Grow Your Own Magazine

Love my wildlife, love my clematis, love my cats! Noticed early evening today that some 2 -4 (poss blackbirds) were all over the garden, the wall etc! then spotted one flying out of the clematis - realised that the bird that one of my cats brought in last night might indeed be a chick from said nest!

Can anyone suggest how I can protect nest and allow birds to fly at same time?

Thanks, Dee

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"A cat sees no good reason why it should obey another animal, even if it does stand on two legs."

I'm sorry to have to say, I don't like cats for this very reason!
Give me the blackbirds any day!

Try not letting the cat out unless it's light outside (and especially not at dusk or dawn), and when it goes out - collar and bell. It does make a difference.

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

Sorry, get rid of the cats! I don't dislike any animals on principle but I have a major problem with the neighbourhood cats wrecking my garden. BTW I have been owned by cats in the past when my children were younger, but they were always wearing collars with bells, fed regularly, and were "home cats". These days people seem to buy cats as the ideal pet because they don't have to provide a high level of care as you would with a dog. Cats can be left to do their own thing and return home when they want to feed or sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unless you keep your cats indoors during daylight hours I'm afraid there is nothing you can do!
Horrible I know, but cats will catch birds and the smaller and more vulnerable they are the easier to catch!
I wish I had a solution to your problem but the stark fact is ,there are too many cats wandering free in this country and wildlife will suffer as a result.
People are now letting their cats breed knowing that they can sell the kittens
for up to seventy pounds a time!!!
This is for mongrel kittens, sired by God knows who and prey to all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases.
As long as people will be willing to pay for them , people with no scruples will breed them!

I have to agree with most of the replys to this thread so far. I would also agree with the idea of fitting a cat bell to your moggies collar. I have a neighbour whose tom cat devours alot of the song bird population in our neighbourhood. I think the cats owner feels proud of their terror.!!

Sorry DeezyB, but that's what cats do. It's their nature. I agree there are far too many cats just roaming about doing their own thing in other peoples property. If they were dogs there is no way it would be allowed. But cat owners just let their cats go out to use other people's gardens as their toilets, scratch up their seed beds, kill the birds and generally do what they like.
If you keep your cat in the birds will be safe.But that's no life for a cat.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

We had a blackbird nest in our clematis back in april,, was so exciting watching both mummy and daddy come and feed the chicks, but also so upsetting to find that a neighbours cat had managed to get 3 of the chicks,, possibly not the cats fault though as the silly little things seemed to try and commit suicide by jumping from the nest onto the concrete path , we managed to save one though,, sweet little thing, and he/she visits the garden daily and still takes worms from our hands.

Fab pic Chillimad. I hope you have that blackie for years to come.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Thankyou, Have just observed Mummy blackbird flying back into the old nest.

Clematis has grown so much since april I can not see into the nest, but she went in at about 9:00 this morning and she has not come out yet, hopefully more chicks to come, but I thought they had finished their breeding season now,, oh well live and learn

Blackies will do 2 or 3 broods in a season Chillimad. They're just gluttons for punishment and such good parents.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Thats excellent news, just managed to have a peek and sure enough she is sittin on the nest and "Baby" is happily eating seed from the ground table, Lets hope the new ones have a better success rate than the last !!

Chillimad - thanks for your posts - I already know the feelings of others on the subject of cats and can sympathise as they can be destructive and kill etc- as a cat owner I am not exempt ie my own cats foul my garden/dig up my plot also (i've already posted previously on this). I have 3 cats and they are not reknowned for bringing in birds, this is the first nest I've had in my garden so I was hoping that someone would be able to help me with protecting the nest maybe!?

My original post on this thread was about how I could protect these young birds etc and was not intended to be for other Grapes to have another rant about cats/dogs/pests of any kind!

Your pic is lovely though!

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"A cat sees no good reason why it should obey another animal, even if it does stand on two legs."

Sorry if you thought I was having a rant,, not intended, as I said was as much the silly little young birds trying to fledge the nest before they could fly

The birds are doing what they should be doing. They leave the nest quite early, and spend a few days on or near the ground (blackbirds are ground feeders anyway) while they gain full flight. If you want to protect them (from predators) then you have to control the predators, not the birds.

If you want your cats to have free range of the garden, they will predate the baby birds, and you have to accept that. But please don't be offended when bird-lovers express their dislike for cats.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Thankyou for the supporting post TS, I was begining to think I had said something wrong, I never meant to upset anyone with my posts.

trya one of these, my cat hasn't had any birds since i put one on his collar BLING BLING BLINKER FLASHER LIGHT.... BLUE.... FREE P&P on eBay, also Collars Tags, Dogs, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 29-Jun-08 18:04:11 BST)
i got mine from the pound shop ..... for a pound
though it might not be much use if the birds can't fly anyway all you can do is keep the cats inside for a few days when you notice the birds fledging