Dear Sir

In response to Colin Strang Steel's letter of September 16, I would like to pass on a naturalist friend of mine's comment that if numbers of prey (farmland birds) were being reduced dramatically then food for these predators would become scarce too and they themselves would reduce in number accordingly, which they obviously are not, with badgers from around ten setts in a two mile radius of here now visiting the back door of the farmhouse every night now.

One possible alternative food source is the release of tens of thousands of reared pheasants which have no self preservation instincts and roost on the ground. The fox/badger/ pine martin equivalent of a fast food restaurant in the winter.

Fifty years ago there were enough wild pheasants being hatched to sustain shooting without the need to put reared pheasants down. I appreciate this was before some predators became protected species.

Another area of food source is the huge number of rodents which are to be found in strawed carrots, where the plastic traps fresh rainwater and the straw under the plastic provides a cosy home and the carrots themselves a food source for the rodents. I have seen several buzzards hunting at the edges of strawed carrots.

I agree some form of control is needed, whether it be reduced numbers of predators or reduction of artificial food sources as it is definitely not farming practices that are reducing farmland bird numbers, where here we are down to just two pairs of oyster catchers this spring. They failed this year too to produce any young after two attempts of egg laying in a swede field where we avoided the nests. We would normally have more than 10 pairs spread over the farm every spring.

Yours Faithfully

David Ker

Broomton

Auldearn

Nairn