At least some of the endangered small bird species will be able to sleep a bit easier tonight. Especially after they've had a good feed at some of the wheat put out by the local keeper.
Ah, that'll be the endangered species who's numbers are reduced due to human interference with their habitat, the very cold winter, road kill, feline predation...
The so-called 'sparrowhawk' problem of reduced songbird numbers is a myth, largely put about by pigeon racers and those who hate any type of natural predator. They even blame Buzzards, which mostly scavange and eat earthworms and small mammals, they're too slow and big to catch small birds. I live in North Wilts, and spend a lot of time in the countryside. In the last two years, I have seen a couple of Peregrines, (apart from the pair in Bath), a couple of Red Kites,
a couple of Short-Eared Owls, dozens of Buzzards and Kestrels, and possibly one, perhaps two Sparrowhawks. They're not common, I've only ever seen one in my garden, some years back, and it can't possibly explain the huge population
crash in birds like Starlings and House Sparrows. I get more Goldfinches in the garden than Sparrows, and maybe half a dozen Starlings. It's loss of habitat for nesting, the closing up of roofspaces for prevention of global warming, (gotta cut down your carbon footprint, insulate your roof), that's the problem. A couple of thousand Sparrowhawks can't be blamed for the loss of millions of Sparrows and Starlings, among many others.
