Sunday 6 March 2011

Birds of Prey Are Back?

An interesting article from the BBC news team below, quite a balanced piece on the whole asking the question, are birds of prey back from the brink? The reason I say it is a balanced article is because for once they have seemed to speak to a broad spectrum of organisations in relation to raptor conservation with some interesting quotes.

Throughout the Victorian times birds of prey were under enormous pressure from direct and indirect persecution with as this article shows certain species being wiped out from original ranges, but with hard work and education certain species with the correct management have made a recovery. So have we done our job?

Some species have done incredibly well, Peregrine Falcons have made a great recovery but you are more likely to see them on a high rise building than a sea cliff or moorland, and Kestrels have had to adapt to hunting motorway verges rather than neighbouring farm land. The latter bird is in fact in a steady decline, these two examples show how raptors have had to adapt to human growth.

We have created these problems for birds of prey and have worked hard to correct the balance but there is still plenty of work to carry out, why are Kestrels in decline? Why does England only have 12 breeding pairs of Harriers? How do we manage the future of birds of prey to appease all parties interested?

You might say why get involved but we are involved and it would be irresponsible to drop things now and let nature sort itself and with comments like I have read from the Song Birds Survival Trust can we sit back when supposed conservation trust's are calling for cull's on birds and animals. I am yet to read a positive thing from the SBST, yes certain species of songbirds and farmland birds are in decline but to point the finger at other species with the view of controlling them is a bit narrow minded, groups like this need to have a more open view on managing conservation issues! At the moment they seem like wolves in sheep's clothing!

Take a look at the article below!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12634698

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