Game of Crows and poor info!

Out walking today along the farm track to the Lees I was asked by a dog walker if I was a “twitcher”. I replied no, not these days and explained what a twitcher was. (The media incorrectly labels all bird watchers or birders as twitchers).

She then went on about the “Crows” that live near the “Old people’s home” (again I explained to her, “it’s not and old folks home”).

And she then proceeded to tell me that the “Crows” had killed a Red Kite (Highly unlikely) and had taken all the eggs (possible if nest was deserted even by another Kite).

She then stated that they are damaging cars by stripping the rubber seals etc. (again very unlikely) and she was going to get a 6 bore to shoot them (Illegal and a license required at least for the weapon).

When I asked how many “Crows” there were she replied “around 30”.

I then explained that the “Crows” around here would not form flocks that large and they were more likely to be Rooks or Jackdaws that use the Rookery near Church road.

I also said that the Rooks and Jackdaws are now roaming into areas that the Crows had dominance over and since their demise (due to someone catching and killing them) it has led to an imbalance. The Rooks and Jackdaws normally fed away from the village on farmland but are now more active in gardens and areas close to the village as are Magpies and Jays.

There are consequences of messing with the balance!

People make” knee jerk” reactions to situations they do not understand and screw it up even more. I would like to see any evidence to support “the Crows” killing a Red Kite and “Crows” stripping rubber off cars! And as for shooting them………my reply would be unprintable!

from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/06/game-of-crows-and-poor-info.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 off to a reasonable start

Image
Overcast, 5°, light NNW. A Little Egret seen today on the way out to Lollingdon and appeared to drop down near Amwell Spring. The hill hosted around 100 Fieldfare and a flock of c50 Meadow Pipit for a time before moving off over the top. Several Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer around the hill and a single Corn Bunting . A small flock of c20 Pied Wagtail feeding out with the Sheep. A few more Fieldfare and Redwing scattered around the Lollingdon area, a Goldcrest , Grey Heron , Kestrel , a couple of Jay , 2 Bullfinch and several Starling amongst other species. A Brambling in a private garden. Per Alan Dawson. 2 Blackcap in TW’s garden and 2 Chiffchaff at CSW. The flock of c60 Golden Plover still around Cholsey Hill. Brambling (courtesy Alan Dawson) from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-off-to-reasonable-start.html
Read more

A Butterfly day

Image
Another sunny day, 24°, light E. A walk alongside the Bunk line from Church road to the bypass. Butterflies were the order of the day with literally hundreds of Meadow Brown on the wing today. They were everywhere. Another 8 Painted Lady seen with some looking very tatty after a presumably long flight and ageing. Best one of the day was a single Silver-washed Fritillary seen flying around a large garden before disappearing from view. Good numbers of Marbled White all along the route. Other species noted were: Small Skipper , Large Skipper , Large White , Small White , Green-veined White , Brimstone (1), Brown Argus (3), Common Blue (8), Red Admiral (6), Small Tortoiseshell (c20), Comma (3), Speckled Wood (2), Ringlet (12) and Small Heath (2). Some thistles were in flower on the edge of a bean field and these held the majority of Painted Lady , Small Tort and Marbled White . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle (M&F), Large Red Damselfly and Southern Hawke...
Read more

Dormice and Hibernation

Image
A few weeks ago we had our quick dormice pre-hibernation checks to make sure they were all OK for the winter, and confirm how many kits we have bred over the summer. Good news!.. Both our pairs have had large litters of dormice, and so we have many babies to prepare for release next year. As part of the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Groups (CDCBG) we, along with many other holders across the south, breed dormice as part of the studbook for release out in to the wild. Once out of hibernation next Spring they will all be collected up and released back in to the wild in collaboration with the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). We do have two species of dormice in the UK. The native, calm, small and adorable hazel dormouse above. Below is the larger, bitey and much more erratic edible dormouse that was introduced to the UK. You can really see the size difference with both in the hand like this. Both species of dormice are entering, or have already started, to h...
Read more