Got the Bstd!

[Mike J]

The small birds in my garden have been suffering from predations by a single magpie that has been timing its attacks around dusk.
Is had a juvinile bluetit and made two unsuccessful attacks on a goldcrest in a single evening recently, it seems to look for targets that are slowing up as the frost comes down.
Because its so inconsistant in its attacks it wasn't easy to be ready with the gun.
However fate played a hand.
While up a ladder setting a new PIR/alarm I had the garage door open, a flurry of wings near my ear and a small bird whipped past closely followed by the damned maggie, but my elevated presence must have distracted it enough to cause it to fly straight into the open garage
I was down the ladder and shutting the door quicker than it takes to type it!
What a result!

And, well you can guess the rest.


Anyone else have any experience of maggies hunting small birds in winter?

[Kev Berry]

I find that so very wrong. You will be shooting sprawks next.

[cooky]

I find that so very wrong. You will be shooting sprawks next.

not wrong at all they are on the vermin list

[Kev Berry]

I find that so very wrong. You will be shooting sprawks next.

not wrong at all they are on the vermin list

they only on the vermin list because they eat pheasant chicks and eggs---just like other birds on the so called "vermin" list

they have lived side by side with all the song birds for thousands of years----funny how up until a 100 years or so ago there was no problem with the population

even the RSPB have come up with evidence to show they still do not affect the songbird population

[cooky]

until they are taken off if at all they can still be legally killed

just like jays they are beautiful but i still had one stuffed and mounted on a branch

[Kev Berry]

until they are taken off if at all they can still be legally killed

just like jays they are beautiful but i still had one stuffed and mounted on a branch

so kill it---just because you can?????

[Nobby C]

20171007_154622.jpg

Around my way it's pheasants that are vermin, the guns pay thousands for a days shooting and leave the birds. They've no interest in eating them, just killing them. The birds are given away if anyone wants them or dumped in pits .BTW Croftus, one of the gamekeepers has a Grand Vitara.

[Edward.P.A.C]

20171007_154622.jpg
Around my way it's pheasants that are vermin, the guns pay thousands for a days shooting and leave the birds. They've no interest in eating them, just killing them. The birds are given away if anyone wants them or dumped in pits .BTW Croftus, one of the gamekeepers has a Grand Vitara.

Now that is wrong.!

When we have the shoots round my way, whatever birds the guns dont take are given to the local butchers and sold.

[Mike J]

20171007_154622.jpg
Around my way it's pheasants that are vermin, the guns pay thousands for a days shooting and leave the birds. They've no interest in eating them, just killing them. The birds are given away if anyone wants them or dumped in pits .BTW Croftus, one of the gamekeepers has a Grand Vitara.

Do you have clear personal evidence to support what you say, or is this something you have heard?

If you have supporting evidence please post the links including where 'your way' is, the name of the shoot, the keepers name who drives the GV and the location of the 'pits' where the bodies of these unwanted phseasants are dumped.
The national representative body for sporting shooting the British Association of Shooting and Conservation will require these details for its investigations.

Thank you.

[Mike J]

I find that so very wrong. You will be shooting sprawks next.

I didnt shoot it.
I wrung its neck, humanely.

[Kev Berry]

20171007_154622.jpg
Around my way it's pheasants that are vermin, the guns pay thousands for a days shooting and leave the birds. They've no interest in eating them, just killing them. The birds are given away if anyone wants them or dumped in pits .BTW Croftus, one of the gamekeepers has a Grand Vitara.

Do you have clear personal evidence to support what you say, or is this something you have heard?

If you have supporting evidence please post the links including where 'your way' is, the name of the shoot, the keepers name who drives the GV and the location of the 'pits' where the bodies of these unwanted phseasants are dumped.
The national representative body for sporting shooting the British Association of Shooting and Conservation will require these details for its investigations.

Thank you.

Mike, one of my ex's used to shoot for a local ladies team at one of the big estates near here, the unwanted birds got dumped in a hole and buried.

Not to mention the various other birds that got shot that shouldn't have been, plus badgers fox's and anything else they shot on a drive.

don't ask for evidence, unless you go undercover you never going to see it first hand, my ex had no reason to invent it.

[Nobby C]

20171007_154622.jpg
Around my way it's pheasants that are vermin, the guns pay thousands for a days shooting and leave the birds. They've no interest in eating them, just killing them. The birds are given away if anyone wants them or dumped in pits .BTW Croftus, one of the gamekeepers has a Grand Vitara.

Do you have clear personal evidence to support what you say, or is this something you have heard?

If you have supporting evidence please post the links including where 'your way' is, the name of the shoot, the keepers name who drives the GV and the location of the 'pits' where the bodies of these unwanted phseasants are dumped.
The national representative body for sporting shooting the British Association of Shooting and Conservation will require these details for its investigations.

Thank you.

WTF are you on about? Mind your own business. The shoots bring a deal of much needed income into rural areas that get neglected by the urban elites. Want some pheasants? Plenty to go round.

That's the polite answer.

[kenny sloan]

Never had any problem with the magpie just Mr hawk. This year i have seen a decline in Goldfinch only one to the tables , this time last year bet 15 to 20 ,also the Green finch and Thrush very scarce .The last 5 years have seen less birds even with a hard frost .Have the usual one's coming ,including 2 redpoll, 1 blackcap,6 blackbirds.

[Duncan Holmes]

Never had any problem with the magpie just Mr hawk. This year i have seen a decline in Goldfinch only one to the tables , this time last year bet 15 to 20 ,also the Green finch and Thrush very scarce .The last 5 years have seen less birds even with a hard frost .Have the usual one's coming ,including 2 redpoll, 1 blackcap,6 blackbirds.

We have had a massive reduction in numbers of Goldfinches this year as well.

On the plus side, Nuthatch and Goldcrest for the first time on the feeders.

[Kev Berry]

Never had any problem with the magpie just Mr hawk. This year i have seen a decline in Goldfinch only one to the tables , this time last year bet 15 to 20 ,also the Green finch and Thrush very scarce .The last 5 years have seen less birds even with a hard frost .Have the usual one's coming ,including 2 redpoll, 1 blackcap,6 blackbirds.

blame the thrush decline on those little blue pellets everyone reaches for when they see a slug or a snail. Declines not always down to predation. Pesticides do for most of them, bad weather, poor fledgling recruitment due to weather, loss of habitat/food .

[kenny sloan]

Never had any problem with the magpie just Mr hawk. This year i have seen a decline in Goldfinch only one to the tables , this time last year bet 15 to 20 ,also the Green finch and Thrush very scarce .The last 5 years have seen less birds even with a hard frost .Have the usual one's coming ,including 2 redpoll, 1 blackcap,6 blackbirds.

We have had a massive reduction in numbers of Goldfinches this year as well.

On the plus side, Nuthatch and Goldcrest for the first time on the feeders.

Never had Nuthatch or Goldcrest ,would like to see them .I noticed some birds wagtail,and chaffinch with a club foot hopping around .

[zodiac]

Is killing a magpie because it hunts small birds not just like killing a pike because it eats small fish? Why is one ok but not the other?

[Kev Berry]

Is killing a magpie because it hunts small birds not just like killing a pike because it eats small fish? Why is one ok but not the other?

Because due to being put on the vermin list thanks to the shooting lobby and the public being brainwashed into believing its them killing all the songbirds (and not us) its name is well and truly blackened.
Even the RSPB say they do not harm the population of song birds, pretty much living on the excess just like pike do (and all other preds)

[zodiac]

Is killing a magpie because it hunts small birds not just like killing a pike because it eats small fish? Why is one ok but not the other?

Because due to being put on the vermin list thanks to the shooting lobby and the public being brainwashed into believing its them killing all the songbirds (and not us) its name is well and truly blackened.
Even the RSPB say they do not harm the population of song birds, pretty much living on the excess just like pike do (and all other preds)

Cheers Kev, I gathered that much though mate, my post was more of a satirical comment, the irony of people chastising the Irish trout mob, for example, for killing pike, but are quite happy to kill a magpie which is simply taking advantage of a food source. (Mike J that's not directed at you, more of a general comment)

[sharkbait]

Magpies hammer songbird eggs and young chicks in the spring. The diffeeence between controlling there numbers and killing a pike is the pike control there own numbers by eating jacks.

[Kev Berry]

Magpies hammer songbird eggs and young chicks in the spring. The diffeeence between controlling there numbers and killing a pike is the pike control there own numbers by eating jacks.

They've done that since day one. Predator numbers are controlled by prey numbers. Magpies don't rely on songbirds to live

[Jason Skilton]

It does seem very wrong to shot a magpie for doing what evolution evolved it to be.....

Its a simple process of K & Y species i.e. predator vs prey.......the more predators you kill the more prey survive and thus in the end you get more predators.....well unless you kill all of them.....

[zodiac]

Magpies hammer songbird eggs and young chicks in the spring. The diffeeence between controlling there numbers and killing a pike is the pike control there own numbers by eating jacks.

The trouties say something similar about pike.

[Jason Skilton]

Magpies hammer songbird eggs and young chicks in the spring. The diffeeence between controlling there numbers and killing a pike is the pike control there own numbers by eating jacks.

And magpies get eaten by other raptors......its a bird each bird world!

[Kev Berry]

Magpies hammer songbird eggs and young chicks in the spring. The diffeeence between controlling there numbers and killing a pike is the pike control there own numbers by eating jacks.

And magpies get eaten by other raptors......its a bird each bird world!

apparently a favourite snack for those escaped eagle owls that are doing pretty well on some Yorkshire moors is a ---------buzzard

[davelumb]

Eagle owls. Now there's a thing. Some of the birdy types want to see them shot as they reckon they're a non-indigenous introduction. It's a mad, mad, world.

[Kev Berry]

Eagle owls. Now there's a thing. Some of the birdy types want to see them shot as they reckon they're a non-indigenous introduction. It's a mad, mad, world.

some of the grouse shooters did as well---it was them that discovered they were eating buzzards (pellet examination) and not so many grouse as they thought

[colinb]

I have nearly as many Magpies around my place as I have F.....ng White F......g Doves.

[davelumb]

I have nearly as many Magpies around my place as I have F.....ng White F......g Doves.

[Wat Tyler]

Completely and utterly pointless. If you create a natural anomaly (As you do when regularly feeding garden birds, stocking waters holding pike with trout or woodland with pheasants.) a predator will exploit it. All that will happen is that your dead magpie will be replaced by other corvids.

You've killed an innocent bird for no reason whatsoever.