The sparrowhawk debate

I've got sparrowhawks on the brain at the moment. Not literally, but we've had so many letters about them recently that we decided to do some investigating to discover the truth about them. No doubt it will just generate more letters! So are sparrowhawks really destroying our songbird populations? Or are they being needlessly persecuted? Everyone has their own opinions on this, what seems to be the hottest of hot topics in the bird world at the moment. Keep your eyes peeled for our special report in an upcoming issue of Cage & Aviary Birds and maybe we can put the matter to rest once and for all!

Mockingbirds can remember if they've seen you before!

A new study reported in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that mockingbirds can attack people who have threatened them in the past, proving that they are able to recognise individual humans. 

According to an article published in today's Guardian:

Mockingbirds can remember people who have threatened them and even start dive-bombing them if they see the person again [...] An urban population of the songbirds ignored most passers-by, but took to the air when they recognised people who had approached their nest days before. When the birds spotted a previous offender, they started screeching and set off to harass the person with swooping dives, at times grazing the tops of their heads.

You can find out more here and here.

What's on this week

EVENT: International Dawn Chorus Day WHEN: Sunday, May 3 WHERE: Events will be held throughout the UK. WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT: A worldwide celebration of nature's daily miracle, sponsored by wildlife trusts and comprising hundreds of events events across the globe. More are being announced in the UK on a daily basis so there is bound to be something in your area. TO FIND OUT MORE: Visit www.idcd.info, tel: 0121 454 1199 or email: neil.w@bbcwildlife.org.uk