when will this madness stop!!

[Heather]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...s-bird-population-collapses-due-to-pesticides

 

[philipm]

Sign of the times I'm afraid where making money comes above common sense.

 

[birdsandbees]

sounds about right, mankind is a self destructive species

I can recall as a youngster that insect diversity and abundance was much higher back then (and I'm not that old) it was dead easy to go and find caterpillars and other insect life which could be collected and held temporarily as pets, particularly caterpillars which I took great pleasure in feeding and looking after until they emerged as butterflies which were then released.

 

[Erichalfbee]

sounds about right, mankind is a self destructive species

I can recall as a youngster that insect diversity and abundance was much higher back then (and I'm not that old) it was dead easy to go and find caterpillars and other insect life which could be collected and held temporarily as pets, particularly caterpillars which I took great pleasure in feeding and looking after until they emerged as butterflies which were then released.

Wow, yes I used to do that.

 

[roche]

sounds about right, mankind is a self destructive species

Problem is that they aren't self destructive enough - If we saw another species doing the amount of damage to the environment that humans are, that species would be controlled, fast and harshly.

 

[Brian Bush]

Read an article today in the Telegraph on the same subject. They put the decline down to loss of insects. Sure enough pesticides will do that it is fairly obvious. The decline in numbers is over a very short period that roughly coincides with the presence of the Asian Hornet. We are told this is a veracious feeder on all insects and I was told, on good authority, that the lack of insects is a sign that hornet colonies are nearby. There was also a discussion on the forum about the weight of insects required to maintain a hornet nest. I suspect there may be two factors at work here and maybe the investigators have not joined the dots! Someone researching the effects of pesticides may ignore, or not understand, the effects of a voracious predator in competition for insects. Just a thought!

 

[Hivemaker.]

I suspect there may be two factors at work here and maybe the investigators have not joined the dots! Someone researching the effects of pesticides may ignore, or not understand, the effects of a voracious predator in competition for insects. Just a thought!

I agree, but also include wasps in this and have mentioned it in previous threads.

An average sized wasp nest will eradicate between 4 to 5 metric tons of other insects during a season, and there can be hundreds of wasp nests per square mile.

 

[Beefriendly]

I do tend to think that figure is quite an exaggeration. IIRC 11-15kg max is the figure they were talking about in the New Zealand aphid forests where wasps are active 365.
I suspect it is much less in the UK.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I do tend to think that figure is quite an exaggeration. IIRC 11-15kg max is the figure they were talking about in the New Zealand aphid forests where wasps are active 365.
I suspect it is much less in the UK.

Correct figure and up to one thousand wasp nests per square mile... according to the UK wasp expert.

 

[colinc]

Food conversion ratios that I can find for wasp species is 3-4% so at best this would result in 600g of wasp biomass growth with the 11-15kg figure. As we know from bee colony growth in summer it is likely the figure is much higher for a large colony.


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[mbc]

I agree, but also include wasps in this and have mentioned it in previous threads.

An average sized wasp nest will eradicate between 4 to 5 metric tons of other insects during a season, and there can be hundreds of wasp nests per square mile.

Sort of, but that wouldnt be that much dry mass bearing in mind that 99% of insect mass is water.

 

[Millet]

Don't forget they put mist nets out in that neck of the woods to trap small birds even the migratory rare birds and then they eat them as they are supposed to be a delicacy.. i wonder if that has anything to do with the decline..

 

[maddydog]

Food conversion ratios that I can find for wasp species is 3-4% so at best this would result in 600g of wasp biomass growth with the 11-15kg figure. As we know from bee colony growth in summer it is likely the figure is much higher for a large colony.


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I imagined they'd be more efficient than that. Hard to visualise 4-5 metric tons of insects!

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Don't forget they put mist nets out in that neck of the woods to trap small birds even the migratory rare birds and then they eat them as they are supposed to be a delicacy.. i wonder if that has anything to do with the decline..

Oui, c'est vrai! .... Alouette, gentille alouette .....

CVB

 

[Millet]

Oui, c'est vrai! .... Alouette, gentille alouette .....

CVB

 

[Goran]

If You miss bird song... come here soon when temp rises.. It is not song it is a helluva orchestra ( thousands of birds).. which goes into night with hordes of nightingales.. None of sound of civilization ( except me).. After such nice singing later in a season is struggle to harvest any fruit.. it is harsh competition.. I am losing my will and strength..
Could be these are refugee birds which escaped slaughter in France, Italy?

 

[maddydog]

If You miss bird song... come here soon when temp rises.. It is not song it is a helluva orchestra ( thousands of birds).. which goes into night with hordes of nightingales.. None of sound of civilization ( except me).. After such nice singing later in a season is struggle to harvest any fruit.. it is harsh competition.. I am losing my will and strength..
Could be these are refugee birds which escaped slaughter in France, Italy?

I take it that song birds are not a delicacy in Croatia!?

Where I live crows must be immune to pesticides and make poor eating because they're the only thing left

 

[Goran]

I can't understand many things.. eating of such tiny birds are one of them. For me these people have some mental issues.. Or sign which show why the humans are on the road to nowhere.. There is more meat in a snail than in some of these birds I believe..

I bought electronic " scarer" last season but after few weeks birds learn it is false.. and fool me again..

 

[enrico]

this is my walnut tree growing starlings. You need the sound up for the racket!!!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90077405@N03/albums/72157689048604580
Thats if the link works!
e

 

[madasafish]

A song thrush has taken up temporary residence in our apple tree and sings from 5.30am to 10pm. Very welcome as local thrushes tend to stick to woods and ignore us..

But after a while, we get fed up with the two notes it sings