Magpies

[Doing it for the kids]

Is anyone else struggling this year to catch them in Larsen traps?

Seen quite a few about, normally catch 10-15 on our patch by now and only caught 4

Kids and dog are getting despondent and I’m not far behind.

Maybe they are evolving and learning not to go in

 

[davidroberts30]

Is anyone else struggling this year to catch them in Larsen traps?

Seen quite a few about, normally catch 10-15 on our patch by now and only caught 4

Kids and dog are getting despondent and I’m not far behind.

Maybe they are evolving and learning not to go in

Take the trap and call bird to a new area to get a stranger

 

[pycoed]

Is anyone else struggling this year to catch them in Larsen traps?

Seen quite a few about, normally catch 10-15 on our patch by now and only caught 4

Kids and dog are getting despondent and I’m not far behind.

Maybe they are evolving and learning not to go in

Get a callbird from far away- best one I ever had was from my son's in Oxfordshire, the locals just queued up to get at the English accent! Was quid's in until the wife took pity on him when I was away for the weekend & let him go

 

[Nick.]

It is really slow catching at the moment.
I move my traps every 2nd day normally.
A bit of nice warm weather seems to improve catch rates.
If any one needs a crow I can always keep one.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Get a callbird from far away- best one I ever had was from my son's in Oxfordshire, the locals just queued up to get at the English accent! Was quid's in until the wife took pity on him when I was away for the weekend & let him go

This one came from there too. Maybe I need a northern monkey to help.

I’d put wife in the cage with that behaviour!

 

[Doing it for the kids]

It is really slow catching at the moment.
I move my traps every 2nd day normally.
A bit of nice warm weather seems to improve catch rates.
If any one needs a crow I can always keep one.

I’d like a crow, think they do more damage than magpies but hard to catch

 

[Farmer_Joe]

a section for this would be handy, where its not in public view like holding number number required or something often have spare magpies.

 

[Nick.]

I always catch more crows than magpies.
Had 3 today. Evil bloody things.
One of those today was covered in egg yoke. God knows how many eggs it must have raided.

 

[CPF]

How about having a Aussie one

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Looks like a cross between a magpie and crow,

 

[Wilksy]

My mate has noticed it’s been hard going catching, maybe two or three at first and now nothing, but seeing plenty about, a local keeper also saying the same,
I’ve often wondered if it makes a difference if your call bird is a cock or hen

 

[Grandad Pig]

I always catch more crows than magpies.
Had 3 today. Evil bloody things.
One of those today was covered in egg yoke. God knows how many eggs it must have raided.

Been doing that for millions of years, funny we still have songbirds.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Been doing that for millions of years, funny we still have songbirds.

but, in the past we didn't have road kill, so there ae more predators that are able to overwinter and in the spring are still there to predated on the rest.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

but, in the past we didn't have road kill, so there ae more predators that are able to overwinter and in the spring are still there to predated on the rest.

Exactly, so many damn red kites here, road kill is gone whilst it’s still warm.

So many predators out there, simply less to go round.

I’d love to be able to ring fence / net the farm, have a massive badger / Covid cull and watCh and see what changes.

Pretty sure I know what would happen

 

[Bob c]

look on UK Larsen trapping
peeps asking, offering decoy corvids

 

[PSQ]

Been doing that for millions of years, funny we still have songbirds.

Wrong. Until the 70’s/80’s/90’s the UK had a generation of ex military keepers who were ruthless on predators, and lots of wildlife as an unintended consequence.

But with that generation gone, many in the media and general public think farmers are ripping out hedges and actively destroying habitat as bird numbers are dropping for many species. But not here, or on farms where predators are actively controlled, and species are returning in large numbers. RSPB audit this farm every 5 years, high numbers of ‘red list’ species found, which is only a surprise to the RSPB, but not me.

If the public realised the destruction that magpies cause to species they’d demand they be controlled, but drive down any urban dual carriageway and it’s heaving with magpies because “all birds are equal” in the public eye.

 

[Nearly]

'Don't catch the magpie, it's the only bird I see in the garden'

quote from one neighbour in 1998.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

'Don't catch the magpie, it's the only bird I see in the garden'

quote from one neighbour in 1998.

Where did it go so wrong!. That’s so sad to read

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Wrong. Until the 70’s/80’s/90’s the UK had a generation of ex military keepers who were ruthless on predators, and lots of wildlife as an unintended consequence.

But with that generation gone, many in the media and general public think farmers are ripping out hedges and actively destroying habitat as bird numbers are dropping for many species. But not here, or on farms where predators are actively controlled, and species are returning in large numbers. RSPB audit this farm every 5 years, high numbers of ‘red list’ species found, which is only a surprise to the RSPB, but not me.

If the public realised the destruction that magpies cause to species they’d demand they be controlled, but drive down any urban dual carriageway and it’s heaving with magpies because “all birds are equal” in the public eye.

It's us humans that have altered the balance of nature with or without gamekeepers.

Before we came along, the landscape would have been very different. Magpies may have been predated more, but there would have been so many more nest sites and a lot more birds generally.

It's not very scientific to blame one or 2 species for the general decline in wildlife.

 

[Alias]

Been doing that for millions of years, funny we still have songbirds.

When I was a kid every little farm had a cabin of hens and if there was a magpie or crow nest around then someone would make sure it was shot out. There were plenty of curlews, lapwings, partridges and and snipe reared young on the moor, but very few now. Still plenty of cover for them but crows and magpies nesting in folks gardens though, most of the new owners wouldn’t know what they were.
Across the valley the farming is just the same as with us, but there’s a couple of keen gamekeepers. I’ve seen lapwings, curlews and oystercatchers rear young over there. The only difference I can see between here and there is the number of covids. That says a lot to me