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A Silent Summer?
Many years ago, a perceptive and caring lady called Rachel Carson noted the impact that the spreading use of DDT was having on the environment and wrote a seminal book on her observations called Silent Spring. Today, in parts of Taplow, we have what appears to a silent summer descending upon us in that our small songbirds seem to be rapidly disappearing from our gardens and fields. The reason appears to be the growing local population of a species of birds generally labelled as raptors, notably peregrine falcon, red kite and sparrowhawk. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) negotiated protection for these birds of prey on the grounds that they were being hunted to extinction. As usual, when man decides to take a hand in the natural balance of nature, he lacks the deep knowledge necessary to maintain a new balance. For instance in Scotland the increase of raptors has resulted in the virtual extinction of grouse and plover.
The RSPB 'experts' claim that the growth of the raptor population is a vital element in controlling the population of the '...weakest members of the prey population which weeds out the sick, infirm, starving and often genetically unsuitable members and there helps to keep a viable, healthy prey population'. Well, tell that to the robins, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, finches and tits which the ‘experts’ consider to be members of the 'prey population' and which used to play out their brief enough lives in our gardens.
An average raptor needs 70-100 grams of food a day, which is equal to about two blackbirds. A few breeding pairs of these admittedly beautiful creatures can quickly decimate the small bird population.
The RSPB ‘spins’ its reporting of the impact on the small bird population arising from protecting the raptor by placing most of the blame – to the fury of farmers – on changes to agricultural practices and the consequent destruction of small bird habitats.
So, RSPB, how do you plan restore the true balance of nature between the needs of the raptor and the survival of their prey population to secure the return of our songbirds?
Fred Russell