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Songbird decline - It's the Magpies says Heseltine (1 Viewer)

That link also features a story about Johhny Ball allegedly blaming Global Warming on farting spiders, which is only slightly less ludicrous than anything Heseltine has to say...

Adrian
 
I can just imagine somewhere in cosy, leafy,Tory ridden Surrey right now, a bunch of blue rinsed battle axes and brain dead retired generals all nodding their misguided heads in agreement to this piece of dross from that has been political dunderhead, that is Heseltine
 
I'm sure all you liberal lefties know far better than somebody who was a minister for the environment :eek!:!!!! However, since a pair of Magpies started breeding in a garden a couple of doors down from me, the Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Hedge Sparrows and Greenfinches have failed to successfully raise a brood after previously flourishing. You can see the Magpies standing atop the bushes were nests are. Unfortunately, I can't be in the house all the time to scare them away.
 
mamo said:
I'm sure all you liberal lefties know far better than somebody who was a minister for the environment :eek!:!!!! However, since a pair of Magpies started breeding in a garden a couple of doors down from me, the Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Hedge Sparrows and Greenfinches have failed to successfully raise a brood after previously flourishing. You can see the Magpies standing atop the bushes were nests are. Unfortunately, I can't be in the house all the time to scare them away.
Click to expand...

I think you'll find it's more about science than way out ideas, man. (But of couse you can also use statistics and science to say what you like, if you aren't being rigorous...)

On a local level of course magpies can and will affect your very local populations. But if there were no predators we would of course soon be knee deep in blue tits etc.
Gardens hold high levels of songbirds - the real declines in the countryside are down to man's activities ie changing and intensive farming practises.

(And ministers aren't necessarily the experts- they get advised)

This topic has been done on here fairly well already....
 
mamo said:
I'm sure all you liberal lefties know far better than somebody who was a minister for the environment :eek!:!!!! However, since a pair of Magpies started breeding in a garden a couple of doors down from me, the Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Hedge Sparrows and Greenfinches have failed to successfully raise a brood after previously flourishing. You can see the Magpies standing atop the bushes were nests are. Unfortunately, I can't be in the house all the time to scare them away.
Click to expand...

May I ask why you have species bias? It's natural, if they are the reason of decline, which I don't believe they are, then I don't care because they're natural. I'm blaming this squarely on us.
 
mamo said:
I'm sure all you liberal lefties know far better than somebody who was a minister for the environment :eek!:!!!! However, since a pair of Magpies started breeding in a garden a couple of doors down from me, the Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Hedge Sparrows and Greenfinches have failed to successfully raise a brood after previously flourishing. You can see the Magpies standing atop the bushes were nests are. Unfortunately, I can't be in the house all the time to scare them away.
Click to expand...

Sure, Magpies do raid nests of other birds, but I'm not entirely in agreement that they alone are responsible for the decline of song birds. I happen to live in an area where song birds are still flourishing despite a healthy population of Magpies.
There are other birds such as Jackdaws, Jays, Hooded/Carrion Crows, Starlings and in the UK, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, to name but a few, that raid nests.Don't forget also mammalian predators such as Stoats/Weasels, Rats, Squirrels and feral/ pet cats do just as much damage. It's the latter that are most the problematical in my area.
It's unfortunate that the Magpie is always made a scapegoat on this topic when other factors are often ignored.
I,m sure Mr Heseltine was bowing to negative press and mythology when he brought up this case. It's also very unlikely he made any proper studies on the subject to justify his stance. Typical politician really.;)
 
Monahawk said:
Sure, Magpies do raid nests of other birds, but I'm not entirely in agreement that they alone are responsible for the decline of song birds. I happen to live in an area where song birds are still flourishing despite a healthy population of Magpies.
There are other birds such as Jackdaws, Jays, Hooded/Carrion Crows, Starlings and in the UK, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, to name but a few, that raid nests.Don't forget also mammalian predators such as Stoats/Weasels, Rats, Squirrels and feral/ pet cats do just as much damage. It's the latter that are most the problematical in my area.
It's unfortunate that the Magpie is always made a scapegoat on this topic when other factors are often ignored.
I,m sure Mr Heseltine was bowing to negative press and mythology when he brought up this case. It's also very unlikely he made any proper studies on the subject to justify his stance. Typical politician really.;)
Click to expand...

He's also very much part of the country sports fraternity and follows their line on these matters.
 
If anyone is interested in a report that references peer reviewed scientific studies, this, is worth reading. It's not just about Magpies, but all predators, including Mammals.

I've posted this link before, but it doesn't seem to stop some people making up their own "facts".
 
mamo said:
I'm sure all you liberal lefties know far better than somebody who was a minister for the environment :eek!:!!!! in
Click to expand...

1. I've never heard of a liberal "righty".
2. Yes, we do know far better than a minister for the environment. we've taken the trouble to learn for ourselves, not rely on "advisors" hand picked for their converging views.
Chris
p.s. Not the bloody " Magpies are ripping the hearts out of our pretty little songbirds" bullsh*t , again. It's not only scientifically incorrect, but mindnumbingly boring now.
C
 
apbarr said:
Almost certainly (but unfortunately I don't have the science to back it up;);)) responsible for more songbird deaths than Magpies
Click to expand...

There is some evidence available, from the RSPB predator report, that I linked to in my last post: (which I have a feeling not many people will actually read |=)|)

There are an estimated nine million domestic cats in the
UK, and there is increasing concern about their possible
impact on native wildlife. By no means are all cats
hunters, but extrapolations from prey returns by relatively
small samples of cats (May 1988; Woods et al. 2003)
indicate that, nationally, they kill millions of birds each
year...
Click to expand...
 
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