Birds of prey

I've got a new job as a white van man, driving round the Essex countryside delivering and picking up metal.

It's surprising any of our birds make it home at all,
All I see is birds from the crow family ie, rooks crows and magpies, and birds of prey, and not your run of the mill ones that you used to get in Essex, there's such a variety of them now.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I hardly EVER see a song bird when I'm driving around.

I'm looking for some good liberation points for future training tosses as I have a similar route most days luckily on my line of flight, which was a big reason for taking the job. but every time I think I've found a nice spot there's a bird of prey nearby. It really is getting bad, and I don't even think that Essex is notoriously bad for birds of prey either.

boosey when I was training my friends birds I did not lose any not sure if it was because when I stopped to release the birds I done it straight away I did not leave the baskets out in the open may be worth a try

Boosey from my point of view there needs to be a Cull like they did in the 1950 / 60's to help keep numbers down but not make any spices extinct

A lot have packed in racing as a result of all these birds of prey..it needs sorted fast

I seen a young lad walking around with hawk on his arm, he gets goes to the shopping malls around the area, and lets it off to scare all birds away. he said he gets good money for doing it. Evil looking b-------s

don't train near a quarry or too close to the coast also release yer birds in small groups I let me old birds up single or twos and ybs in sixes ...we are saturated with birds of prey now and nothing will be done about it I see 2 or 3 here every hour sparrahawks ,goshawks and peregines .keep yer birds in through the winter and get um on barley for 2 weeks before you let um out again in spring...theirs a few deterrents you can use around the loft for hawks but percy is a different ball game

Boosey wrote:

I've got a new job as a white van man, driving round the Essex countryside delivering and picking up metal.

It's surprising any of our birds make it home at all,
All I see is birds from the crow family ie, rooks crows and magpies, and birds of prey, and not your run of the mill ones that you used to get in Essex, there's such a variety of them now.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I hardly EVER see a song bird when I'm driving around.

I'm looking for some good liberation points for future training tosses as I have a similar route most days luckily on my line of flight, which was a big reason for taking the job.   but every time I think I've found a nice spot there's a bird of prey nearby. It really is getting bad, and I don't even think that Essex is notoriously bad for birds of prey either.

Congratulations on your new job Boosey etc Another one to the club "Man with a van" . Two things, one flyer I know single tosses his birds by just throwing them out the window as here drives along the road at times & another one never lets them look around at the toss point like most of us do & believes out & up is the safest way. both in their own way fly a mean pigeon, so just try to find a happy medium I suggest that suits your way.

knackered we tossed the birds back in the 60s by throwing them out the car window