RSPB &BBC blame farming practices for curlew decline

[Exfarmer]

Why do all the do gooders like packham want more raptors and predators like badgers?
Can’t work it out.
Releasing eagles will cause untold problems for sheep farmers in Scotland.

They do not give a s**t for farmers

 

[renewablejohn]

View attachment 789432 View attachment 789434

Just looked up on the 2016 result as to what is meant by farming activities. Turns out it was just 1 nest that had been trampled by sheep. How on earth was that farming activities or is the countryside supposed to be devoid of all animals.

 

[bracken basher]

Just looked up on the 2016 result as to what is meant by farming activities. Turns out it was just 1 nest that had been trampled by sheep. How on earth was that farming activities or is the countryside supposed to be devoid of all animals.

They want to reintroduce cattle to graze suitable nesting habitat in Wales,not sure where they will find cows that are trained to avoid and step around nests!

 

[Agrispeed]

All that does is move flooding higher up
See the problems beaver dams create in the USA on farmsteads and logging roads.

Exactly, delay the flow of water from the small upland streams after rainfall - Maybe only a few cubic meters in each one, and the culmative effect is that the peak flow in the bigger river downstream is much lower. The EA is actually doing it with man made 'leaky dams' but a beaver will do it for free.

European beavers were only recently made extinct in this country in the grand scheme of things.

 

[CollCrofter]

We were in the schemes for all sorts here for years, corncrakes, lapwings etc... The numbers were dropping while under the schemes management system... I decided it wasn't financially worth staying in the schemes about 3 years ago and since then our calling male Corncrake numbers are up and there's lapwings for everyone here.

Blame the RSPB.

 

[2wheels]

Impossible, some beards have done a survey and the birds weren’t there during office hours so can’t possibly exist.

well i have a beard and the time was about 10am so there!

 

[J 1177]

Same here. Yellow hammers, supposed to be in trouble. Plenty here.

Our place is awash with yellow hammers

 

[Fish]

We have this year the most lapwings nesting on this farm that I have ever seen, I thought last year was good with around 15/20 nesting pairs, but this year we have at least 25/30 pairs.

 

[egbert]

We have this year the most lapwings nesting on this farm that I have ever seen, I thought last year was good with around 15/20 nesting pairs, but this year we have at least 25/30 pairs.

Our place is awash with yellow hammers

whoa...stop it. This can't be right...you chaps are those wicked farmer types,
surely you're only interested in destroying nature, and making a profit ?
You can't have more birdies than before, let alone know which ones are which.
I read it in the Guardian, so it must be true.


Seriously? It's complex.
We've lost a lot of winter visiting birds since destocking in HLS etc, although I'm told they've simply moved to somewhere they prefer.
Generally, we're awash with wildlife, although the ceaseless walkers dogs aren't helping.
I caught a family whose spaniel was head down charging through the rough last week. 'It's OK' Dad claimed, 'I'm a gamekeeper, and she's a working dog'.
I was frickin furious, and wished the most unfortunate end upon him and his effing dog.

And while I've nothing agin beavers per se, as long as we're allowed to dispatch them if we don't want them (oh, wasn't that the plan?)
What I hate is the subterfuge, and rewilding associations they come with.
And my hatred for urban eco-warrior rewilding enthusiasts is of a depth barely plumbed yet.

Oh. cuckoo heard today!

 

[Skimmer]

Unfortunately there are to many badly taught graduates working for natural England ECT and have very little actual knowledge of different wildlife in different habitats they take a one size fits all antifarmer attitude and in a lot of cases the farmer knows more about the local environment than they do.

 

[upnortheast]

Unfortunately there are to many badly taught graduates working for natural England ECT and have very little actual knowledge of different wildlife in different habitats

Few years ago a village by pass was being planned. Friend who farms there was in the workshop about dusk when a car comes in the yard, Here to do a wildlife survey for the bypass plans.
Friend continued in his workshop & heard a number of Owls were being very vocal.
Couple of hours later the surveyers returned to the yard.
How many owls say my friend " No sign of any Owls" they say

 

[A1an]

Farmers? More like Forestry Commission. The photos attached are of farmland bought by the Commission and every inch has been planted. If there is a field in this picture it's planted.

Knowing this ground it's perfect for waders.

This should never have been allowed .

 

[Pebd99]

Lapwings always did well here in the spring oilseed rape. There’s lots of pairs on the spring barley fields just now but not nested yet. We’ve a grazing field in a scheme for wader birds. Thought it was a load of pish to start but there must of been 50-60 flying about on that field last summer.

 

[Northernlights]

Badgers are the number one problem as far as ground nesting birds are concerned.Have been farming for nearly 50 years now and we now have almost no wild pheasants and are down to one pair of oyster catchers when in the past there would be at least a pair in every field .Last year for the first time no oyster catcher chicks were produced in spite of us gong round the nests in the swedes .Witnessed a badger at 7.00pm walking up to the nest and taking the eggs.Back in the sixties we used to have one badger sett within a mile of the farm We now have ten.

Badgers climb over the garden wall every night to pick up the spilt grain from the bird feeder something that has only occured in the last two years and never before

Someone once asked me why if there are so many badgers and they have eaten everthing do they not die out through starvation particularly in the winter. My own theory is that the tens of thousands of tame pheasants released every late summer provides them with food all winter as they do not roost in trees and have no self preservation instincts and are easy food at ground level. .Ironic that they have to be released because the wild pheasants have all their eggs eaten by badgers. In the sixties there were plenty of wild pheasant broods. So again man is making a bad situation worse by keeping alive more predators than would normally survive.

Add to this the vast numbers of pine martin here and most of the woods are now wild life free areas .A few years ago a pen of two hundred pheasants in a neighbouring wood was wiped out in a week by pine martin who broke into it.

Some form of responsible predator control is now needed to control numbers

 

[egbert]

Farmers? More like Forestry Commission. The photos attached are of farmland bought by the Commission and every inch has been planted. If there is a field in this picture it's planted.

Knowing this ground it's perfect for waders.

This should never have been allowed .

View attachment 789908 View attachment 789910

Are you sure about that...the commission has bought this land? News to me.

 

[A1an]

According to the local word.

I didn't think it looked Commission style but was told it was.

 

[egbert]

According to the local word.

I didn't think it looked Commission style but was told it was.

I'd ask again, I'm unaware of the commish expanding their landholdings, and it will be news.

If you can't find out, pm me with what details you've got, because I'm wanting to know if it's true.

 

[Raider112]

Badgers are the number one problem as far as ground nesting birds are concerned.Have been farming for nearly 50 years now and we now have almost no wild pheasants and are down to one pair of oyster catchers when in the past there would be at least a pair in every field .Last year for the first time no oyster catcher chicks were produced in spite of us gong round the nests in the swedes .Witnessed a badger at 7.00pm walking up to the nest and taking the eggs.Back in the sixties we used to have one badger sett within a mile of the farm We now have ten.

Badgers climb over the garden wall every night to pick up the spilt grain from the bird feeder something that has only occured in the last two years and never before

Someone once asked me why if there are so many badgers and they have eaten everthing do they not die out through starvation particularly in the winter. My own theory is that the tens of thousands of tame pheasants released every late summer provides them with food all winter as they do not roost in trees and have no self preservation instincts and are easy food at ground level. .Ironic that they have to be released because the wild pheasants have all their eggs eaten by badgers. In the sixties there were plenty of wild pheasant broods. So again man is making a bad situation worse by keeping alive more predators than would normally survive.

Add to this the vast numbers of pine martin here and most of the woods are now wild life free areas .A few years ago a pen of two hundred pheasants in a neighbouring wood was wiped out in a week by pine martin who broke into it.

Some form of responsible predator control is now needed to control numbers

Predator control has always been common sense, trouble is the people in charge were born without any. They think if there wasn't enough prey the predators wouldn't breed then when the prey disappears they blame farmers. That's a great job, do nothing and blame someone else.

 

[upnortheast]

Badgers are the number one problem as far as ground nesting birds are concerned.Have been farming for nearly 50 years now and we now have almost no wild pheasants and are down to one pair of oyster catchers when in the past there would be at least a pair in every field .Last year for the first time no oyster catcher chicks were produced in spite of us gong round the nests in the swedes .Witnessed a badger at 7.00pm walking up to the nest and taking the eggs.Back in the sixties we used to have one badger sett within a mile of the farm We now have ten.

Exactly the same story here, - hedgehogs in short supply as well
Trump you, - 52 years since I left college

 

[Pond digger]

whoa...stop it. This can't be right...you chaps are those wicked farmer types,
surely you're only interested in destroying nature, and making a profit ?
You can't have more birdies than before, let alone know which ones are which.
I read it in the Guardian, so it must be true.


Seriously? It's complex.
We've lost a lot of winter visiting birds since destocking in HLS etc, although I'm told they've simply moved to somewhere they prefer.
Generally, we're awash with wildlife, although the ceaseless walkers dogs aren't helping.
I caught a family whose spaniel was head down charging through the rough last week. 'It's OK' Dad claimed, 'I'm a gamekeeper, and she's a working dog'.
I was frickin furious, and wished the most unfortunate end upon him and his effing dog.

And while I've nothing agin beavers per se, as long as we're allowed to dispatch them if we don't want them (oh, wasn't that the plan?)
What I hate is the subterfuge, and rewilding associations they come with.
And my hatred for urban eco-warrior rewilding enthusiasts is of a depth barely plumbed yet.

Oh. cuckoo heard today!

You heard a cuckoo, and that’s good, but it would be much more informative if we knew where you are.