Have a Chat

[Mark O]

A question on the subject of Birds (the feathered variety!)



I've been told that once we're in Summertime we humans should no longer feed the Birds with our leftover bread etc; because they get all they need from Berries and other things that are natural, but I carry on filling the nut container and chucking out the bread regardless.



So should we continue feeding the Birds in Summer?

[Steve Crook]

name='Mark O']A question on the subject of Birds (the feathered variety!)



I've been told that once we're in Summertime we humans should no longer feed the Birds with our leftover bread etc; because they get all they need from Berries and other things that are natural, but I carry on filling the nut container and chucking out the bread regardless.



So should we continue feeding the Birds in Summer?

If other, preferred sources of food are available then the birds will eat those. They're not silly (or feather brained) like humans



I put out bread all year round whenever I have any leftover. Sometimes it's eaten, sometimes it isn't. If the birds don't want it then something else like the foxes or hedgehogs might



Talking of hedgehogs. Don't put bread and milk out for them. The sugars in the milk doesn't do them any good. Cat food or dog food is the best thing for them



Steve

[Mark O]

name='Steve Crook']If other, preferred sources of food are available then the birds will eat those. They're not silly (or feather brained) like humans



I put out bread all year round whenever I have any leftover. Sometimes it's eaten, sometimes it isn't. If the birds don't want it then something else like the foxes or hedgehogs might



Talking of hedgehogs. Don't put bread and milk out for them. The sugars in the milk doesn't do them any good. Cat food or dog food is the best thing for them



Steve

Thanks for the advice Steve.



The last thing I want to do is throw bread away, I'll carry on regardless, it all seems to get eaten!



We don't get any hedgehogs, probably because there's no access gaps, but every night a Fox jumps over a six-feet fence to have a moot around, I've seen it eat bread though when it saw me went flying back over the fence!

[jaycad]

name='Mark O']Thanks for the advice Steve.



The last thing I want to do is throw bread away, I'll carry on regardless, it all seems to get eaten!



We don't get any hedgehogs, probably because there's no access gaps, but every night a Fox jumps over a six-feet fence to have a moot around, I've seen it eat bread though when it saw me went flying back over the fence!

i find glacier mints attract foxes but just be careful with the possible polar bear visit!

[HUGHJAMPTON]

name='jaycad']i find glacier mints attract foxes but just be careful with the possible polar bear visit!

If you're after really big game, try putting out Frosties

[jaycad]

name='HUGHJAMPTON']If you're after really big game, try putting out Frosties

i find with frosties i'm waiting quite a long time for them to tempt bait as there's quite a lack of stammering tigers nowadays!

[HUGHJAMPTON]

name='jaycad']i find with frosties i'm waiting quite a long time for them to tempt bait as there's quite a lack of stammering tigers nowadays!

Coco Pops bring in the monkeys

[jaycad]

name='HUGHJAMPTON']Coco Pops bring in the monkeys

and sugar puffs result in henry mcgee visitations!

[ShirlGirl]

name='Steve Crook']And don't forget the damage done to indigenous Australian wildlife by domestic cats. Introducing those cane toads didn't work out too well either



Steve

Would you believe there are idiots who dump unwanted cats and kittens in the bush? We used to live on acres in a rural area and we'd see one from time to time. Their heads grow very big and they seem to turn ginger over time. National Parks & Wildlife estimate there are 12 million feral cats scattered throughout Australia.

Feral Cats



The cane toad idea turned into an enormous disaster. The horrible creatures are sex addicts - 101 were brought in from Hawaii in 1935 and today the estimated population is 100 million.

[HUGHJAMPTON]

name='jaycad']and sugar puffs result in henry mcgee visitations!

You win. 15,000 points in the i-spy book of men named Henry

[Steve Crook]

name='ShirlGirl']Would you believe there are idiots who dump unwanted cats and kittens in the bush? We used to live on acres in a rural area and we'd see one from time to time. Their heads grow very big and they seem to turn ginger over time. National Parks & Wildlife estimate there are 12 million feral cats scattered throughout Australia.

Feral Cats

Ginger? I thought that feral cats generally went tabby (striped) after a few generations.





That's the colouration of the African Wild Cat which is their direct ancestor



It's even worse than that site says. I had a semi-feral cat and she had her first litter at about 9 months, and another litter 3 months later. Then I managed to get her tubes tied off. With each litter having 3 - 5 kittens that's a helluva exponential curve of population growth they've got going there. Especially as they have no natural predators and a plentiful food supply.



We have quite a few feral cats (and dogs and foxes) in the cities here. For the cats they try to trap the alpha male tom cats and neuter them. But then another "complete" tom will take over as alpha male. The queens are naturally promiscuous anyway. Most will mate with a variety of males.



Cats are such perfect predators, that's why I admire them so much but it's also why they can destroy an unwary population of whatever they target



Steve

[torinfan]

name='Steve Crook']Ginger? I thought that feral cats generally went tabby (striped) after a few generations.





That's the colouration of the African Wild Cat which is their direct ancestor



It's even worse than that site says. I had a semi-feral cat and she had her first litter at about 9 months, and another litter 3 months later. Then I managed to get her tubes tied off. With each litter having 3 - 5 kittens that's a helluva exponential curve of population growth they've got going there. Especially as they have no natural predators and a plentiful food supply.



We have quite a few feral cats (and dogs and foxes) in the cities here. For the cats they try to trap the alpha male tom cats and neuter them. But then another "complete" tom will take over as alpha male. The queens are naturally promiscuous anyway. Most will mate with a variety of males.



Cats are such perfect predators, that's why I admire them so much but it's also why they can destroy an unwary population of whatever they target



Steve

My dear late Pooki was a perfect predator. I still miss her so much.

[torinfan]

On a more positive note I managed to get another record added to Mr Thatcher's page on IMDB and am busy researching some further information for another record consisting of an interview from a brief and long gone news/talk show.

[Steve Crook]

Talking of birds...

The RSPB are running The Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of this month.



It just takes an hour. Count all the birds of all the different species that come into your garden. They have spotters guides on their site if you aren't too good at recognising them.



Then report them all to the RSPB. They've been doing it for the last 30 years and it's an invaluable record that shows the health (or otherwise) of the various populations across the country.



Of course then the newspapers take one statistic out of context and make a big fuss over it. Like when the number of house sparrows was reported to have dropped. The newspapers reported this as though they were a threatened species. In reality they are still the most common garden bird in most areas, but their numbers were slightly down on what they had been in previous years.



And people wonder why I warn everyone to never believe anything they read in their newspapers



Steve

[Sgt Sunshine]

Remember what I said about not buying newspapers.....

If everyone stopped buying them, they would soon have to put their house in order.

Sgt S

[Steve Crook]

name='Sgt Sunshine']Remember what I said about not buying newspapers.....

If everyone stopped buying them, they would soon have to put their house in order.

Sgt S

That's what is happening - readership numbers for all of them are plummeting. They just aren't plummeting fast enough and it's taking a long time for many of them to realise how much trouble they're in



Steve

[jaycad]

name='Steve Crook']That's what is happening - readership numbers for all of them are plummeting. They just aren't plummeting fast enough and it's taking a long time for many of them to realise how much trouble they're in



Steve

i don't bother buying newspapers anymore but i've noticed BBC news is starting to report more 'research has shown that eating black grapes can give you cancer' type stories over the past year!

[Freddy]

name='Sgt Sunshine']Remember what I said about not buying newspapers.....

If everyone stopped buying them, they would soon have to put their house in order.

Sgt S

I'll still be buying newspapers.







Freddy

[Sgt Sunshine]

name='Freddy']I'll still be buying newspapers.







Freddy

Glad to hear it Freddie..............

They can be quite useful in a cat litter tray, putting tins of paint on, good for sealing cracks in old sash windows, lighting fires....and even wiping bottoms, preferably ones own......

just take what they say with a pinch of salt..and you can't go wrong...

Cheers

Sgt S

[ShirlGirl]

Your papers must be far worse than ours. None of you ever have anything positive to say about them.



No papers? Perish the thought! I'd be lost without my Sydney Morning Herald. How could I possibly have breakfast with no SMH crossword? It's as unthinkable as having my toast without Vegemite.