[Fleecewife]

Was that in your garden Zwartbles?  How did you get the pic?  By the time I've got my camera anything interesting has flown off    What a beautiful bird    Is that a pigeon she's eating?  Surely no-one is going to complain at that.

[SallyintNorth]

I take your point but when you see 13 buzzards circling a field you don't hold out much hope for the red-legged partridge sitting in it.

Well, for one thing, the red-legged partridge isn't a native species; they were brought in to be hunted and some have now become naturalised.

I'd be more worried if it were grey-legged partridge.

However, living as I used to do on Exmoor, in amongst big partridge and pheasant shooting estates, with plentiful buzzards, from what I saw, I don't think buzzards represent a great threat to the partridges.

They mostly took rodents, as far as I could see. 

Men - and women - with guns, however....   

[in the hills]

What a brilliant photo 

Our sparrowhawk gradually decreased in the frequency of the visits as the spring turned into summer. Not sure why? Maybe more young birds in the hedgerows for her to grab.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

could really do with one up here as the red kites are not doing the job. Tell me would they prey on fully grown chickens at all? Or rabbits?

[in the hills]

No, not rabbits or chickens WBF.
They eat small birds. Females are larger and can take birds up to the size of a thrush or pigeon.

Red kites are carrion feeders so won't keep down rabbit numbers as such ....only clean up.Apparently they are not strong birds despite their size. They even rely on other animals opening a carcass for them.Or so we were told at a rspb talk about them.

[zwartbles]

This one is a young female, I think. We pay them to kill pigeons !! It looks odd on the PAYE return though.
It's always a matter of luck with the photos but there is always a camera lying about in case.
This is the night shift!!

[waterbuffalofarmer]

This one is a young female, I think. We pay them to kill pigeons !! It looks odd on the PAYE return though.
It's always a matter of luck with the photos but there is always a camera lying about in case.
This is the night shift!!

She is a real beaut. we have owls too and red kites in great abundance but why so many rodents in the fields then?

[Fleecewife]

This one is a young female, I think. We pay them to kill pigeons !! It looks odd on the PAYE return though.
It's always a matter of luck with the photos but there is always a camera lying about in case.
This is the night shift!!

She is a real beaut. we have owls too and red kites in great abundance but why so many rodents in the fields then?

As in the hills points out, red kites don't kill their prey, they are scavengers, so they won't have an effect on mice or voles etc.  Kestrels do catch rodents but their numbers seem to be in serious decline.  They need shortish vegetation to hunt.  Newly built motorway verges used to be perfect for kestrels, but as the vegetation has matured these have become less use to the birds.
Is there a problem with having small rodents in your fields? Obviously you don't want rats but voles and field mice etc are signs of a healthy population of wildlife.  Having a blanket cull of rodents isn't a good idea as there could be some rarities in there.  Also, it takes quite a large population to support a feeding owl, let alone several. The more there are, the less time it takes for predators to find them, so the larger the number of chicks they can rear.   Remember the predator/prey relationship

[waterbuffalofarmer]

This one is a young female, I think. We pay them to kill pigeons !! It looks odd on the PAYE return though.
It's always a matter of luck with the photos but there is always a camera lying about in case.
This is the night shift!!

She is a real beaut. we have owls too and red kites in great abundance but why so many rodents in the fields then?

As in the hills points out, red kites don't kill their prey, they are scavengers, so they won't have an effect on mice or voles etc.  Kestrels do catch rodents but their numbers seem to be in serious decline.  They need shortish vegetation to hunt.  Newly built motorway verges used to be perfect for kestrels, but as the vegetation has matured these have become less use to the birds.
Is there a problem with having small rodents in your fields? Obviously you don't want rats but voles and field mice etc are signs of a healthy population of wildlife.  Having a blanket cull of rodents isn't a good idea as there could be some rarities in there.  Also, it takes quite a large population to support a feeding owl, let alone several. The more there are, the less time it takes for predators to find them, so the larger the number of chicks they can rear.   Remember the predator/prey relationship

yea I suppose so. Going back to the original question, I am not sure as to whether you can deter her, because she has found a nice easy food point. How is everything now is she still there or has she moved on?

[zwartbles]

We have a fairly constant stream of sparrowhawks, kestrels, buzzards and owls.
This barn owl was the mate of the one already posted. The little owls are quite comical little chaps.

[zwartbles]

We also have seasonal workers like this one!!!!!!

[Jullienne]

ahhhh yes the weasel/stoat very good for hunting rabbits but a nightmare if they get into the chicken house. The amount of times I dread going to the chicken house because the rabbit hunter has lost a ferret is really nerve wreaking, but no casualties yet, so heres hoping.....

[Fleecewife]

They should be filming Spring Watch from your place Zwartbles 

[Penninehillbilly]

We also have seasonal workers like this one!!!!!!

Unfortunately they also love call ducks, had a problem with duck laying away somewher, left a video camera running when we had to go out, saw the stoat dragging my poor call duck away still alive and flapping, very upsetting