Thread: Show Birds

Ravens are rather special ... whenever I see one, my heart lifts a bit

these little sweeties swam straight up to me (I presume mum thought I was good for a free meal. Mum was wrong of course...)


quack by _loupe, on Flickr

oh look ... the government spending public money to preserve the sport of killing birds bred for that purpose at the expense of wild birds ... BBC News - Buzzard capture plans condemned

Originally Posted by pdh

oh look ... the government spending public money to preserve the sport of killing birds bred for that purpose at the expense of wild birds ... BBC News - Buzzard capture plans condemned

quote - "In one case it was claimed that 25% to 30% of young pheasants were lost to buzzards, making the shoot unsustainable" unquote

That's a lot of busy Buzzards as I think that there are over 30 million pheasants bred each year for "shooting" ......... this results in many weak birds that die before they are shot

just another government "waste of time and money" giving a few free lunches to a nice income to some of their mates on the "Committee"

They should teach pheasants road manners as I reckon that there are more killed on the roads than by Buzzards ......... they will be blaming Red Kites next!

Well, there are 9 millionaires in the cabinet, most of whom made it from property, and probably a few with large estates (hang on, I must just brush this chip off my shoulder ...)
Whatever, It's very selective use and interpretation of statistics; I expect it will be reported as "25% of all pheasants are killed by Buzzards", whereas it seems to be one shoot (and who knows, perhaps one pen) ... the RSPB spokesman on R5 this mornng suggested Buzzard predation accounted for 1-2% (gun predation of course accounts for about 95%)

Anyway, I know you hang about over at BF a bit, no doubt there'll be some strong debates over there (there's a surprisingly strong pro-shooting set on BF);

Originally Posted by BillN

they will be blaming Red Kites next!

that's exactly what led to the near extinction of the Red Kite in England and Scotland - 19th Century gamekeepers in particular.

Ok ... a little further inland from our Corvid friend, I found this chap ... now it didn't look like anything with which I was immediately familiar ... heavy bill otherwise I might have thought it a lark, no trace of yellow so not a male Yellowhammer ... perhaps a female Yellowhammer? ... but when it called it didn't sound much like any Yellowhammer I've heard... but from the moment I saw it the words Corn Bunting popped into my head ... the long zoom was in my rucsac so I crept as near as I dared (we were both very visible) and had at it with a 50mm ... I've just listened to a Corn Bunting's call on CD, and I'm convinced that's what I heard ... anyway, perhaps impossible to tell from this shot, but I'd appreciate Barrie's thoughts ... if anyone is wondering why the fuss over a non-descript little bird, it's because the Corn Bunting has declined terribly in the UK and it's quite a nice tick for a casual birder like me ...


cb? by _loupe, on Flickr




cb? crop by _loupe, on Flickr

Paul,

Wouldn't really want to say yes/no on those shots. They are non existent this far west, so I have to go back too many years to admit to for my last contact with Corn Bunting. Distinctive song that I identified through my open sunroof driving along in Kent. I was able to stop and get excellent views. Typical habitat is about the best I can do, and typical pose as well, oh and heavy bill is good.

Barrie

thanks Barrie.
it was that bill that took my eye.

a little further googling reveals that this bit of Dorset does have a (very small) breeding pop of Corn Bunting.
i think I'm satisfied that's what it was given all the context plus observation.

Collins says, amongst other things,

"fairly ponderous flight and dangling legs"