ED Nature Watch

[Nigello]

Great spot! Are they wood mice or mice who have just gone al fresco? I tried to find out more about wood mice after I had seen what I thought were some, and read that they don't often live in urban/city areas. Nice if you have them!

[louisemurray]

Definitely wood mice. Half the size of regular mouse, big ears

https://www.mammal.org.uk/species-hub/full-species-hub/discover-mammals/species-wood-mouse/

[Nigello]

Similar to what I saw so maybe they were wood mice. Thanks

[louisemurray]

I get frequent close-ups for ID purposes as they are brought up to my bedroom very much alive.

[tfwsoll]

I've seen a flock of parakeets attacking a comorant in flight above Brockwell Park and Sunray Gardens. I think they are just aggressive pests.

>>>I saw about a dozen parakeets buzzing/strafing a heron on one side, with a crow doing likewise on the other, about 150 feet up near to Village Square??I had seen a crow doing the same to a heron seated high up in a tree in Peckham Rye, near the lake. Don't they get on or could it have been staking out nests, etc?

[malumbu]

My squirrel proof feeders are being attacked, actually I expect by a mouse who has worked out that it can chew through the mesh to get at the pellets. Do I admire it or get annoyed by it, or both?!

[Sue]

tfwsoll Wrote:

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> I've seen a flock of parakeets attacking a

> comorant in flight above Brockwell Park and Sunray

> Gardens. I think they are just aggressive pests.

>

>

It's nature .....

[tfwsoll]

I know that nature isn't always cute and cuddly but the parakeets are an invasive species and a pest. I used to love them as they are so striking and intelligent but the novelty has worn off.

[BrandNewGuy]

They're a recent species on these shores, but they'd only be regarded as 'invasive' if they pushed any indigenous species out of their ecological 'niches'. There's no evidence that they do that, so as far as I'm concerned they're welcome.

[Nigello]

I don't like them. They are nice to look at but not to hear. They do have form in terms of making it hard for other species to co-exist, but our bigger birdies are getting in on the act:

Concerns have been raised by Dr Hazel Jackson, an expert in invasive species and conservation at the University of Kent, over the impact of the growing numbers of parakeets in south-east England.[12] Scientific research programmes have analysed the behaviour of parakeets and found that they compete with native bird species and bats for food and nesting sites.[citation needed] Although not aggressive, parakeets have been shown to deter smaller birds due to their behaviour and noise; their large size means that they often crowd small bird feeders, further increasing competition for resources and disrupting local ecosystems.

The detrimental effect of competitive exclusion has been likened to the impact of the introduction of grey squirrel on the red squirrel. However, British parakeets are not without natural predators; ornithologists have observed an increase in the population of birds of prey in London, and have reported sparrowhawks, peregrine falcons and hobbies preying on parakeets.[6]

Parakeets are considered a pest in many countries such as Israel, where large swarms of parakeets can have a devastating effect on certain crops, and there is concern that the rapidly growing parakeet population could have unforeseen environmental impact in Britain.[3][4] In 2009, Governmental wildlife organisation Natural England added feral parakeets to the ?general licence?, a list of wild species that can be lawfully culled without the need for specific permission.[15] Feral monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) were subsequently also covered by the licence.[16] In March 2021, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that no cull of the ring-necked parakeet population in the UK is planned.[17]

[Annie5]

Because of their size and noise, they do seem to frighten our native garden birds. Just seen two parakeets attacking a blackbird outside ....... they are definitely pests.

[Sue]

Annie5 Wrote:

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> Just seen two

> parakeets attacking a blackbird outside .......

> they are definitely pests.

So are cats, by that definition!

[McMurphy]

yes

[McMurphy]

good knowledge Nigello... do I take that to mean that, whilst I await the arrival of the sparrowhawk, I can lawfully kill the parakeets that eat all the bird food in my garden (see attached of 5 parakeets this morning dominating the feeder at the expense of the smaller native birds)

[Nigello]

Gosh, I don't know about the law on that and would advise against it unless you knew it was legal, and you were a great shot lest you bag something else! It is annoying. Fortunately, I don't have any that come to my feeders - yet, but the squirrels and mice do. Nature...

[tfwsoll]

They certainly are invasive according to most of the studies I have seen. They nest in existing tree cavities, which has an impact on smaller native birds. They also dominate supplementary food sources in the winter months - I know that they attack smaller birds that come my feeders.

[AylwardS]

The London Wildlife Trust position statement on parakeets says there is no evidence they out compete native birds for nest sites but they support population monitoring.

Also licences are needed to kill them and only in limited circumstances. LWT has frequently asked questions at the end of their position statement. The following was said related to gardens

* Deter parakeets as you would other birds - use netting over plants, hang CDs

* Use a robust bird feeder

* It?s illegal to shoot them in your garden

There are more parakeets but squirrels and cats are more of a threat to other birds than parakeets from what I see.

[malumbu]

Squirrels have learned to chew through the mesh to get into the squirrel proof feeders, clever blighters, have the water pistol armed for them and the green squwaky things

[yeknomyeknom]

Our annual visitor the Jay Bird is back.

[yeknomyeknom]

I have just seen what to all intents and purposes was a rat running under the garden fence. I only saw it scamper then it?s butt trying to squeeze under. It looked like a rat because it was that specific rat brown colour. Fur (hair not feathers) and a tail. But! The tail was not a rats tail. It was an inch long at most, brown and pointed. This was a big creature, like a Guinea pig size. We are near the rye. What could it have been? I want to say vole but they are tiny.

[Lynne]

Just been watching two foxes sunning themselves on top of the glass roof to a kitchen extension in Crawthew Rd. I don't know if the owners knew,

A particularly fine dog fox that I've seen around a lot lately

[legalalien]

According to t'internet male brown voles can be up to 20cm (head and body) as opposed to 25cm (head and body) for a rat:

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-to/identify-wildlife/how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-brown-rat-and-a-water-vole

They're a lot bigger than your field vole.

https://www.mammal.org.uk/species-hub/full-species-hub/discover-mammals/species-water-vole/

[yeknomyeknom]

Thank you re the voles. I think I did see the larger male vole in my garden. How exciting!

[McMurphy]

many mornings recently we have had, on our very visible garden fence facing the dining table, a pair of woodpigeons engaged in what I can only describe as "heavy petting", followed by what appears to be intercourse.

we have young children and frankly I don't know what to do about this. we've resorted to eating our breakfast in the sitting room, away from this daily display, and to avoid the questions I inevitably have to field from the children on the topic.

I tried explaining to them that the male pigeon wanted to be a bit higher up to get a better view, but they just pointed out that he could fly up the tree next to him, for which I had no answer.

we've now resorted to only using our kitchen when it's dark, as that's the only time we can be sure we won't be forced to witness such a spectacle, which is obviously particularly distressing during family mealtimes.

does anyone have any advice as to what can be done about this? I am looking into installing an electric fence atop our wooden fence, but failing that, I fear we shall have to leave the area for somewhere less likely to make my family bear daily witness to such obscenities.

[IlonaM]

Just tell them they're making baby pigeons!! It's perfectly natural. Your kids will take it on board and ignore it.