Looking good

[Alan Smith]

For sure. Some business entrepreneur needs to set up a Pine Marten breeding project. Grey squirrels are totally out of hand and fewer landowners seem to be doing anything about it.

[Mr. Squirrel]

On 08/11/2023 at 21:38, richyrich said:

It's surprising how deer are apportioned a large part of the blame for decline in woodland birds. I think with farming it's due to intensification and pesticides. 

 

I guess deer and sheep are a massive, and pretty indisputable factor in why we see little regeneration. 

Farming probably has a wider negative impact on ecosystems and habitat. From the land use, to pesticides, nutrient run off, river health etc. 

 

And so much of our forest/forestry is a joke anyway. I was working in a German forest in the summer and it was incredible. Textbook CCF, no planting necessary, amazing quality timber coming out, great big functioning ecosystem. It’s criminal that we’re still stuck in this Sitka farming bs here.

The uk is basically really bad at land management…

 

[Paul in the woods]

Well, as someone with a few acres of woodland that has plenty of deer, grey squirrels and dormice about the place it's something I think I'm qualified to talk about.

 

One the biggest problems I think we have is the average person doesn't understand woodland or woodland management. I note the Guardian story about dormice refers to felling large trees, but your average Guardian reader would object. Same for squirrel management, not many people seem to like the idea of their cute bird table tree rodents being greeted by gun. (On a serious note about shooting, with the banning of lead shot I can see less people controlling squirrels and more steel shot in timber).

 

The matter becomes worse when I have to deal with officials who don't seem to know anything about the country side other than it's somewhere to dump stuff or play in.

 

By the way, I'm not keen on pine martins as they will take rare birds and mammals and won't limit themselves to greys. (Anyone know if the eat dormice?). And whilst brambles can overwhelm a woodland they do provide food for dormice and seem to be controlled by deer, you just don't want too many deer.

[richyrich]

10 hours ago, Alan Smith said:

For sure. Some business entrepreneur needs to set up a Pine Marten breeding project. Grey squirrels are totally out of hand and fewer landowners seem to be doing anything about it.

Where I live in North Yorkshire, Grey Squirrels 'entered' the village around 1980. Very common now. I wonder why Roe Deer( now also common) and the squirrels have prospered whilst most other stuff declined( except buzzards and red kites). Rabbits have also boomed in last 15 years.

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, richyrich said:

Roe Deer( now also common) and the squirrels have prospered whilst most other stuff declined

I can't say for deer, I never saw a feral deer before I was 17 here or elsewhere, now I am more likely to see one than a rabbit since they were hit by mixie followed by hemorrhagic disease.

 

Grey squirrel have a very catholic taste and will eat unripe hazel nuts before dormice can digest them. Here they also are supplemented by bird feeders in the winter. I did come across a dormouse in an ivy covered alder I felled two years ago and there were plenty of squirrels about.

[difflock]

23 hours ago, Mr. Squirrel said:

I guess deer and sheep are a massive, and pretty indisputable factor in why we see little regeneration. 

Farming probably has a wider negative impact on ecosystems and habitat. From the land use, to pesticides, nutrient run off, river health etc. 

 

And so much of our forest/forestry is a joke anyway. I was working in a German forest in the summer and it was incredible. Textbook CCF, no planting necessary, amazing quality timber coming out, great big functioning ecosystem. It’s criminal that we’re still stuck in this Sitka farming bs here.

The uk is basically really bad at land management…

 

Different land types and less of it, relatively speaking, in the UK.

I would suggest.

Or those underpopulated areas in the U.K. are not suited to decidious forestry like the such vast areas are on the continent.

[Stere]

UK is well suited to growing broadleaves  (apart for being to many deer and grey squrriels) which is kind of poor land managament.

 

NZ has a an ambitous scheme to eradicates all non natives no sure its realistic but they seem to think its possible.....

 

Predator Free 2050: Pests and threats

WWW.DOC.GOVT.NZ

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Predator Free 2050 is working towards an Aotearoa where our native species are safe from extinction and thrive alongside...

 

Also the CCF might be/can  be be conifers.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Stere