Barrie Rickards' Angling ? RSPB and East Europeans

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Wolfman Woody

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I love Barrie's writing and almost always find myself in agreement.

None more so than with his opening gambit here. He is correct, anglers DO NOT scare wildlife, particularly birds. On the contrary, I have often sat by a particular lake and had kingfishers perch on branches so close I could almost touch them.

Yet, the local birdwatchers turn up, see a kingfisher and they're jumping all over the bank binoculars and scopes glued firmly to their eyes. The problem for them is, they never see the bigger picture. Sit still, learn to be quiet (was that Walker who said that?), and nature will come to you.

I have a problem at the moment in that one particular mallard cross seems to be glued to my feet whenever I go to the hotel stretch. If I open my spinner box, he has his beak in it selecting the lures for me and often he picks good ones. Yet, I have never offered him any reward of any kind, but the time has come to change my ways and take some bread next time.
 
Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs

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I tend to agree with a lot of what Barrie has to say as well, although I have to admit to being totally mystified at his stance on SSSI's.

Unless, of course, he is simply preparing the way for his 'abolish the closed season' article (eagerly awaited) whereby it is going to be difficult to impossible to accomplish all the while the SSI's are in being.
 
F

Fred Bonney

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I recently didn't renew my membership to RSPB, and removed them from my Will, based on their actions on the IOW in particular,but also elsewhere.

When asked why, I advised them that I felt they were anti angling, I didn't get a response!

I asked BTO,their views on angling,to which they responded,with words to the effect. We don't hold any specific views on the subject of angling, and that their brief involves, the promotion of the understanding,appreciation and conservation of birds,through scientific study.

As a result, I will be supporting theBTO in life, and in death.
 
T

The Monk

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Yes I`m no longer an RSPB member Fred and tend to go along with what you say

ps am I still in your will Fred?
 
Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs

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"Only if your a Hooded Crow, Nick!"

"I can change mate "

Fred, do you reckon Nick is going to chop a few inches off of his beak?


[insert daft smiling thing to prove I'm joking]
 
T

The Monk

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haha, it would certainly give me easier enterance and stop some of the ladies complaining
 
G

Graham Marsden (ACA)

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Peter, why don't you just switch on your smilies and then with one click you can save yourself such a lot of typing/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif.

Makes sense to me/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif.
 
Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs

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Graham,

I rested my case regarding the 'smiling things' some time ago.

What sometimes passes for progress is yet another nail in the coffin our great language - what will the 'techies' come up with next?

I know - txt spk fshng mgic rtikles?
 
W

Wolfman Woody

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BTO r ok 4 me!

/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

.

.

One of the members came onto the discussion group on the Jubilee River. We went a walk through the nature reserve that the EA created and when I saw a black C I raised my arms as if shooting it. He said, "I couldn't agree more." A wonderful fellow, well educated, obviously, and a man of the broad church of nature.
 
J

john conway (CSG - ACA)

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"I tend to agree with a lot of what Barrie has to say as well, although I have to admit to being totally mystified at his stance on SSSI's."Peter, wearing another hat, , re horses & bridleways in the Yorkshire Dales National Park,my opinion backed by experience is thatin most cases it's a justa tool, used by theNIMBY's(not inmy back yard brigade) and the very rich, to keep the general public off their land or common land which boarders onto their land.I'll say no more because I have a real problem with organisations that want to freeze the presentto some point in the past which is solely at their choosing.
 
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Graham Marsden (ACA)

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All I'm saying Peter is that "[insert daft smiling thing to prove I'm joking]" is the same thing.

Only in longhand/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif
 
Peter Jacobs

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John,

I cannot comment about your area, but where I live in Wiltshire, the SSSI's protect hundres of acres where not only some very rare wild flowers grow but also some of the most rare butterflies in Britian in their natural habitat.

On Salisbury plain there are some of Britain's most rare birds and animals that if not protected by SSSI's would loose their habitat as well as their natural diet.

The entire Hampshire Avon river valley is an SSSI and this is certainly not in the interests of the 'rich' or us anglers, but in the interest of our wide and diverse flora and fauna, and I sincerely hope it will stay that way for generations to come.

In addition to the SSSI's we also have the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 or Schedule 2 of The Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations (1994) and Protection of Badgers Act 2000, with which to protect our natural treasures.

Given various government's whims to infringe upon green belt land to provide cheap housing, I for one am very glad that these instruments are in place.
 
Peter Jacobs

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Graham,

I do agree with you, it is the same thing, with only the reader's perception of the writer that changes.

You know my veiw is that I thought the introduction of the 'smileys' was a dumbing-down of our forums.
Other than avoiding a few Bait Box threads where their use is commonplace it has not detracted from my enjoyment of FM as I simply turned that option off.
 
J

john conway (CSG - ACA)

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I'm sorry Peter if I seemed a bit blasé about SSSI's I sometimes forget just how lucky I am living up here in the Yorkshire Dales. My gripe is not so much the concept of the SSSI but the interpretation of it. Up here, we had a limestone crag that had been use for climbing long before it became a SSSI and they tired to stop the climbing. They, in all fairness not the landowner, but the botanist who had identified some rare plant/flower wanted to close all access. Climbing's still allowed so they didn't win that one.Given various government's whims to infringe upon green belt land to provide cheap housing, I for one am very glad that these instruments are in place. All very nice if you are one of the lucky ones who already own a house in the Green Belt. It’s a pity the Acts didn't include curtailing the growth of second homes and holiday cottages, that way there wouldn't be any need to build cheap housing in the green belt?BTW Peter, you don't need to print my name in bold, you've got my attention.
 
B

Bully

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I dont know about SSSI's, but on the whole RSPB v's Angling debate I am afraid it is identical to the problems we had in football where a very few tarnished so many.

You only have to walk around the Lea Valley and some of the lakes. Nearly every twitcher has some line in his hand and delights in showing you. All I do is agree and argue that on the whole 99% of anglers are fine.

TV doesn't help either, yet another article on the local channel last week about birds strung up with fishing line.
 
Mark Wintle

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I think part of the problem is that the anglers and bird enthusiasts are bothultimately selfish. The RSPB don't 'own' the birds, any more than the anglers own the fish. Yetboth groups, whilst trying to further their own causes, actually damage their own interests. Angling, through artificial management of waters and stocking, does not always help the overall fish populations. The RSPB in their populist stance support the raptors whilst being blind to the damage of a policy of protecting all bird species. If a bird reserve were truly that, and mostly they aren't, the last people you would allow access is lots of over enthusiastic bird watchers, and especially not dog walkers. A carefully managed private water with just a few anglers and no-one else is often a much better reserve because it is actually a reserve.Birds, like most animals, are aware of being stalked. A stalking bird watcher is regarded by a bird as a predator whereas an angler that sits quietly is ignored.

When I see the predation of bird life in my own back garden we see the real culprits; domestic cats, magpies and grey squirrels (very occasionally a sparrow hawk). Yet thereare more birds killed per annum in my street by these three culprits than the entire bird kill in the UK by lead shot or fishing line.The number of birds killed by collisions with cars etc also runs into hundreds of thousands if not millions.
 
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