Letter: ‘The predator silencing our New Forest songbirds’

Once again I have to bring to your notice the plight of songbirds set against the encouragement of some 20 pairs of goshawks in the Forest referred to in your article (A&T 7th July) in last week’s issue. A classical UK and European bird book puts small (song) birds at the top of the goshawks’ prey.

Whilst the goshawks are growing in number, the number of songbirds is ever decreasing due to predation and much fewer insects.

You may be a fortunate reader who due to local circumstances still has a dawn chorus of songbirds. Springwatch recorded a few tweets from a robin and mutterings from a wren at the Arnewood Reserve. More a duet than a chorus!

Locally after 15 years of the breeding of the secretive blackcap warbler they no longer stay or even come to our trees. Most small birds are permanently on the lookout for magpies, crows, squirrels, sparrowhawks and buzzards. There is no peaceful feeding on the grass.

On a positive note I want to encourage the memory of Robin Page who died recently. He was a founder member of the Countryside Restoration Trust very keen on preserving red squirrels, water voles and turtle doves to name but a few. He recreated the muddy pond in his farmyard, where the swallows and martins returned.

The new pool created by my son last year has already attracted feeding swallows.

I hope that robin pools could be built across the country in villages, urban spaces and in the comparatively dry and increasingly barren New Forest, as it competes with the numerous humans in the national park.

A pool at each school would benefit pupils plus wildlife.

John Jubb

New Milton