Help to prevent our countryside falling silent
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Comments
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Had a pair of Jays in the garden the other day, what a racket! And as for those bloody parakeets...1
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Signed.0
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The parakeets are a bit of a curse in London now, especially south and west London as their racket drowns out every other bird!Riviera said:Had a pair of Jays in the garden the other day, what a racket! And as for those bloody parakeets...
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Our garden is like a zoo, I love it and as much as my neighbours can piss me off I'll always love the garden and the wildlife within it. Currently we have, at this precise moment, 4 squirrels, 2 jays, a magpie, 4 maybe 5 sparrow/mini jays/little brown birds with white flashes on their wings, some bluetits some chaffinches and a robin. The flock of starlings will be back soon making a racket and the collar doves will follow them. I feed them all daily and first thing in the morning they all go crazy, singing, shouting, generally making chaos.
Poundland sell bags of no mess bird seed and everyone with a garden can put some of that out for the birds as opposed to mouldy bread that plays merry hell with their guts or nothing at all. That will do as much if not more than signing an e-petition (which I've signed)8 -
They need controlling and are on the general licencekillerandflash said:
The parakeets are a bit of a curse in London now, especially south and west London as their racket drowns out every other bird!Riviera said:Had a pair of Jays in the garden the other day, what a racket! And as for those bloody parakeets...
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The big question is, how do they taste?i_b_b_o_r_g said:
They need controlling and are on the general licencekillerandflash said:
The parakeets are a bit of a curse in London now, especially south and west London as their racket drowns out every other bird!Riviera said:Had a pair of Jays in the garden the other day, what a racket! And as for those bloody parakeets...
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I live near Hampstead Heath so often hear owls at night (Tawny and Barn than is, not Wednesday fans having fun in the bushes)4
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Since we've moved into Kent haven't seen any Parakeets thankfully.
Mind you, there are a few Buzzards and Sparrowhawks around our neck of the woods, so I doubt they would last long.
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Parakeets are a beautiful and weird addition to North West Kent and South East London
When I used to work up that way it was worth being aware of the existence of them and not to park a vehicle anywhere near where they hang out as they shit a phenomenal amount, shit that quite often contains gravel and obliterates car paintwork
I love seeing them mobbed up and being a menace, apparently they are all descendants of one escapee family from years ago. mental!3 -
There's a big mob of them that decimate the apple tree in our back garden in late summer/autumn. I like to see and hear them but they do make a bloody racket when they gang up!Carter said:Parakeets are a beautiful and weird addition to North West Kent and South East London
When I used to work up that way it was worth being aware of the existence of them and not to park a vehicle anywhere near where they hang out as they shit a phenomenal amount, shit that quite often contains gravel and obliterates car paintwork
I love seeing them mobbed up and being a menace, apparently they are all descendants of one escapee family from years ago. mental!1 - Sponsored links:
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Yeah you can't miss them can you either by being bright green or by the noise they makeDaveMehmet said:
There's a big mob of them that decimate the apple tree in our back garden in late summer/autumn. I like to see and hear them but they do make a bloody racket when they gang up!Carter said:Parakeets are a beautiful and weird addition to North West Kent and South East London
When I used to work up that way it was worth being aware of the existence of them and not to park a vehicle anywhere near where they hang out as they shit a phenomenal amount, shit that quite often contains gravel and obliterates car paintwork
I love seeing them mobbed up and being a menace, apparently they are all descendants of one escapee family from years ago. mental!
They are just loving life and don't give one shit about the consequences0 -
I frequently get buzzed by a load of the bastards when walking through Chinbrook meadows. They ain’t shit on me yet......but it’s only a matter of time.4
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They look nice but it's frustrating when all you can hear is their screeching, with all other bird song drown out!Carter said:Parakeets are a beautiful and weird addition to North West Kent and South East London
When I used to work up that way it was worth being aware of the existence of them and not to park a vehicle anywhere near where they hang out as they shit a phenomenal amount, shit that quite often contains gravel and obliterates car paintwork
I love seeing them mobbed up and being a menace, apparently they are all descendants of one escapee family from years ago. mental!
I imagine the smaller birds of prey will start moving in to their areas and targeting them, as they are quite easy to spot! I once saw a sparrowhawk eating a pigeon in my parents' garden in Dartford, so they aren't unwilling to move into gardens and urban parks.0 -
This autumn, I've seen a sparrowhawk perched on a bird table in my back garden many times. I've not seen it eat any of the small birds' food, but I can't say it doesn't. It shouldn't be eating the seed, so the only thing that would make sense is suet pellets (although they are mostly flour). More probably, it is simply keeping still and hoping some unwary bird or wood mouse will show itself.
The received wisdom is that a raptor in a suburban garden at this time of year is one of this year's chicks, which face a very high attrition rate as they wander around, needing to hunt while searching for a territory to call their own. Maybe they are beginning to settle into urban and suburban areas.2 -
around here (Nth E Lincs) Blackbirds and other seasonal visitors tend to nest, breed and 'live' in suburban gardens where hedges and trees are plentiful when compared to large tracts of 'countryside' given over to extensive agriculture .. mind you there's an increasing need to grow stuff to eat ..
along the Lincolnshire coast and into Norfolk there are many areas where sea birds breed and flourish. Gulls are protected, and don't they know it ((:>) .. many move inland during winter and some of the little bastards like to crap on my cars and windows1 -
I miss the parakeets since moving from SE London but here in darkest East Sussex we see plenty of buzzards, the odd Sparrowhawk and to see an Owl in flight is a wonderful thing especially if it's a Barn Owl.4
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Owls are amazing - there's a huge barn owl that hunts in and around my garden and I see him most nights (I'm assuming it's the same one!!). We also have a colony of bats in the eaves and love watching them appear one by one and start hunting.LargeAddick said:I miss the parakeets since moving from SE London but here in darkest East Sussex we see plenty of buzzards, the odd Sparrowhawk and to see an Owl in flight is a wonderful thing especially if it's a Barn Owl.
The other morning I was out in the garden having a cuppa and I saw, in no particular order, squirrels, rabbits, magpies, crows, collared doves, jays, blue tits, a pair of buzzards soaring up above being buzzed by crows, and a male pheasant wandering around aimlessly looking for females no doubt.
For a townie at heart that takes some getting used to, but I love it.7 -
The decline in birds of almost all kinds in the last 30 years is shocking. Some species are down by 90%. I think it's mainly down to loss of habitat or lack of the right food at the right time.
On the upside I see Red Kites several times a week in north London, which would have been unthinkable once.2 -
Parakeets are a potential threat to native British songbirds0
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Agreed and you're just the man to reduce their numbers, fancy a busman's holiday?i_b_b_o_r_g said:Parakeets are a potential threat to native British songbirds
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My house back onto train tracks, so there's a nice artery for wildlife despite being in the city centre... And there's a small wildlife reserve on the other side. Get the occasional muntjac deer in the garden. Also see plenty of slow worms, newts, toads and frogs, bats, and all manner of birds. Jays are my particular favourites. Also seen foxes and evidence of badgers.3
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Monoculture means a glut of food for insects for a short time and then total famine. The effect on the birds is through the food chain, of course, all the way up to the top predators.Uboat said:The decline in birds of almost all kinds in the last 30 years is shocking. Some species are down by 90%. I think it's mainly down to loss of habitat or lack of the right food at the right time.
On the upside I see Red Kites several times a week in north London, which would have been unthinkable once.1 -
No coincidence that the number of paved driveways has gone up and the number of birds has gone down.
Many of us will also remember having our gardens separated by hedges instead of 6 ft panels.
Take into account that areas that can be used for nesting are taken over by parakeets and you got a problem.
You can put as much bird food out as you like but if they have nowhere to overwinter or breed then we are never gonna get the numbers back.
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I don't live too far away from @largeaddick and confirm that bird life abounds around here my bird table has had visits today from a sparrow hawk and a couple of woodpeckers not to mention half a dozen pheasants...plenty of owls around here
Used to live in area colonised by the parakeets but as attractive and unusual as they are I don't like them around as they encroach on the native flora and fauna0 -
Ravens on the cliffs here0
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Bats are ok but try having a shower with one and then trying to get it out of your house.bobmunro said:
Owls are amazing - there's a huge barn owl that hunts in and around my garden and I see him most nights (I'm assuming it's the same one!!). We also have a colony of bats in the eaves and love watching them appear one by one and start hunting.LargeAddick said:I miss the parakeets since moving from SE London but here in darkest East Sussex we see plenty of buzzards, the odd Sparrowhawk and to see an Owl in flight is a wonderful thing especially if it's a Barn Owl.
The other morning I was out in the garden having a cuppa and I saw, in no particular order, squirrels, rabbits, magpies, crows, collared doves, jays, blue tits, a pair of buzzards soaring up above being buzzed by crows, and a male pheasant wandering around aimlessly looking for females no doubt.
For a townie at heart that takes some getting used to, but I love it.
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Baltimore?Goonerhater said:Ravens on the cliffs here
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That's exactly why they need food putting out for them and bird boxes. Lots of birds emigrate in the winter for the exact reason of it being nicer if they head South but the ones who stay need energy especially if they are hunting for places to liveDaddy_Pig said:No coincidence that the number of paved driveways has gone up and the number of birds has gone down.
Many of us will also remember having our gardens separated by hedges instead of 6 ft panels.
Take into account that areas that can be used for nesting are taken over by parakeets and you got a problem.
You can put as much bird food out as you like but if they have nowhere to overwinter or breed then we are never gonna get the numbers back.2 -
I regularly see bats and hear owls and woodpeckers here in Beckenham. Parakeets everywhere.0
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Bollocks to the wildlife, your house backs onto train lines? Proper Charlton.McBobbin said:My house back onto train tracks, so there's a nice artery for wildlife despite being in the city centre... And there's a small wildlife reserve on the other side. Get the occasional muntjac deer in the garden. Also see plenty of slow worms, newts, toads and frogs, bats, and all manner of birds. Jays are my particular favourites. Also seen foxes and evidence of badgers.
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