Talkback: Garden birds and their predators - Talkback

03/03/2010 at 11:27

Funny - a friend of mine (in Kent) just posted on Facebook that he had buzzards hunting the woods behind his house this morning. They get about.

Gardeners' World Web User

03/03/2010 at 21:41

My garden is usually visited by the smaller birds and nextdoors cats, that sit under the Butterfly bush

Gardeners' World Web User

03/03/2010 at 21:44

your friend is a very very lucky man to have buzzards hunting in the woods behind his house. I would love to have a wood behind my house, but instead i live on a housing estate.

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04/03/2010 at 09:18

hi i back onto woods and when i got up this morning there was well it looked like a small eagle eating a piegeon in my garden,i have never seen this bird before so i have no idea what it was....any ideas people???? it was browny colour,but there was a lot of birds making a sreaming noise hence why i got up to look and say my new feather lawn!!! 'nice'...not..

Gardeners' World Web User

04/03/2010 at 16:15

Reply to Sarahs Pond Life Your hawk is probably one of the regular two: kestrel and sparrowhawk. Have a look at the RSPB pages. They have links to similar species and give identification pointers. Kestrel: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/k/kestrel/index.aspx Sparrowhawk: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sparrowhawk/index.aspx Of course, depending where you live, it could also be peregrine falcon, red kite or buzzard

Gardeners' World Web User

04/03/2010 at 20:26

Gardeners World should get rid of Richard Jones and his cats after admitting they kill Birds..Birds do a lot of good in a garden and are part of the garden and brilliant to see...so why should he be paid to being party to getting them killed by his cats...yuk...how is he wildlife friendly?

Gardeners' World Web User

04/03/2010 at 23:38

From my garden on the border of Berkshire/Wiltshire I can see the buzzards hunting over the hills, but sometimes they venture over mine and my neighbours gardens where they are mobbed by the rooks that live close by in the trees, it is quite a sight to see. But I'm afraid Richard that I cannot be as flippant as you about cats killing birds. Any cats venturing into my garden are met with a blast from my water pistol. I read an article about keeping other people's cats out of your garden where it was suggested that we "non cat owners" put spikes on our fence around our garden. I would like to suggest that "responsible" cat owners put spikes on their fences to keep their cats in, that way I could garden without finding my hands covered in cat poo!!

Gardeners' World Web User

05/03/2010 at 11:03

Do not remind me of the dreaded cat poo!!..Richard there is a magazine called 'Cat World' would you not be more at home writing for them..you could even compare your cats prowess in bird termination with other cat lovers..i love to feed birds and enjoy them..they are part of my garden..when a cat is around it all stops until it goes away and annoys others.

Gardeners' World Web User

05/03/2010 at 11:25

I agree both with Harry Hill re Richard Jones and Dahlia Lover re cats killing birds. I love the birds and feed them all year round. We have put strips of spikes on tops of all fences but if there is an area without those spikes cats will find a way in. We had to resort to putting fine chicken wire through tops of shrubs and climbers etc. I have a laser gun, only heard by a cat or rat, and it really does work. People who own cats aren't bird lovers and don't seem to care about the cruelty and pain inflicted on baby birds and mice and indeed the suffering of the parent birds. Believe me, cats can be taught not to hunt and kill birds but people can't be bothered to teach them and just say "it's their nature". Enough said.

Gardeners' World Web User

05/03/2010 at 17:55

where can we buy a laser gun as we are tormented with cats which is upsetting for us when we have put in a huge effort to attract the birds to our 'NEW' garden.

Gardeners' World Web User

05/03/2010 at 20:53

hi richard,thanks for your info;have looked on thoses sites....im not sure it kinda looks like the kestral picture but still not sure as the 1 in my garden was more brown in colour than the picture i saw..[but i guess not ALL pictures are purrrrfect]. oh and by the way to all thoses people who are unhappy with cats killing birds,unfortunatly many animals kill other animals to eat...its called mother-nature.i dont enjoy seeing cats kill and i dont encourage it either but it happens thats life.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 00:21

I do understand that animals kill other animals to feed and agree - thats life, however, for you information sarah cats do not kill mice and birds to eat but for FUN, they play with them before presenting them to their masters, this is not for survival and as Penny says cats can be taught not to hunt!

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 08:54

People with cats are irrisponsible..they turn the other way over the mess they leave in other peoples gardens and as Richard they condone their cats killing birds..what a better life it would be if we could all enjoy our gardens with the birds being more relaxed and cheerful and no more poo deposits..it could have a positive effect on us all..as for the killing and hunting in our gardens do we not find it all barbaric in 2010..should we not have a say as who comes in to our garden to kill!! Richard is noticeable by his silence on this issue.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 11:35

hi dahlia lover,yes i know cats kill for fun but please there are millions of birds around and to be quite honest i see more larger birds killing smaller birds than cats getting hold of them,please get a grip...lol.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 11:51

I'm a little put out by the generalisation that Cat lovers are "irresponsible" or "aren't bird lovers" etc. Too much of a generalisation and not just a little offensive. I'm a bird lover AND a cat owner. I can honestly guarantee that my cat's do not kill anything at all. They are indoor cat's, they never go outside, are well adjusted, playful and great company. So please consider, SOME cat owners may indeed fit your descriptions, but not ALL.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 12:26

this tasteless and insensitive article was posted on the blogs in the same week that I received an email from BBC Gardener's World to enter a competition to win a bird feeding pack. Why on earth would I want to feed birds in the full knowledge that I am not helping them but luring them into danger from the marauding cats that are allowed to wander through my garden?? If you want a cat, have a cat. But keep it to yourself because I loathe the things.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 14:15

hi people,i have fed birds for many many years and its been a real joy,there are many many cats in the area i live in and i have to say i have never seen a cat catch 1 of the birds[although i know they do get them] however i have seen more larger birds catching the smaller birds. when a cat is watching the birds, our clever featherfriends do know,watch a cat monitoring the birds and you will know what i mean.i also agree with sarah there are many birds,so people get a grip,we cant wrap them up in cotton-wool,its called life.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 14:56

Chiswickian - do stop being so prissy. There is nothing 'tasteless and insensitive' about this article, Richard is merely mentioning some statistics that are in the public domain. Birds are quite capable of the same brutality as 'marauding cats' - they're not cuddly toys, you know.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 16:58

thank god for some common sence, moira, miss blue-tit and sarahspondlife.

Gardeners' World Web User

06/03/2010 at 17:04

hello,my wife asked me today to clear the leaves out of our pond,while i was doing this i scoped out 2 sets of frogs doing there buiness[frogsex],i popped them back into pond,have i ruined the chance of getting frogspawn???they were still ontop of each other when i put them back into the water. soory this hasn't got anything to do with birds and cats,but we have both and have never had a headless bird left to us for a gifted..both bring us much joy.x