Kittens as Bird Scarer

[NOG]

For the past 3 years I have had birds nesting in my nest boxes. But we got kittens this year and NOTHING.

More than that not a bird in sight.....I hope they will come back next year.

[rana]

For some years I have encouraged birds by putting up nest boxes and providing food. The number and variety of birds increased until recently when many neighbours acquired cats. They prowl around my garden terrorising and murdering the wildlife and the result is that most of the surviving birds have fled. Feeders that were once refilled every 3 or 4 days, now take weeks before refilling is necessary.

Instead of the welcoming chorus of birdsong in the mornings, I now more often hear the sharp refrain of alarm calls from the remaining birds.

[SarzWix]

I've got a cat and 2 kittens, there's a cat in the next 3 houses, and one in the house backing onto mine... But the gardens around are still full of birds, I have blu tits and coal tits in the stags antlers every day, starlings nesting in the eaves, blackbirds nesting in the hedge next door, sparrows everywhere, and I expect to see the finches and other tits turn up anytime soon. My garden is surrounded on 2 sides by 10 - 12 ft conifers though, which I think helps

[julesapple]

On the Alert

We've eleven moggies, and still get lots of garden birds.

We don't feed the birds though, or encourage them into the garden, in order to minimise the risk. Our cats don't wear collars after a horrific incident when we witnessed one of our mogs choke to death caught high in a tree before we could get to her with a ladder. I will never put my cats, or my children through that again.

At this time of year we are on Red Alert, for those innocent but unwary fledglings, and there's nearly always someone in the garden all the time, so we don't have many 'incidents'

Jules

[NOG]

They havent had any of the birds. we have trees at the back of the garden. The bird boxes are all 20 foot up the back of the house...and the birds use to sit in the tree and then fly in to the boxes....I think just seeing the cats has put them off.

We lost the collar battle. We put them on and cats come back sans collar eith a smug look.

[Sweepster]

Keeping cats in at night, and during dawn and dusk, will significantly reduce the impact on local wildlife (if the cats are keen hunters). The birds come and laugh at our three numpties.

[Two_Sheds]

An adult bird can fly off away from a cat, but it's the fledglings that are more vulnerable, because they spend time on the ground for a few days before they are able to fly.

[julesapple]

Big Birds...

...no, not Sesame Street.

The DD is a falconer and works at the local falconry. Currently she's hand-rearing a kestrel, Freya, and two barn owls, Inca & Boogie (don't ask, I don't know why he's called Boogie)

Our moggies were looking at them in the incubator like they were a box of fresh snacks for the first week or so. Freya is now full size, with a viscious hook on her beak, and just losing the last of her down. Yesterday she graduated from being carried in a pet carrier to having a heavy wooden crate with her perch block inside. She's tethered to the block in transit by her jesses, but at home the box sits on the floor wherever the daughter is, with the door open. 'Snacktime!' has been the general thought of our moggies until they get within about a foot of Freya and the beak & talons come into the equation!! This is the moggy's cue to turn tail (still trying to look cool of course) and it's been an education to them and funny for us.

The Barnies hiss like a box of snakes so the cats haven't been near them. I hadn't realised just how vocal owls are, or how loud such youngsters can be, and neither had our mogs. I think they have a new respect for birds!

Jules

[snuffer]

We have four cats but loads of birds in the garden. Mrs snuffer spends a small fortune encourging birds into the garden with ; seed, fat cakes, peanuts and mealworms. As a result lots of birds visit the garden and some even stay to build their nests and raise their chicks.

I think that encouraging so many birds into the garden helps prevent the cats from catching them. If any of the cats venture too close to any of the feeder stations it only needs one bird to spot them and give the alarm for all of them to dash for cover. More often than not the cats don't bother with the birds, they seem to have learned that it is a waste of effort.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pretending that the cats never catch a bird but it is very rare and I feel that all the birds we help survive the winter by offering a constant supply of food far out wieghs the few that the cats do catch.