I detest magpies. As they have no natural predators, their population grows year on year.
And declines just as quickly, without any interference. There were dozens around my way, a few years back, couldn’t move for them! (This is in town, mind). All of a sudden, not a magpie to be seen, in town or country. Well, the occasional bird or two.
What was responsible? Certainly not shooting or traps. There were loads of jackdaws around a year or so ago, in town, but they’ve dropped off a bit now,too.
Hate the things between me and a local gamekeeper have trapped and killed over 30 this spring, grey squirrels are also shot on sight. Loads of young fledglings in our garden now
Yeah, well, there’s the thing, innit; he’s paid to slaughter birds so that posh, overpaid townies can drive up in their swanky cars, and their swanky tweeds, with their shotguns, solely to slaughter loads of other birds bred in huge numbers purely so those people can kill them.
Considering the millions of birds bred, the numbers taken by predators doing what they were created to do pale to insignificance.
And then there are the asshole gamekeepers putting down poison bait to kill rare birds like Eagles, Hen Harriers, and the like.
I’d happily make the bastards eat their own bait.
