larsen trap bait.

[Oandy]

gonna set a larsen trap up for the first time,but havent a call bird,whats the best bait to entice them in with?
Darren

You could always look for a vegan (Radged) comes to mind as long as you give him a perch as he has the moral high ground.

 

[Luminos]

You could always look for a vegan (Radged) comes to mind as long as you give him a perch as he has the moral high ground.

Do trolls make good bait?

 

[Gyp]

I got one at last...here we go

Let me know if anyone wants a call bird.

 

[Beauhawk]

Cat/dog food works, not the solid biscuit type though....

 

[biglongdarren]

finally got a call bird off somebody this evening,its in with plenty of food water and a lovely perch with roof over him.
looks better off now than he ever was;o)
Darren.

 

[biglongdarren]

put a call bird in the trap on tuesday evening, had two magpies on wednesday, a greyback crow on thursday,and nothing today, do i need to keep moving the trap about or what to attract new birds?? or try a new call bird?
Darren

 

[Hivemaker.]

do i need to keep moving the trap about or what to attract new birds?? or try a new call bird?

You could move it to Gloucester and see if you can catch some seagulls, they seem to have a problem with them there, according to the BBC news.

 

[biglongdarren]

theres plenty of "gulls" about here without running all the way over there;o)
Darren

 

[Robbie & Jans Bees]

can I ask why you feel the need to catch the magpies or any other bird come to that just asking??????????????? are they taking your bees

 

[biglongdarren]

can I ask why you feel the need to catch the magpies or any other bird come to that just asking??????????????? are they taking your bees

vermin control.
Darren

 

[poshpikey]

put a call bird in the trap on tuesday evening, had two magpies on wednesday, a greyback crow on thursday,and nothing today, do i need to keep moving the trap about or what to attract new birds?? or try a new call bird?
Darren

Keep moving the trap round every day or two once you stop catching in one place. I had ten in ten days in one spot last year. Don't seem to be so many about this year...

 

[biglongdarren]

how far are you talking about moving it?? couple of hundred yards do?
Darren.

 

[TOBY-3652]

can I ask why you feel the need to catch the magpies or any other bird come to that just asking??????????????? are they taking your bees //// BEES ARE ABOUT THE ONLY THINGS THE DAM THINGS DONT TAKE...

 

[theboynelson]

can I ask why you feel the need to catch the magpies or any other bird come to that just asking??????????????? are they taking your bees //// BEES ARE ABOUT THE ONLY THINGS THE DAM THINGS DONT TAKE...

Although the RSPB website does state that magpie predation does not affect songbird numbers, the ones they take tend to be the weak. It seems to me a bit like fox culls, ultimately they are a bit of a waste of time.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Although the RSPB website does state that magpie predation does not affect songbird numbers, the ones they take tend to be the weak. It seems to me a bit like fox culls, ultimately they are a bit of a waste of time.

Not really - in areas where corvids are controlled songbird populations are better than where they're not. There's been a massive explosion of magpie numbers over the last few years and a similar decrease in songbirds.
magpies have been seen to hang about a 'good nest until the eggs have hatched and the chicks grown a bit, and then they move in.
Of course the RSPB are not going to say that magpie predation have an adverse effect - it may mean somewhere down the line they'll lose a donation/legacy - which is what the RSPB are about - making money from the gullible.

As for fox culls - believe you me they are not a waste of time - I remember the foot and mouth year when all hunting/fox culling was suspended in our area - a massive rise in fox numbers and a heck of a lot more lamb losses to fox predation: it took us a couple of years to sort the mess out.
We are managing at the moment to keep a lid on it

 

[poshpikey]

how far are you talking about moving it?? couple of hundred yards do?
Darren.

Depends on the ground. You could just move it somewhere else on the farm that you have seen magpies. The theory is that if a magpie moves into another magpies territory they will come and investigate. Near a main road can be good as you get a lot of passing trade.

You could also lend it to friends to put in their gardens for a few days. Just make sure they always feed and water the call bird.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Not really - in areas where corvids are controlled songbird populations are better than where they're not. There's been a massive explosion of magpie numbers over the last few years and a similar decrease in songbirds.
magpies have been seen to hang about a 'good nest until the eggs have hatched and the chicks grown a bit, and then they move in.
Of course the RSPB are not going to say that magpie predation have an adverse effect - it may mean somewhere down the line they'll lose a donation/legacy - which is what the RSPB are about - making money from the gullible.

As for fox culls - believe you me they are not a waste of time - I remember the foot and mouth year when all hunting/fox culling was suspended in our area - a massive rise in fox numbers and a heck of a lot more lamb losses to fox predation: it took us a couple of years to sort the mess out.
We are managing at the moment to keep a lid on it[/QUOTE]

 

[PBee]

Not really - in areas where corvids are controlled songbird populations are better than where they're not. There's been a massive explosion of magpie numbers over the last few years and a similar decrease in songbirds.
magpies have been seen to hang about a 'good nest until the eggs have hatched and the chicks grown a bit, and then they move in.
Of course the RSPB are not going to say that magpie predation have an adverse effect - it may mean somewhere down the line they'll lose a donation/legacy - which is what the RSPB are about - making money from the gullible.

As for fox culls - believe you me they are not a waste of time - I remember the foot and mouth year when all hunting/fox culling was suspended in our area - a massive rise in fox numbers and a heck of a lot more lamb losses to fox predation: it took us a couple of years to sort the mess out.
We are managing at the moment to keep a lid on it

A common and easily identifiable enemy is always comforting.

We tested predator role in the limitation of postfledging and adult numbers of 10 common songbird species. We conducted before-after, control-treatment experimental magpie removal in the suburbs near Paris, France, during our 3-year study. We also compared the productivity and the relative densities between urban and rural habitats for 14 songbirds. We found that magpies had very limited effect on songbird productivity, even for species sensitive to predation by corvids. In addition, impact of the magpie on population levels of passerines would also be minimized because we found no relationship between productivity of prey and their densities.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2193/2006-105/abstract

Considered hunting for food or genuine vermin control is fine, but most of the vermin control and a good portion of the 'hunting' is just mindless/sport killing. Industrial farming and ubiquitous (over)use of pesticides are the real problem for songbirds etc..

 

[Luminos]

Not really - in areas where corvids are controlled songbird populations are better than where they're not. There's been a massive explosion of magpie numbers over the last few years and a similar decrease in songbirds.
magpies have been seen to hang about a 'good nest until the eggs have hatched and the chicks grown a bit, and then they move in.
Of course the RSPB are not going to say that magpie predation have an adverse effect - it may mean somewhere down the line they'll lose a donation/legacy - which is what the RSPB are about - making money from the gullible.

As for fox culls - believe you me they are not a waste of time - I remember the foot and mouth year when all hunting/fox culling was suspended in our area - a massive rise in fox numbers and a heck of a lot more lamb losses to fox predation: it took us a couple of years to sort the mess out.
We are managing at the moment to keep a lid on it

Yes, but in all fairness, the money does go to the S.O.S - Save our Seagulls

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes, but in all fairness, the money does go to the S.O.S - Save our Seagulls

As if we didn't have enough sh!ite hawks already!