Rabbit numbers

[Bird Catcher 94]

Has any other areas witnessed the massive reduction  in rabbit numbers.  3  year ago we was knee deep in them , now an average morning ferreting is 5 _ 10 . 

On the other hand we are over run with Hares  and deer. 10 year ago never see a muntjac here, now you can't drive out at night without one walking out in front of you ! 

Roe everywhere  and odd passing herds of fallow. On the bird side , hardly any starlings and greenfinch almost gone ! Whole area has changed, most common bird here .. Goldfinch.... rare when  I was a kid (59 Yr old)

[fred90 3,094]

12 minutes ago, Bird Catcher said:

Has any other areas witnessed the massive reduction  in rabbit numbers.  3  year ago we was knee deep in them , now an average morning ferreting is 5 _ 10 . 

On the other hand we are over run with Hares  and deer. 10 year ago never see a muntjac here, now you can't drive out at night without one walking out in front of you ! 

Roe everywhere  and odd passing herds of fallow. On the bird side , hardly any starlings and greenfinch almost gone ! Whole area has changed, most common bird here .. Goldfinch.... rare when  I was a kid (59 Yr old)

don't know where u are but it's exactly same here in Derbyshire. when we were kids you never saw a roe or any deer, had to go to Wales or Devon to see a buzzard. now we are abundant in both. rabbit numbers are very poor but plenty of hares. morning mooching might put 2 or 3 up max. yesterday dog marked a little rubble sett and a small sett in a ditch, due to time of year and poor numbers I left alone hopefully for next season

[grebb 50]

That new disease has hit them hard all over the country it seems  very sad 

[grompz 703]

Had a nice early morning stroll today,beautiful sunny and frosty with the old dog, walked a  piece of ground ,ive lnot been on for ages,decided to count the rabbits i seen and started,there were 41 rabbits on it sitting out  in the sun, fingers crossed they will get a good breeding season through the summer,nice to see them making a come back, as for the song birds, i blame there decline in my area on the amount of birds of prey that i spot on my travels, lots of buzzards on the increase along with harriers, sparrow hawks, kestrels. and peregrines, nice to see them , but they are getting every where these days atb.

[Bird Catcher 94]

Exactly that lads, but we  do a farm 20 mile north of here and the farmer is at his witts end with  rabbits. No deer and only the odd hare on there. Same with the hawks here, as a kid never saw a buzzard or red kite, now more than people.

Hares everywhere same as muntjac and Roe. Andover swamped in Fallow and you'll see massive (50+) herds

[Aussie Whip 3,823]

Over here where I lived before in Western NSW, not a rabbit for km's but the same, heaps of hares and feral fallow. Place used to be a rabbit mecca.

[Luckee legs 422]

Similar in my part of East Anglia. Overall rabbits down a lot in extensive areas like large farms and Thetford forest although in some small isolated populations they can be locally abundant. Can imagine that's linked to ease of transmission of the virus VHD.

Hares common, muntjacs abundant and well adapted to life on urban fringe. Foxes uncommon away from habitation guess they get a kicking off the NV shooters. Badgers though, f... me I didn't see a badger in the East until 1995 and they are now everywhere. A major PIA for ferreting.

Greenfinch and Goldfinch definitely swapped in abundance, I understand the reason for goldfinch increase is there are populations that have adapted to garden feeding and have stopped migrating 

[WHWT 1,862]

Still few up Northumberland out yesterday for last time on farmers request picked up forty.

PUD

[fred90 3,094]

9 minutes ago, WHWT said:

Still few up Northumberland out yesterday for last time on farmers request picked up forty.

PUD

Yes, I go up there with Mrs every September for a few days, we have a couple of days walking the hills and it's the most I have seen since the 80's