Marske/Redcar coastal field. Two groups of Grey Partridge (10 and 7) quite unusual nowadays. The bad news is 38 pheasants (easily the most I have seen here and undoubtedly put there recently) and 5 Red-legged Partidges so how long before the sados arrive with their shotguns? Do they know the difference between Grey Partridge and Red-legged Partidge?
Hi check your history of these birds if it wasn't for the hunters in the field these birds would not exist in this country,as for when the shooters arrive in the fields the shooting started on August the 12th if you don't like what happens in the countryside don't visit it. I am not a shooter but I respect the countryside coming from a farming family,this is just another aspect of farming.
I think we are unique in Europe in several deplorable respects. We are apparently the only country with no closed season for Hare killing (info from mammal specialist working for the RSPB in Oxon) and probably the only one where mass releases of Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges take place (I gather these are actually illegal in some more enlightened European countries). It seems that about 17 million Pheasants are released each year in UK for shooting purposes. I have no number for Red-legged Partridges but I have heard of one release of 25,000 RLP's near Osmotherly (from a shooter) and another in excess of 10,000 in West Yorkshire (I actually logged over 1000 around one moorland reservoir, in large bewildered groups). Other species inevitably get caught up in the sadistic activities of so called 'country people', in particular Grey Partridge which is a seriously declining species in UK. I know many real country people who love their wildlife rather than love killing it. So, wise up whoever you are!
a lot of species wouldnt be around if it wasnt for country sports enthusiast 8) i go fishing and shooting , and i love nature , birds especialy 8) to call folk sados is stupid ??? and yes most shootin guys know the differance between a red leg and a grey partridge ??? i know of one local estate that has a few wild greys. on it and it is not allowed to shoot them 8) shoot the frenchies instead ;D 8) people like you think the country side runs itself :( well it doesnt. without gamekeepers ect it would look very different and a lot of species would suffer ;) so next time think 'before you go talkin crap ::) not all nature lovers are tree huggin , fluffy bunny brigade ;)
Once again I will remind people on here about my family name GARSIDE
No-one will ever convince me that It's normal to go out with a gun and deliberatly cause pain, panic and injury, and to actually enjoy it! something lacking somewhere.
;D if our ancestors thought that way ??? we wouldnt be here ::) i wonder if you wear leather shoes and eat meat ??? the animals in these situations go through alot more . pain and panic , as you put it :-* i dont go out to cause pain , panic or injury ??? i do what i do SHOOTIN AND FISHING because , YES i enjoy it 8) but i also enjoy bird watching and all nature in general. cant help who you are and what you like ;) we are all different 8) some like a cuppa tea 8) 8) others prefer coffee ::) it's the way of the world 8) and dont forget some of the most famous names in ornithology liked shooting, peter scott for instance 8)
Well Lee, I'm not as ignorant as you would imagine regarding goings on in the countryside, I come from a hunting / shooting family myself.One day, my Uncle came in with a hare he had just shot, it was lactating, a couple of Leverets were out there waiting for a mother who would never come, and all because my Uncle wanted a bit of sport with his gun. I was only 9 year old at the time but it sickened me even then.
Hopefully this will be the last post on this subject lets just take it for granted that some of us enjoy all aspects of country life where as some don't this could dissolve into a whole debate about country living but knowing this forum people don't reply. I for one started a thread about fly fishing on Tunstall reservoir two years ago this has had over 2000 views and over 200 replies ;start a thread on here and the maximum replies for any is 24.
Its odd that whenever anyone flags up the deplorable shooting situation, a load of nonsense flows from the pro shooting lobby. It simply is not the case that most country people support the activities of 'bloodthirsty cowards' (to quote one recent letter in a sunday newspaper). One of my daughters lives in a tiny Berkshire village and many of her neighbours are newcomers (houses too expensive for locals which is another issue). They don't integrate by becoming shooters etc. as might have been the case a century ago. They often integrate by helping at the village fetes, local produce selling, joining the local cricket team etc. My son in law recently scored 170 not out for the village cricket team and that impressed the locals far more than had he bought a shot gun and joined in the minority activities. Less than one percent of the UK population hold shot gun licenses. The fox hunting lobby did the same thing during the debates leading up to the ban, widely distributing posters claiming a majority supported fox hunting (from memory, I think the percentage they quoted was something like 57%). This was complete fiction, independent polls showing that only about 20% of the UK pupulation supported fox hunting.
To end on a lighter note, a few years ago the Queen was caught out by the paparazzi and was photographed wringing a Pheasant's neck. This hit the headlines and was discussed on the excellent 'Have I got News for you'. Someone said that she was just being kind, putting it out of its misery. Paul Merton replied that it might have been kinder had she had not shot it in the first place!
a lot of people, like myself i guess, read and never post because we either dont feel we have the expertise to comment, or in case we are rebuffed with crass comments such as :
" if you don't like what happens in the countryside don't visit it "
which is akin to saying if you dont like womens shoes dont visit the shopping centre, or if you dont like badminton dont go to the leisure centre.
most of us have seen people with guns killing indiscriminately. last year i saw 2 grown men in camoflauge gear shooting oystercatchers near the steetley. pheasants may attract bona fide hunters who can tell the partridges apart. they will also attract the sort of lowlife that shoot rabbits on the hart to haswell walkway then impale the corpses on tree branches. if these people travel to shoot and the cant find pheasants they will shoot pretty much anything else that moves.
ultimately, if you dont like people belonging to a bird club getting upset at people taking pleasure in killing birds, then dont visit its website. ;)
Well put Chip, and welcome to our forum.
Hi chipf and keith once again check out my family name and if it means nothing too you check out the history of cowpen bewley woodland park, re my late brother Peter.
What on earth is that about?
Hi Keith that is exactly what I meant.
seems to me most NOT all 8)on here, are tree huggers. you people are usually very hypocritical ;D like i said if you eat no meat , wear no leather ect ;D i respect that 8) but if you meat eating , wearing leather ect ;D you make me puke ;D ;D ooohhh if you shoot something it means your sick and don't care about nature ;D ;D well it is crap ;) i love the natural world 8) and have probably seen and forget more about it ;D than most of you bunny huggers will ever know ;D 8) ;) ;D see now you pissin me off ??? ??? ??? ??? nuff said ;D
like i said, its no wonder people will read, but wont post.
amazed the moderators allow that sort of abuse.
i have to say. i'v been on here a couple of years now 8) and apart from this thread have seen no negativity 8) just seems like most other forums i'v been on . plenty of folk on here but not much conversation :( that said the best forums i have been on have been fieldsports related and taxidermy related 8) lots of great people on there , more than willing to converse , and share their experiences and knowledge 8) as it should be . sorry if i offended anyone reading this thread :) 8) ;)
chipf before you make a statement about the reasons people don't reply check out the threads which should have created vast numbers of replies i.e usage of forum 2024 views but only 9 replies so from that 2015 people on here must be brain dead.AND ITS GOODBYE FROM ME
i said " i guess " and that i was basing it on my own personal experience, which to be fair, given i havent spoken to all the other people who dont post, is all i can go on.
if, like me, you dont have an encyclopedic knowledge and expensive equipment, group of birdwatchers can be intimidating when you are out and about. so i tend to avoid them because nobody wants to make a fool of themselves.
i havent posted previously and only did so this time around because the question was asked why people didnt post.
given i'm apparently a brain dead bunny hugger that has pissed people off and made them want to puke, simply for posting a rational argument, then like i said its hardly likely to encourage me, or others like me to bother in future.
im just going to go back to admiring the excellent photos , and reading the extremely helpful sightings that get posted. its very reassuring when they confirm what you thought you saw through your £20 binoculars, e.g the dusky warbler.
CHIP,, i dont go bird watching as such :) i just no my birds , wildlife ect 8) and have loved it all my life 8) fair enough i go shooting fishing ect, but that doesnt make me a bad person 8) if you seen me out and about i 'm one of the nicest people you'd wanna meet ;D there is no need to feel intimadated on here or anywere else 8) we dont all walk about with £££££££££'s worth of equipment ;D thinkin we are bill oddie ;D ;D ;D ;D 8) ;) ;)
Sorry to cause more controversy (well, those that know me will realise that's a lie) but the last post sums the situation up well to me. There are two sides to the argument but, unfortunately, one of them is being put forward by idiots!
No one with a sound mind would deny that the 'countryside' way of life has positive aspects, particularly in habitat conservation for example. However, Dave was making a completely different point which has its own merits. To release for hunting, game species into areas where indigenous species are barely clinging on is madness.
Anyone who suggests that in a moment of excitement, a gun holder is going to stop and think 'is this RLP or Grey' is fooling themselves badly! Many (most) experienced birders would not be able to tell the difference in time to still try and shoot it.
I would never come 100% against countryside / hunting folk but in this case Dave is dead right! And I will rarely say that either :-)
Well put Stew, I don't see how anyone could argue with what you say, it's common sense, but then again?
;D your not wrong ;D i'v seen a red grouse shot on a pheasant day ??? but by in large shooting is pretty benificial to other wildlife,,,,,, mink, stoats, foxes, grey squirrel's and corvids are all kept to an exceptable level 8) this surely benifits other non game species 8) and in some places previously devoid of grey partridge, these have been released yes for shooting :) but not all are shot , some disperse into new territories and start repopulating . so overall shooting is not such a bad thing.. 8) :) ;)
I can add to your list of controlled species, how about Hen Harrier, Peregrine, Red Kite and even Golden Eagle amongst others.
maybe there have been cases were the species you mention were victims :( but a few bad apples shouldnt spoil the barrel ??? ??? not every gamekeeper or folk that shoot, kill the species you mention ??? as i said by in large a lot of species benefit from keepering 8) it is also worth sayin .i was at saltholme awhile back and the amount of crow's and magpies was shockin :( then i hear some guy moanin oh the ringed plover chicks were eaten by magpies ;D then thin the maggies out 8) over the port the corvids have no real predators so they will benifit , while other species will not , due to corvid predation ??? around 20 years ago the area where the barrage is , and the dinosaur park on middlesbrough and YES port clarence aswell. had a lot more grey partridges 8) i basically lived in the mentioned areas back then and put large coveys of greys up daily 8) i also remember not seeing half as many magpies ??? the boom in maggies has a lot to do with greys disapearing :( if you dont no this , then you must be thick as **** ;D ;D and now mink are moving in over the port ;D well the water voles will be gone for starters :( then the ground nesting birds will go down >:( you people on here have a bunny hugger mentality ;D well let me tell ya ,, this aint walt fockin disney ;D all the animals of the forest are not best friends ;D some species are invasive and dominant , and need to be kept in check 8) seriously some of the folk on here are dumb arse bunny huggin twitchers :o :( ;D ;D ;D ;)
Quote from: lee. taxi on October 11, 2010, 03:11:06 PM
sorry if i offended anyone reading this thread :) 8) ;)
I think you might just have done it again Lee.
Rednecks on Teesside could somebody tell me if this is the first sighting?
;D yeah i maybe the first on teeside 8) but you are no first ;D dumb arse geordies are ten a penny ;D wye aye bonny lad ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;)