OT Hare coursing

My cats used to murder the water voles back in my Fen days. Even got a weasel once. I taped it to my short sighted neighbours car aerial. Made a magnificent figurehead for a ford escort. He never noticed it

I dunno what red kites and buzzards eat, but I am sure that the owls do mightily on the voles, And maybe kestrels. Sparrow hawks take pigeons as well.

Since there are about 50 pigeons to the acre round here, I cheer on the buzzards, but I have never seen them or the kites actually catch anything, unlike the kestrels and sparrowhawks and owls

Travellers traditionally were and still are 'hunter gatherers' and so will hunt game for the pot, and make a sport out of it as well as 'gathering' whatever isn't locked down...

Did they by gad? I think I gave up around the mid 1990s

Snip

Mid way between the eyes and the horns is the best spot. Full bore will kill reliably with neck or chest shots.

True. Nicer still to not have either. I occasionally worry about the consequences if some stray motorist at 60 mph were to encounter one:-(

They also dig up tulips

Mainly carrion. Kites are supposed to take small Rabbits but I have never seen it happen. All that circling and peering down may just reward with Mice , Frogs, Worms or even Grasshoppers! I have had Kites join the Rooks gathering worms turned up by the plough:-)

I have a photo of a hen Sparrow Hawk de-feathering a Pigeon on our lawn.

I do hope you have not there rolled a pebble that will i.d.c. yield an avalanche of regulations mandating very expensive energy absorbing barriers for access points ;)

In message <rrlac1$gk4$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, michael adams snipped-for-privacy@ukonline.co.uk> writes

Farming has undergone huge changes since WW2. Better machinery but largely the introduction of effective chemicals controlling weeds and pests.

Better quality and much higher yields but with the inevitable consequence of reducing food sources for wildlife. Winter cereals have even removed unploughed stubble from the larder.

Targeted payments from the EU (CAP) have gone a little way to redressing this with uncropped field margins etc. Nevertheless with less prey to share, predators have a big impact and become seen as an enemy. Particularly by shoots looking for a financial return.

Badgers/Foxes have been rural target species all my life.

That's bloody terrible. Should be fewer.

I always wondered about Nigel. Apart from his character being harmless and mildly amusing, IRL Graham Seed seemed to be one of the nicest people one could hope to meet.

I have no photo, but I dun seen um likewise

Three of the Archers cast Peggy Spencer (Peggy Wooley) who played the character from 1950 to 1953, and returned to it from 1962 to the present a total of 61 years surpassed only by her fellow stars of The Archers: Lesley Saweard as Christine Barford (67 years) and Patricia Greene as Jill Archer)(63 years)* - have been playing their parts for over

Assuming that these three are still taking part in the programme, and I can't see any reason why not, have you not considered the possibility that hearing the sounds these familiar voices may bring a crumb of comfort to those who've been listening to the programme over a similar period, when they too are possibly isolated ?

michael adams

June lives down the road from here. I saw her last Tuesday.

She's now 101 years old, as well. I think this came up before.

I was going to add what was formerly "An Everyday Story of Country Folk" is now "An Everyday Story of Isolated Folk".

Or maybe not, as it turns out.

michael adams

...

Oh, silly me.

I expect the writers of the petition are more concerned with the human and vehicular activity surrounding it than any animal welfare issues. From an animal protection POV it would be as well to include fox hunting and shooting and poisoning of badgers, wildcats, jays and birds of prey. But seeing this is largely done by the legal occupants of the land it might not be what the petitioner had in mind.

Some sympathy with that re badgers, but in fact it is a crime to kill them and birds of prey even if they are causing damage. In principle I believe farmers are compensated for damage caused by the resurgence of birds of prey, thought I doubt if farmers see it that way.

A farmer round here just bulldozed 400 yards of roadside verge (public highway!), which was the only permanent grass for miles. I think he just eliminated more small mammals (as well as many plant and other animal species) than kites could achieve in a century.

It is said they kill lambs, but whether this includes viable ones is another question. Which I don't know the answer to.