Jasonbirder said:
Unfortunately for fanciers the level of predation they suffered from Sparrowhawks and Peregrines during the 70`s and 80`s was artificially low because of the population crashes these Raptors suffered. As the population of these birds have recovered, then consequently so will the level of predation they suffer - what is needed is for fanciers to accept that the level of losses they suffer now or in the future as the population stabilises at a more natural level is the acceptable level of loss and not hanker for the "good `ol days" when raptors such as these were practically extinct in many areas.
Hi Jasonbirder,
Guess what? We share the same birthday - but that seems to be about all at the moment. For while you're still young enough to have candles on your cake, I have a 60 watt light bulb AND some candles as well!
What you have clearly misunderstood is that the 'acceptable' level of predation by Sparrowhawks on racing pigeons I referred to was BEFORE the problems brought about by DDT. In other words, even though the Sparrowhawk population had been stable for years it was a rare event indeed and a talking point for days among fanciers if a racing pigeon was killed by one.
Could it just be that this was due to the fact that the UK's songbird population at that time was at a level that people of your age can sadly only read about? So in effect the Sparrowhawk wasn't forced to supplement its diet by killing racing pigeons, because there was a much healthier population of its natural quarry - songbirds. I'm not being rude, but the dawn chorus is yet another experience which you can only dream about!
Let's move on to the 'Pesticide Plague' era and the crash of the Sparrowhawk population, along with that of many songbird species too, don't forget, a point which is often conveniently forgotten in the rush to defend raptors these days. Because the predation level at the time was already very low, this had no noticeable effect on the numbers of racing pigeons being killed. So it was 'business as usual' for fanciers.
Now we come to the present day. Sparrowhawk numbers have risen and songbird numbers have declined and still declining - despite the best efforts of the Government and the self-appointed multi-million pound charities dedicated to birds. Therefore in order to supplement its diminishing prey, the Sparrowhawk has diversified and is now 'mugging' an ever-increasing number of racing pigeons, which simply did not happen when songbirds were plentiful as I have explained.
Set against this, Sparrowhawk numbers used to be controlled by gamekeepers, which is now illegal, and they have few natural enemies apart from Goshawks and Pine Martens. Consequently their population is set to rise unchecked, which makes a total nonsense of the much vaunted statement that the availability of prey controls the number of predators.
The number of pigeon fanciers in Britain is declining due to the costs involved, but in many cases also as a direct result of predation, particuarly by Sparrowhawks. Any reduction in racing pigeon numbers is sure to put even more strain on songbird numbers which, in turn, means they will not be able to make good their losses and could disappear altogether.
We do NOT have an infinite and inexhaustable supply of birds in the UK as some of you seem to think. So if you want future generations to enjoy birds as much as you do, then something must be done about it now - before it is too late!
Anthony
