Buzzard "Management" Research to go ahead

[Sam Thompson]

It is official that DEFRA are investing £375,000 into researching the damages and benefits of buzzards in the British countryside. Personally I think this is brilliant news for Lapwings, Sandpipers, Grey Partridges and Skylarks among the many other species that are in decline because of over preditation. As long as DEFRA report what is actually happening - rather than what they dream up from their desks, they may just gain some respect! Fingers Crossed.

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

Official line below;

 

Defra is absolutely not proposing to cull buzzards or any other raptors.

 

We work on the basis of sound evidence. This is why we want to find out the true extent of buzzards preying on young pheasants and how best to discourage birds that may cause damage to legitimate businesses. This would be only in areas where there is a clear problem, using non-lethal methods including increasing protective cover for young pheasants with vegetation, diversionary feeding of buzzards, moving the birds elsewhere or destroying empty nests. The results of this scientific research will help guide our policy on this issue in the future.

 

As the RSPB have said, the buzzard population has recovered wonderfully over the last few years, and we want to see this continue.

[Dan Curtis]

As far as the effect on other bird populations, lapwing etc, is concerned, it's the food chain, buzzards are high on it so naturally they need prey animals. The biggest killer is us, and the effects of pesticides, herbicides, modern humanity.

 

Is madness to cull/capture/destroy nests of buzzards!

[Joe Loggs]

As far as the effect on other bird populations, lapwing etc, is concerned, it's the food chain, buzzards are high on it so naturally they need prey animals. The biggest killer is us, and the effects of pesticides, herbicides, modern humanity.

 

Is madness to cull/capture/destroy nests of buzzards!

 

Totally agree dan.

[spudulike]

Yes, sorry but modern farming has decimated the Lapwing population. I am old enough to remember fields with hundreds of them in but now rarely see them.

 

Buzzards have only really increased in my area over the last 5-8 years, the Lapwings have been missing long before then.

 

Think most of the Kites and Buzzards round my way prefer road kill - Buzards are particularly lazy birds!

[rovers90]

I'm with you Sam, some research does need to be performed to assess the damage done by these birds. I take on board Dans comments re the food chain and buzzards being at the top so its natural.....but what preys on the buzzards? Nothing, so do we just let the buzzard population grow and grow?

[spudulike]

Nature is a funny thing, if the population of buzzards say grew 100 times overnight, they would eat all the available food and then starve to the point that the population drops back to a level that the available food would allow them to live.

 

You generally find that when man gets inolved with trying to control nature, it all gets messed up. Look what happened when the Chinese killed all the birds because they were eating their crops, the level of insects grew to a point that it decimated their crops.

 

Japanese Knotweed was an introduction to the country by the Victorians and look what happened there:thumbdown:

[born2trot]

I agree with Spud . I can remember fields covered with hundreds of lapwings and their really apparent demise . This was clearly happening when buzzards were relatively rare and i can never remember there being any great quantities of grey partridge either .

It has already been proved bird of prey clutch size is related to available food source so i think it is a complete waste of money .

[Daniël Bos]

but what preys on the buzzards? Nothing, so do we just let the buzzard population grow and grow?

 

Crows will take any young birds they can, including young buzzards...

 

In the south of the Netherlands, there is a stable population of eagle owls, they have reduced the population of hedgehogs to a small but viable population, now their main prey is buzzards, adults as well as young 'uns.

 

My point is that there is always a top predator, they don't hunt their prey to extinction, only humans do that.

 

Oh and Sam, it's predation not preditation (friendly smiley here but on phone, sorry)

[Sam Thompson]

Its madness to cull/capture/destroy nests of buzzards!

 

No it isn't. Pricking eggs is the way forward

 

Yes, sorry but modern farming has decimated the Lapwing population. I am old enough to remember fields with hundreds of them in but now rarely see them.

 

Buzzards have only really increased in my area over the last 5-8 years, the Lapwings have been missing long before then.

 

Think most of the Kites and Buzzards round my way prefer road kill - Buzards are particularly lazy birds!

 

Nature is a funny thing, if the population of buzzards say grew 100 times overnight, they would eat all the available food and then starve to the point that the population drops back to a level that the available food would allow them to live.

 

You generally find that when man gets inolved with trying to control nature, it all gets messed up. Look what happened when the Chinese killed all the birds because they were eating their crops, the level of insects grew to a point that it decimated their crops.

 

Japanese Knotweed was an introduction to the country by the Victorians and look what happened there:thumbdown:

 

The problem is now there is too many buzzards, once they became protected no-one shot them () and many people started to feed them, they were re-introduced by people in large numbers. Too many of anything is not a good thing. Nothing is natural in the UK apart from the foreshore, everything is managed, we cannot decide to only manage and control the ugly things, like rats.

 

 

Oh and Sam, it's predation not preditation (friendly smiley here but on phone, sorry)

 

Oops, sorry, loooong day of walking dykes!

[agg221]

The thing about good research is that it finds the facts. This is very inconvenient if you've already decided what answer you want to find and it doesn't coincide with the facts. At this point, people tend to blame the research, the researchers, the funding body etc. rather than accepting the evidence.

 

Alec