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No birds in my garden....

maypolebaz said:
Here on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border we are also having trouble with feral pigeons, they use our neighbours solar panels as a breeding ground. The local population has trebled over the year.
Our estate also has quite a few cats who we suspect are responsible for the absence of the smaller birds that used to be quite common.
I'm told that Feral Pigeons are a protected species and can't be shot. Does anybody know if this is true?
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Maypolebaz, I have heard from a people who have solar panels one of the issues with the panels they create a habitat for various wildlife , bees, wasps, bats, nesting birds. Which creates the issue as you state of once they are in situ it can be difficult to get them out.
 
Corvids have been causing problems at solar farms dropping stones and other debris on the panels. While the debris rarely cracks the panels directly on impact, their presence can cause the panels to gradually overheat and damage
Pigeon droppings contain high levels of acidity, which can cause erosion to wires, and even damage the surface of your solar panels. Birds can also bite through the wires, and scratch the surface of your solar panels causing your system to loose its ability to generate power.
turbofuture.com

Do Solar Panels Attract Birds?

If you're a homeowner with a bird problem on your solar panels, you're not alone.
turbofuture.com turbofuture.com
 
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i miss the strange hunting ritual that helps keep them alive. The seagulls stamp their feet on grass to make the worms think it is raining, helping to entice them to the surface:grinning:
 
mw0njm. said:
hope this helps
www.gov.uk

GL42: general licence to kill or take certain species of wild birds to prevent serious damage

www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

merlinenvironmental.co.uk

Can You Shoot Pigeons in the UK 2024? | Merlin Environmental

merlinenvironmental.co.uk merlinenvironmental.co.uk
www.fieldsportschannel.tv

General licences 2022: what you can and can’t shoot

Updated 23 March 2022 This page shows advice by country: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland After two years of shambles, general licences across the UK are settling down to being only sever…
www.fieldsportschannel.tv www.fieldsportschannel.tv
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Cheers mate.
 
Covroad said:
Maypolebaz, I have heard from a people who have solar panels one of the issues with the panels they create a habitat for various wildlife , bees, wasps, bats, nesting birds. Which creates the issue as you state of once they are in situ it can be difficult to get them out.
Click to expand...
My neighbour had a bloke round today, he cleaned the crap off the panel then applied some metal mesh around the edges to close the gap. I shudder to think how much it cost him. Shortly after I watched a pigeon trying to get through the mesh. Stupid birds.
 
I topped up my bird feeders yesterday. Normally there is then a queue of pigeons, sparrows plus a blue tit or two and a robin.
I have seen one pigeon, one blue tit and one robin. Not a single sparrow. (Might have come when I wasn't in the kitchen but still plenty of seed left so I doubt it).
I can only assume there are plenty of wild seeds and berries for them.
 
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it's so eerie with no small birds around. i have sent the RSPB a email to see if they have any idea why
 
Just topped up the feeders but....pigeons and magpies will eat the seed. Magpies, blackbird the mealworms and pellets - possibly a robin will appear. Peanuts and fat block will be eaten by squirrel. Very few if any sparrows or bluetits.
 
i had a hedge full with sparows chirping and even sitting on the window sill. plenty of them flipping magpies about. and a old crow (bird) thats going grey its been here years
 
There are lots of sparrows here - about 40 were perched on one of my radio aerials - a long wire 108' long - which included the new families recently hatched. They dive in and out of the rambling roses snacking on aphids and other things.
There are pigeons, a couple or so unwelcome magpies, a few crows and the occasional ravens. Herring and the occasional black back gulls (when the weather is stormy) but no one around here feeds them so they stay on the roofs watchting for the occasional meal.
We see a robin and one or two tits.
 
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now thats where they are alans got them. you have to watch the gulls here they mug yer. one nicked a mars bar out of my hand and knocked me goggles off tourists feed and encourage them nasty things
 
mw0njm. said:
now thats where they are alans got them. you have to watch the gulls here they mug yer. one nicked a mars bar out of my hand and knocked me goggles off tourists feed and encourage them nasty things
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There is no need to feed gulls,they are perfectly capable of helping themselves.
 
No shortage of Sparrows up here.



We have plenty of Starlings, but little else. ONE Blue Tit, so far this year. No Blackbirds, Robins, Wagtails, etc.

Just outside of the village, once in open country, there are fair numbers of Skylarks, Yellowhammers, Rooks.

Seabird numbers are well down. One Gannet colony, just along the coast, lost 8000 birds to Avian flue last year.

I did see a Redshank this morning,and a Curlew, over the weekend.





All in all, it's a grim time for the bird population.




Steve.
 
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