#4201

One of the few things that I find interesting and attractive about London (don’t @ me, it’s too big and freaks me out) are the parakeets

2 Likes
#4202

To an extent they compete with garden birds for food, which is a notionally bad thing, but they also compete with grey squirrels, which is a good thing.

So, in conclusion:

image

2 Likes
#4203

In my experience they rob different feeders suiting their specialisms. The thing they have in common is they can empty one in an hour.

My neighbour used to shoot grey squirrels with an air gun from his first floor window. Can’t say I was ever tempted to rat him out.

#4204

But hey what is there not to like about invasive non-native pests.

#4205

It’s a tricky one this though isn’t it? They’re not ‘robbing’, they’re just adapting to their environment, where you have placed a new food source. I am conflicted on this one. One the one hand, I put food out for the birds, so I am already influencing how natural selection might work, and I like red squirrels more than grey for arbitrary reasons (possibly relating to early exposure to Tufty). On the other, who am I to say one species is better than another, why not let evolution run its course?

1 Like
#4206

& @1101010

It’s very

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Innit

#4207

I buy the seed. I don’t buy it for them. They nick it.

#4208

It’s not really arbitrary though. Red squirrels are in need of support because they have been driven from their native habitat by over-farming and by the invasive species we inadvertently introduced. Grey squirrels are attractive rats.

1 Like
#4209

I instinctively agree with you, but I have a nagging doubt that, because many species were invasive* at some point in their history and that change is inevitable, maybe we should let nature run its course.

*I acknowledge that human activity is by far the most likely reason for this

#4210

Trying to top into that Sinn Fein market

1 Like
#4211

Parse has nailed it though. It would take a long time for a couple of grey squirrels to swim across the Atlantic and start shagging and that’s integral to the process of evolution by natural selection. Both the culling of invasive non-native species and the putting out of bird seed are human acts designed to mitigate the effects of other human acts.

#4212
4 Likes
#4213

Here we, here we fucking go!

6 Likes
#4214

Imgur

10 Likes
#4215

And now it’s time for having an election

#4216

Yeah, I think on balance you’re probably right. I may be influenced by disagreeing with my dad, who lumps magpies in with grey squirrels as objects of his hatred.

And there are cases where nature adapting to changes introduced by humans are positive e.g. urban foxes (for me anyway, even though they shit all over my garden), peregrine falcons on tall buildings.

#4217

I’m ready to vote NOW

3 Likes
#4218

467699
469601

10 Likes
#4219

You’d have to say that the parties will be hoping for majorities in the house of commons.

14 Likes
#4220

I’ve got my own PENCIL ready