooing in the world over that.
Speaking of house sparrows - I must admit, I am always surprised to hear that they are seemingly uncommon in certain areas, considering they're by far the most commonly seen bird. My garden is inundated with house sparrows - if every other bird disappeared then I'm certain they'd still be there. I love them though. There was a couple nesting in a brick vent in my wall and occasionally they would fly on to the ledge outside my window, with insects in their mouth, and would give a side glance to me as if to say 'What the hell is that?!'.
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Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Wow, that's one of my most wanted birds!
Why so? What does it matter whether they arrived in the New World through deliberate introduction or were blown across the Atlantic by a freak storm or found their way here by some other “natural” means? The impacts on the environment will be the same in either case, and for the most part will be negligible since the North American population, at any rate, appears incapable of surviving in any but the most anthropogeneticly altered habitats.
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Sangahyando
Well-known member
Because if they're introduced by humans, it becomes our responsibility to do something about it.
Suitable anthropogenic habitats aren't going to go away unless they become so hostile that they support basically no non-human life forms, or people become extinct. Neither of which is a desirable outcome.
Ours as humans beings? An odd form of inherited collective guilt it seems to me and an odd perspective on ethical responsibility. Surely if the abrupt arrival of the sparrows was a bad thing it was “our” duty to do something about it regardless of the means of transport? But the question is moot since the sparrows are clearly here to stay regardless of what you and I have to say about them. Fortunately, confined as they are to farmyards and the near proximity of occupied buildings, they pose only a minor threat to the native avifauna.
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It's a good point. Collared doves were largely absent from Europe until the mid 20th century - now they're ubiquitous, and they arrived here on their own accord. Would it really have been worse if they had been brought here by man?
Likewise, the house sparrow was originally found in the Middle East and then followed man to the rest of Eurasia. Man was indirectly responsible for the spread of the house sparrow from its original range in the Middle East to the rest of the Old World. I would hazard a guess that most bird species are not truly native to any one place but have migrated and moved over the course of thousands of years.
The natural environment changes and adapts. The one thing that it struggles to adapt to is the damage man causes. No other species in the world could ever have such a devastating impact on the natural environment and the species that live in it as people do. We are always eager to point the finger at other things but are often reluctant to attribute blame to ourselves despite being the most destructive force on this planet.
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Sangahyando
Well-known member
Not collective guilt obviously, but if you're involved in conservation, you have to tackle issues such as these. Conservationists also try to right plenty of other wrongs that weren't caused by them in person, often not even by their kin.
Ideally of course, every individual who causes problems such as the introduction of alien species - whether by neglect or on purpose - should be held accountable. But many of the perpetrators are already dead, so it's up to the rest of the world to repair the damage.
Also, I don't buy the argument that is often made that "we can't entirely get rid of invasive species xyz". It's usually just a matter of effort, at least with when dealing with tetrapods. Of course, you might have to jail some of the local "animal rights activists" beforehand.
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
A bit off-topic, but . . .
Yes, they do; I've seen them on the roof of my local hospital, and they often nest on the flat roofs of big industrial buildings :t:The thing is that Oyster Catchers do not sit on high roofs. and it fooled me for a while LOL.
I agree with the gist of what you say, and certainly agree that introduced “tetrapods” should be removed from islands and suchlike places whenever (which is almost always) they pose threats to the native biota. The North American House Sparrow population on the other hand. . ..
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A little off topic once more - I have never seen Oyster Catchers do that yet - the only place I have seen Oyster Catchers nesting (out of the normal) is in a car park where I used to work at Exxon Mobile many years ago - it caused a stir with the management!!!
JayJefferson
Member
House sparrows - like mentioned above, I also think they're invasive, unnatural, and too common here
Ostriches - just feel disgusted towards them, can't say exactly why so, it's not because of 'birds should fly' etc, just so.
Ostriches - just feel disgusted towards them, can't say exactly why so, it's not because of 'birds should fly' etc, just so.
