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I'm a cynic - if you look at some of this lot's bedfellows you'll find the pesticide, pharmaceutical and GM brigade are in there in force - I'd suggest this is somewhat akin to Syngenta funding research into "bee problems" that's deliberately skewed away from pesticides........... They try to paint themselves as "pure scientists" with altruism in mind, where in fact it's just pr for their masters in the pesticide/GM businesses! Ohhh look we're cuddly, friendly and fun, you can trust us - have a GM carrot!
Anything that the "BBSRC" has anything to do with is deeply tainted!
 
Money collection...

In Finland we have had many kind of money collecting "save cancer children" , save "veterans of winter war" save whatever. But bad thing is that collectors have kept 90% of those money.

Give money to bumblebees, heh! - who knows where money go.

I know that if you sow into nature seeds, very few plants will appear when you look the site 2 years or 4 years later.

I would say that it is waste of money and work. The most succesfull bee plants are the worst weed too. They grow everywhere and seeds are dispersing without sowing.
 
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sorry Steve1958, as you can see many of us here (not all!) are very suspicious of some of the organisations that are starting to proliferate supposedly pushing the save the bee campaign. I hope you can see this point of view too.

It's an interesting comparison to what Finman says - in our local Parish magazine, there is a farmer who writes every month , always coming from the perspective of little education, always been tilling the land etc (and it's true) but he is a very eloquent writer. This month he wrote about the RSPB and yet another study claiming the bird populations are dropping.

He thinks that, like what Finman says, alot of the 'research' ends up self perpetuating and almost creates a job for someone, then that job has to be maintained, and the best way is to promote the issue that things are worse, not better. He makes a very valid point that while songbird populations have dropped, the rapter (hawk etc) populations have soared off the back of banning egg collecting and shooting them - and they naturally feed on songbirds, as do magpies (and I have yet again seen 100s this year so far).

So by encouraging one population, the other population suffers (a bit like rabbits & foxes)

Not that I am saying the Save the Bees compaign is doing anything like this, but it is an interesting comparison all the same.

regards

S
 
He makes a very valid point that while songbird populations have dropped, the rapter (hawk etc) populations have soared off the back of banning egg collecting and shooting them - and they naturally
S


Here too it has been written much that "field birds have vahished". That and that has vanished.

In many cases it has been proved that they are eaten in wintering countries.

Some birds have multiplied. Fieldfares are 10 times more than 30 years ago.

Some fluctuations of birds have connection to dairy farming and cow manure. So, there much changes and I wonder what we can do with collected money.

Bumblebees are are not know why and how their number fluctuate. So lets collect money . What to do with money. Perhaps arrange some meetings.

Jackdaws have multiplied during 30 years. They eate fieldfares' nests and destroys big colonies. Jackdaws have nest inside chimney of empty houses on countryside. A swarm may have 1000 birds above our village.

Common sparrow are almost rare. It has some disease. The number of sparrows have collapsed 95% during 25 years. We do not know what is that disease.
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Locally as the magpie population exploded a few years back the blackbirds completely disappeared as did all the sparrows and other small birds. I think someone must have been culling the magpies as they have thinned down a lot and as a consequence the blackbirds have recently returned.

I've not seen a sparrow locally for many, many years, all we usually get now are blue tits, robins, sea gulls, collared doves, red kites and the odd magpie. This is despite a wide range of potential habitats nearby from heathland, extensive woodland, hedgerows and urban gardens. I strongly suspect it could be due to the golf courses nearby using vast quantities of herbicide.

Pockets of possibly urbanised sparrows do exist elsewhere in the county though, and often in large numbers - whether this is due to local feeding by households or better forage on surrounding farmland I'm not sure. I've seen them co-existing (to some extent )with sparrowhawks, I also recently saw a collared dove sat on an adjacent tv aerial to a sparrowhawk who must have already had a full stomach!
 
Many years ago I was working on a semi sub drilling rig (it floats) and when the supply boat came out on its mast was a sparrow hawk. It set about the birds we had about us, this was migration season, and took up residence on one of the cross beams in the derrick, not even flinching when the travelling blocks flew up and down whilst the drill string was tripped out and back, then when the boat stood off and got ready for Aberdeen he did a circle of the rig, settled on the cross trees of his "taxi" and off he went. :)

PH
 
For information, and an activity pack register HERE

or go to http://www.saveourbees.org.uk/

They will email you an activity pack.

If you want to try the link they sent me for my activity pack you are welcome :

http://www.saveourbees.org.uk/The Save Our Bees Info Pack.pdf



I visited the website, and looked at the 'bee facts' page. Fascinating. As a newbeek, I was really intrigued to learn that the UK is home to one species of domesticated honey bee. Could someone please let me know where I can get hold of some - the bees I currently love and care for can hardly be called 'domesticated'!
 
salot of the 'research' ends up self perpetuating and almost creates a job for someone
"for Life!"

I agreed with you on this part, I am aware of ppl who have made a careers on the back of these issues.

In fact to be fare we have whole sector that rides on the next big issue.

JD
 
I too found this a very useful and interesting read.
Having only been caring for Bees for just under a year now any easy reading literature is appealing.

The thing I have found most useful about this pack is that it appeals to youngsters.
The Bee Keepers of tomorrow.

bee-smillie
 
I was reading the web last night and it seems that i quote : scientis think that although the usa and the likes are losing bees due to CCD that other countries are in fact doing better than ever. They also feel that pesticides could be to blame for CCD.
 
Do you mean to say that the funding paid to the British Beekiller's Association by the pesticide industry hasn't succeeded in totally hushing up the fact that their products are indeed behind most of the problems with bees?
Dear oh dear, what a shame - there is such a thing as "accepting money under false pretences" you know............
 

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