Inundated with birds in the garden

hardly been any in ours for a few days now, worrying really

 

Not just in my garden though. They catch them in other gardens and bring them in mine to feed on them and vice versa , keep chasing them out when I see them but often see loads of feathers on my lawn .

 

A cat killed a Wood Pigeon and decapitated it on our shed roof. I had to go out and clean the bugger up because Laura couldn't bare to look at it as she was hanging washing out.

 

Hanging washing out when it's minus 3 degrees lol. The washing will never dry out lol

 

Laura likes to air it. I should have put this was in the summer lol

 

Tits like coconuts.

 

Little disappointed in the context of this after reading the headline......

 

...and sparrows like breadcrumbs

 

So do I JLWBL. We're out on the rural side of Dodworth, and we often have a garden full of birds. I have the same experience as you do with the excited/impatient twittering whenever I'm putting any food out, and they barely let me get back inside before they're piling in. Love to watch their to and fro, and I'm certainly no twitcher.

We've had all sorts, even got a pheasant for the first time today - came wandering right up to the patio doors and looked great against the snow.

 

It's years since we had a pheasant hen in the garden.
I accept this thread has simply confirmed I'm nothing more than a sad, old sod!

 

We had 2 pheasants in the garden just a couple of weeks ago. Gone before I could take any photos though

 

Evidently that makes two of us.

Think in a previous thread someone might have mentioned they'd not seen any finches for a while, and I should add to my post above that oddly, while we've had them before and we've got feed out they like, we've not really had any finches either since well before last summer. Does anyone know why?

 

Pheasants are really lovely looking birds. Problem is they are a bit thick and don't have any road sense .

 

Know a few women like that Mr B

 

We ve had gulls in ours. Didn't come in when I was doing the bird watch though. I think I prefer to listen to the birds than watch them, love their singing waking me up of a morning ( not so much in summer but I can always go back to sleep!)

 

8,000,000 domestic cats in the UK

They hunt 2 times a day (morn and eve + opportunistic)

If every hunt is successful, that’s 16,000,000 birds a day.

5,840,000,000 a year.

Only half the kills are birds – the others are mice = 2,920,000,000 birds a year. That sounds much better. Not.



So let’s say they only catch 1 a day:

8,000,000 birds a day

2,920,000,000 a year.

Only half the kills are birds – the others are mice = 1,460,000,000 birds a year


Now lets pretend that the do-gooders (RSPB-types!!!!) who have fluffy little angels (“my Tiddles wouldn’t harm a fly”) make up half the population who DON’T hunt *

4,000,000 cats now hunt

8,000,000 birds a day (2 successful kills)

4,000,000 a day (1 successful)

ONLY 730,000,000 birds lost a year based on 1 bird kill / day

ONLY 365,000,000 assuming half the kills are mice


Now the do-gooders (RSPB-types – “yes, I own a cat but there is no evidence they affect bird populations”) tell us they only hunt in Spring (nesting season – 3 months). The above scenarios become:

730,000,000 (based on 8m cats, 2 kills a day, spring only)

365,000,000 (based on 8m cats, 1 kill a day, spring only)

182,500,000 (based on 4m cats, 1 kill a day, spring only)

Birds. Lost. Per. Year!!!



Add to that the increasing number of Corvids (Magpies etc) and grey Squirrels. Garden birds are doomed. Grey Squirrels can eat every egg from every nest in a garden once they have sussed location. Vermin.





* yes I was a cat owner for many years. One who was taken from its mother too young so never knew how to hunt. The other one was a mass murderer who more than made up for it. And no, I didn’t type the above from scratch – the stats are saved on my home device

 

Both my cats hunted but nowhere near that extent. My dog has caught one bird.Way more birds than cats in my garden.

 

I didn"t know that about squirrels, probably the reason there aren't many birds about, 5 squirrels at least though. Tree rat basturds; I hope jack frost has got them.

 

Might goes mad at birds, gave up on the feeders a while ago. He’s soft as a brush really, but acts tough when he sees birds, cats or squirrels.

 

Yours alone weren't responsible Helen, but add the other 7,999,998 and there is a problem