I’m just back from a weekend visiting an old friend in Banwell, near Weston-Super-Mare. Always envious of his rambling house and large walled garden, we got to talking over garden wildlife and the troubles of traipsing fox dung through the kitchen. Disgusting, even if the fox was rather handsome.
Despite his rural situation, the birds and beasts were similar to those I find in London. The carrion crows that craw four times in East Dulwich, are replaced by rooks here, with their slightly less guttural squawks. They were oddly silent today – perhaps they’d returned to their nesting roosts off up the hill. The huge holm oak where they often hang out was empty. My host wondered if his neighbour had been taking pot shots at them.
Although without a pond, frogs and toads wander through occasionally. Blue tits, pigeons and magpies were about on Sunday morning, and when a Siamese cat strutted along the back wall we contemplated the Mammal Society’s and RSPB’s calculations that cats kill some 55 million birds each year in the UK. I admitted that my two sometimes bring in mice, rats and birds, but the fact that I’ve seen kestrel and sparrowhawk in my garden and peregrine falcon in central London was, I hope, proof that there are enough birds to go round. If the songbirds go, the cats will hardly miss them, but the raptors would not be able to survive unless there was a plentiful stock.
None of these birds of prey had been seen in Banwell, but according to my host, the occasional buzzard floated over the garden. Having regularly seen these huge sail-winged birds flying high over the fields as we’ve driven down the M4 and M5 over the last few years, I’m amused to think what a stir they’d cause in East Dulwich. The cats would certainly be dashing for cover if a shadow that size swooped past.
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Funny – a friend of mine (in Kent) just posted on Facebook that he had buzzards hunting the woods behind his house this morning. They get about.
My garden is usually visited by the smaller birds and nextdoors cats, that sit under the Butterfly bush
your friend is a very very lucky man to have buzzards hunting in the woods behind his house.
I would love to have a wood behind my house, but instead i live on a housing estate.
hi i back onto woods and when i got up this morning there was well it looked like a small eagle eating a piegeon in my garden,i have never seen this bird before so i have no idea what it was….any ideas people???? it was browny colour,but there was a lot of birds making a sreaming noise hence why i got up to look and say my new feather lawn!!! ‘nice’…not..
Reply to Sarahs Pond Life
Your hawk is probably one of the regular two: kestrel and sparrowhawk. Have a look at the RSPB pages. They have links to similar species and give identification pointers.
Kestrel:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/k/kestrel/index.aspx
Sparrowhawk:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sparrowhawk/index.aspx
Of course, depending where you live, it could also be peregrine falcon, red kite or buzzard
Gardeners World should get rid of Richard Jones and his cats after admitting they kill Birds..Birds do a lot of good in a garden and are part of the garden and brilliant to see…so why should he be paid to being party to getting them killed by his cats…yuk…how is he wildlife friendly?
From my garden on the border of Berkshire/Wiltshire I can see the buzzards hunting over the hills, but sometimes they venture over mine and my neighbours gardens where they are mobbed by the rooks that live close by in the trees, it is quite a sight to see. But I’m afraid Richard that I cannot be as flippant as you about cats killing birds. Any cats venturing into my garden are met with a blast from my water pistol. I read an article about keeping other people’s cats out of your garden where it was suggested that we “non cat owners” put spikes on our fence around our garden. I would like to suggest that “responsible” cat owners put spikes on their fences to keep their cats in, that way I could garden without finding my hands covered in cat poo!!
Do not remind me of the dreaded cat poo!!..Richard there is a magazine called ‘Cat World’ would you not be more at home writing for them..you could even compare your cats prowess in bird termination with other cat lovers..i love to feed birds and enjoy them..they are part of my garden..when a cat is around it all stops until it goes away and annoys others.
I agree both with Harry Hill re Richard Jones and Dahlia Lover re cats killing birds. I love the birds and feed them all year round. We have put strips of spikes on tops of all fences but if there is an area without those spikes cats will find a way in. We had to resort to putting fine chicken wire through tops of shrubs and climbers etc. I have a laser gun, only heard by a cat or rat, and it really does work. People who own cats aren’t bird lovers and don’t seem to care about the cruelty and pain inflicted on baby birds and mice and indeed the suffering of the parent birds. Believe me, cats can be taught not to hunt and kill birds but people can’t be bothered to teach them and just say “it’s their nature”. Enough said.
where can we buy a laser gun as we are tormented with cats which is upsetting for us when we have put in a huge effort to attract the birds to our ‘NEW’ garden.
hi richard,thanks for your info;have looked on thoses sites….im not sure it kinda looks like the kestral picture but still not sure as the 1 in my garden was more brown in colour than the picture i saw..[but i guess not ALL pictures are purrrrfect].
oh and by the way to all thoses people who are unhappy with cats killing birds,unfortunatly many animals kill other animals to eat…its called mother-nature.i dont enjoy seeing cats kill and i dont encourage it either but it happens thats life.
I do understand that animals kill other animals to feed and agree – thats life, however, for you information sarah cats do not kill mice and birds to eat but for FUN, they play with them before presenting them to their masters, this is not for survival and as Penny says cats can be taught not to hunt!
People with cats are irrisponsible..they turn the other way over the mess they leave in other peoples gardens and as Richard they condone their cats killing birds..what a better life it would be if we could all enjoy our gardens with the birds being more relaxed and cheerful and no more poo deposits..it could have a positive effect on us all..as for the killing and hunting in our gardens do we not find it all barbaric in 2010..should we not have a say as who comes in to our garden to kill!! Richard is noticeable by his silence on this issue.
hi dahlia lover,yes i know cats kill for fun but please there are millions of birds around and to be quite honest i see more larger birds killing smaller birds than cats getting hold of them,please get a grip…lol.
I’m a little put out by the generalisation that Cat lovers are “irresponsible” or “aren’t bird lovers” etc.
Too much of a generalisation and not just a little offensive.
I’m a bird lover AND a cat owner. I can honestly guarantee that my cat’s do not kill anything at all. They are indoor cat’s, they never go outside, are well adjusted, playful and great company.
So please consider, SOME cat owners may indeed fit your descriptions, but not ALL.
this tasteless and insensitive article was posted on the blogs in the same week that I received an email from BBC Gardener’s World to enter a competition to win a bird feeding pack. Why on earth would I want to feed birds in the full knowledge that I am not helping them but luring them into danger from the marauding cats that are allowed to wander through my garden?? If you want a cat, have a cat. But keep it to yourself because I loathe the things.
hi people,i have fed birds for many many years and its been a real joy,there are many many cats in the area i live in and i have to say i have never seen a cat catch 1 of the birds[although i know they do get them] however i have seen more larger birds catching the smaller birds. when a cat is watching the birds, our clever featherfriends do know,watch a cat monitoring the birds and you will know what i mean.i also agree with sarah there are many birds,so people get a grip,we cant wrap them up in cotton-wool,its called life.
Chiswickian – do stop being so prissy. There is nothing ‘tasteless and insensitive’ about this article, Richard is merely mentioning some statistics that are in the public domain. Birds are quite capable of the same brutality as ‘marauding cats’ – they’re not cuddly toys, you know.
thank god for some common sence, moira, miss blue-tit and sarahspondlife.
hello,my wife asked me today to clear the leaves out of our pond,while i was doing this i scoped out 2 sets of frogs doing there buiness[frogsex],i popped them back into pond,have i ruined the chance of getting frogspawn???they were still ontop of each other when i put them back into the water.
soory this hasn’t got anything to do with birds and cats,but we have both and have never had a headless bird left to us for a gifted..both bring us much joy.x
Don’t worry about the frogs, Jim and Doris, they are quite single minded at this time of year, and I am sure the pond will be full of spawn soon. I am taken aback by some of the posts to Richard’s article, but I suppose he has used the CAT word!
For goodness sake, I don’t like cats or the mess they leave, but laser guns, spikes on fences, get a grip, or better still a springer spaniel. Birds in poor condition because they lack nutrition are far more vulnerable to predation by cats, keep feeding, especially at this time of the year and during the breeding period, but make sure you site your feeders in suitable locations where predators can be seen. The birds will do the rest. I wonder if the RSPB knows how many birds fall victim to road accidents? perhaps we ought to start a campaign against cars and leave Richard to write his excellent blogs in peace.
Hear Hear Heavy Horse! Richard is the best blogger on this site. I don’t think any of the others teach us as much as he does. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t ay it at all! Dot
I have had cats and fed birds all my life without this slaughter everyone is getting so het up about. The birds come down to ground feed whilst my cat is in the garden, but if a another cat is hanging round the garden they do not come down. Not daft my birds. I believe those people getting enraged are people who dislike cats so this is a great band wagon to get on. What ever happened to loving all Gods creatures? P.S. yesterday saw a car kill a passing small bird and passed three road kills.
Its never your cat that poo.s in other peoples garden and never your cat that kills birds is it anniea…it is always someone elses cat eh…now its the cars that are to blame…at least Richard Jones admits to his cats killing birds…shame on you !! i bet you pray as well
“you plonker Rodney”
What a lot of hatred there is among you bloggers! Cats are nocturnal, birds are in bed at night time. Buzzards are very common in Scotland, welcome any time.
blimey the word CAT has got alot of feathers flying [hahaha],everybody get a grip and stop being silly…
I cannot agree with you Margaret – if cats are nocturnal what are they doing in my garden during the day? However, this blog has got completely out of hand with some people bordering on insulting. So if I have offended anyone with my opinions then I apologise but I think we should all agree to disagree and leave it there!!!!
How come my cat always brings home a mouse or a bird never anything nice like money.
Crikey. I’ve stirred up a hornets’ nest, except I know that hornets are actually rather docile. With hindsight, I’m not surprised that the mention of cats has got everyone agitated, they do tend to divide people into lovers and haters. I’m tolerant of a lot of things, including felines and their natural instincts, but on the other hand, I am not a dog-lover.
In the UK, cats were not, historically, part of the natural order, so I can understand why their depredations on songbirds stick in the throats of some would-be nature lovers. But, our gardens are, by definition, not natural, they are man-made, and in their own turn they exact their influence on the environment in a multitude of ways. Positive environmental gains are in garden ponds, fantastic diversity of plant architecture and species, and huge increase in shelter provided by hedges and fences. But, gardens can also have negative effects: increased soil richness decreases the diversity of native plants and animals; horticultural introductions can be invasive and stifling; close-mown lawns are ecological deserts, and domestic pets can make a nuisance of themselves.
Thank you for all the comments, supportive and critical. I’m torn between the happy knowledge that this particular blog entry has been read and elicited so many responses, and the peaceful calm of earlier blogs on obscure insects.
Oh Richard you mentioned the cat word again!! Of course you are tolerant of felines and their “natural instincts”, you have them as pets, but I wonder if you would be so tolerant if a neighbours dog consistently invaded your garden killing wild life and leaving behind it’s excrement in your flower beds?
some people just cant seen to let go regarding this topic,hope some other blog is put up soon….some people do moan,glad your not my neighbour..if its not cats its dogs now..’move on’.
Oh Richard you mentioned the cat word again!!
Why do you not take yourself and your cat lovers and have them drooling over you in ‘Cat World’ and stop being a two faced Wild Life lover.
Leave us Gardeners World lovers in peace eh.
We pray for a Cat Pooo free society…the birds pray for their demise as well.
oh good grief! Let it go … poor Richard’s damned if he does respond and damned if he doesn’t.
Harry Hilly I suspect you are a troll. Who gave you the right to speak for “us Gardeners World lovers”. I certainly didn’t! Away and lurk under some other bridge
And Dahlia Lover, you’re not very good at taking your own advice to “agree to disagree and leave it there” … away and wheesht!
and miaow may your residence continue to smell of Cat Pee
well well well…dahlia lover,practice what you preach..first you say ‘agree to disagree’,then you moan at richard [or so it comes across as] about dogs…
heavens above get over it,im with.. here pussy pussy glad your not my neighbour.
good god, i have got cats [sorry dahlia lover] i can promise you they do not kill for fun,1 is blind and the other has very few teeth[both from cat protection] i also have a dog that is well behaved so nerrrr.anymore rubbish talk and i will get them to poo in your garden…lol.
Harry Hilly – I don’t own any cats, you can go away and wheesht as well
I sell cat food and toys and i am making a fortune out of it…God bless all cats
and of course keep em breeding…you soft hearted lot 
yippeee
I also sell cat food/toys/litter…i seem to be selling more cat litter this week…a big thanks to Richard Jones and Gardeners World
yep, kent fine you were a troll Harry
dahlia lover is a plonker so is harry hilly[whos a silly-billy]
forgot to say…i am the biggest PLONKER !! i apologise for my rantings i am on something high man !!
me too wiggle worm
Am getting the cleaners in tomorrow to fumigate the house…the cats are going…the house does smell of cat pee…yuk
Reply for fifer2 5 March. Sorry for late response, only now back on line. Laser gun can be bought from: http://www.stvpestcontrol.com although website being updated at present. Tel: 01953 881580. Email: info@stvpestcontrol.com. Laser Gun is called Mega-sonic scatter-cat. It also works on noisy neigbouring dogs and squirrels without harm although I wouldn’t use it on them. Red laser light targets nuisance animals from over 20 metres away. Sorry I can’t remember how much we paid for it.
To all cat owners whose cats don’t kill/play with birds/mice my comments of 5 March weren’t aimed at them. Also spike strips on tops of fences are a good deterrant for cats, and all birds can perch on them. Website: primrose.co.uk. Prikka strips – we buy clear, blends with anything, various widths and can also be cut to size.
I am quite dissapointed with the horrible comments on here i think i shall go back to just reading the magazine!
The house has now been fumigated and i am cat pee free…it smeels lovely and fresh now…thank you for your advice on smelly CATS.
Changing the subject slightly, how can I help some tits, that have chosen to nest in a location that is in full sun all day, I’m worried that the chicks will get to hot and die….
Hello Maria,
Tits are fine out in the sun!
They know exactly what they are doing when it comes to building a nest and they will be aware of the dangers of that paticular site.
I feed the birds in my garden usually at a time when I know my cats aren’t around. They soon learn to be wary of predators although mortalilty rates go up a bit in the summer.
There was a hawk hanging around for a couple of months and a few doves were taken. And then there are the people a couple of gardens away taking pot-shots with an air rifle. Despite this the number of birds visiting my garden seems to have increased – I worry more about the decreasing number of insects, bees in particular.
There’s a great picture of a cat with a bird here: http://www.cat-things.com/cat-things/raw-cat-food not for the squeamish…
NOTE: I do not condone the actions of my cats when they go hunting and try to stop them when I can. I have rescued quite a few birds, mice and an occasional frog.
I love animals, and there are some hilarious cats in this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eMsLkmuC6U