former East Dulwich councillor - how can I help?

[Bessie1974]

Thank you for your reply,

I am glad your intuition seems to go along with my assement. I will contact the RSPB and find out how they think the best way to proceed is, and will inform them of your interest.

What I do know for sure is that crows, magpies and jays are classed as vermin.

In Paris, for comparison they bait an area where all the, pigeons in this case, then congregate; a large net is then fired above the gathering and thighten closed from under. They are then taken away and dispatched. This could work well for crows which are much more gregarious than magpies and jays. For the latter maybe other solutions are more effective.

Would you consider formally raising this issue with the other councillors during one of your meetings and perhaps persuade them that it not just a wildlife issue but also a serious noise pollution in the making should there numbers grow at the rate it has been of late?

In advance, thanking you for your goodwill,

Regards,

B.

[nxjen]

Anyone who has seen a lot of jays in Peckham Rye Park is very lucky as they are very shy birds, I have only seen them on a couple of occasions in many years of using both the park and common. Makes me wonder if this is a genuine post, but on the off chance it is, I would be very alarmed if a cull of those species mentioned went ahead. And how to prevent them returning??!! A report from the RSPB will make interesting reading. Foxes and squirrels are vermin as well - should they too be culled?

[James Barber]

Hi kiera,

Yes that is my understanding.

[Penguin68]

In fact some studies would suggest that cats are a major source of small animal predation in the UK - a 1997 study (attached http://www.mammal.org.uk/sites/default/files/Domestic%20Cat%20Predation%20on%20Wildlife.pdf) has as a final paragraph

'In conclusion, this survey confirms that cats are major predators of wildlife in Britain. Further

investigation of the extent and nature of predatory behaviour among domestic cats is clearly

warranted by this initial work. In particular, detailed observation of cats in the field and

description of the numbers of animals they kill and the proportion they retrieve are essential.

Investigation of the response and attitude of cat owners living in a range of environments to

the predatory behaviour of their cats would also be valuable (Coleman & Temple, 1993).

Although this was not an experimental study, there were differences in the numbers of wild

animals brought home by cats subjected to different management regimes. Experimental

studies of the effects of equipping cats with bells (Ruxton et al. 2002) or other devices,

keeping cats indoors at night and feeding birds will all be essential for evaluating the

desirability and likely success of attempts to reduce the numbers of animals killed by growing cat population,'

I am sure that a proposal to cull local cats will not however be supported. The RSPB, however, does not believe that cats kill significantly more small birds than would have died anyway, though the 1997 study above draws no such conclusions. I suspect the RSPB may well rely on funding, in part at least, from cat lovers. The RSPB does say that small bird numbers in built-up environments (towns and suburbs) are holding up or increasing - it is the loss of countryside habitat which is causing numbers to fall there.

I do find that a suggestion to kill wild birds to save wild birds (ones you aesthetically prefer) is a bit stomach turning.

[Bessie1974]

Hi nxjen,

I have seen jays attack and raid a nest in my own garden with all the commotion it entailed....I suppose that' life. And you are right jays are few and far between and therefore not so destructive....crow and magpies on the other hand are in my opinion growing out of control and untlike most cats they can raid nests on the tallest thinnest branches.

Cats have managed to make some people believe that they belong to them and consequently behave with total impunity.....don't mind the mousers though.

[James Barber]

Lets find out what the RSPB tells us and then decide how we proceed.

[kristen]

Re killing crows

As far as I'm aware killing any wildbird is illegal, unless you have a licence. This doesn't have to be applied for but certain conditions need to be met. Mainly the bird (or animal) must be causing serious damage to your livestock or diseased and a threat to your livestock/crops

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wild-birds-licence-to-take-or-kill-to-prevent-damage-or-disease

Outside of the legality environmentally to justify anything like you are suggesting you'd need to do some sort of study to prove what you're saying is true and that the actions you're suggesting work in the long term. Examples of taking action like this dont seem to work out very well and I think it's better to let the ecosystem rebalance itself.

Also I love the cunning crows on the Rye.

[James Barber]

hi kristen,

I'm not proposing any cull. I'm responding to a genuine concern and the person raising it has agreed to speak with the RSPB.

[kristen]

Hi James

I appreciate that you were responding to a genuine concern. But original post seemed an emotive appeal and I couldn't see any facts or studies quoted to back up their statement (also there may be some that support the view that crows cause issues for other species of birds but we also don't know this is happening on the Rye), I found the OP use of terms such as "preditory" and "cunning" worrying.

My response (above) was primarily to the OP & the statement: "I am convinced a ruthless culling program should be initiated." I am concerned about certain species being categorised as "preditory" and "cunning". I found this a very worrying suggestion.

I think it's a good idea to talk to the RSPB who I hope will echo what I said about the legality of a cull. I also think it might be a good idea to talk to London Wildlife Trust - although this isn't an area they manage my experience of them is that they have a very good understanding of how to support the natural environment. I work with them as part of one of jobs and will ask to see what they advise - they might have suggestions about ways of supporting other species of birds.

[James Barber]

That would be really helpful kristen.

My day job is Pjx. Mgmt/Telecoms/Procurement and not brid wildlife. So any advice warmly welcomed.

[lpool]

In recent weeks there has been a noticeable tail back of traffic coming down Dog Kennel Hill as caughts at red lights just before East Dulwich Station. This is because the feeder bus lane lights have been left on auto and means that they constantly switch between the bus lane and road about every 30-45 secs despite no buses. Previously the bus lane was operated by approaching buses. The result is a large build up of traffic causing congestion back to the top of the hill, as well as preventing flow of traffic out of Edgar Kail Way.

Is it possible to ask Southwark Transport section to revert back original bus operated system.

[James Barber]

Hi lpool,

I have immiedately requested this be fixed as clearly it gets dangerous when people may start ignoring these lights.

Huge thank you for reporting them to me. Mondays I don't go near that part of East Dulwich.

[Bessie1974]

It's interesting that 'I love the cunning crows' does not constitute an emotive statement when ported buy you Kirsten.

[James Barber]

Hi Bessie1974, Kirsten,

Whe ndo you both think you'll have the respective research you've agreed to carry out?

Could you both email me so we can take this away from the thread until we've reached a conclusion.

Thanks.

[Lordship]

I know you will be aware that a planning application reference 15/AP/0371 for a a 25m mobile phone mast at the junction of Village Way and Half Moon Lane has been made to Southwark council. Although this is not within East Dulwich I know some of the people within your ward will have children attending the quickly expanding Judith Kerr school which is next to the proposed site and Half Moon Montessori nursery which is opposite.

The local area has 8 schools within 1km including: Judith Kerr, Half Moon Montessori nursery, Dulwich Hamlets, Dulwich Infants, Japs, JAGs, Charter, Herne Hill School, and Alleyns.

There are concerns about the health risks associated with 4G masts and the Council of Europe has called for 3G/4G masts to be banned within the vicinity of schools and densely populated residential areas because of concerns about the potential effects of radiation and electromagnetic fields.

I would welcome your comments on this proposed mast so near local schools.

[James Barber]

Hi Lordship,

Can you signpost me to where the Council of Europe says that so I can quote it please. no, I've found it.

I would oppose the siting of such a mast very close to a school. These masts are also incredibly ugly.

I have emailed the Village ward councillors offering to second or propose any planning call-in they might support. fingers crossed. I would encourage as many people as possible to object to it.

[edanna]

James, have you noticed the extremely uneven pavement on Lordship lane going from the junction of E Dulwich Grove towards Goose Green, outside the CMHT and Chener Books? I took a bit of a tumble there last week and it looks like it could be quite dangerous - I don't know what's causing it - doesn't look like tree damage. I think this stretch could really do with repaving but it looks like there might be an underlying issue to address to avoid it happening again. Thank you.

[Lordship]

Thank you for your support and congratulations that your hard work on the new secondary school for East Dulwich has resulted in a new school.

As you will see from objections so far, there has also not been the level of community consultion expected. "As part of the Mobile Operators Association's 10 commitments, they are supposed to consult the community before the planning application is lodged and when the proposed mast is in or near a school, undertake extra public consultation and contact the school's governing body. As a member of the local community I have not seen any evidence of this pre-planning consultation (including in the applicant's list of consultees in their application form). I therefore also object to this proposal as it does not appear follow the mobile operators' industries own guidelines."

[James Barber]

Hi Lordship,

Two Village ward councillors have promised to submit a councillor call-in of this planning application to ensure it is decide by a Planning Committee. Another success today.

[christgill]

Hi... I've looked at the Southwark Council website to see if I can report this online, but the closest I can find is for illuminated road signs...

The traffic lights at the junction of Turney Road, Dulwich Village and Court Lane are inserting a pedestrian phase into every change from Turney/Court traffic to Dulwich Village traffic and into the change back. The pedestrian buttons at the end of Turney Road seem to be permanently "pressed".

This may not notice during peak hours as the buttons are liable to have been pressed anyway, but at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning it becomes disproportionately irritating to sit at the junction waiting for a pedestrian phase, the crossing traffic phase and then another pedestrian phase before one can legally enter a junction which has been clear the entire time.

Any chance of getting someone to look at this? - Thanks

[Bicknell]

Hello, James. I've asked this question on the Townley Road junction thread, but no one has an answer yet. If I fill in my response online saying no to the option they want, but yes to option 10, and a lot of other people do that too, and the Council planners think, OK, maybe that's a good idea, maybe we should go with option 10 after all, do they have to do another consultation. A re-re-consultation?

[DawnSE22]

James ? why are you entertaining such an ecologically ignorant request by Bessie1974? People may think that crows and magpies are impacting on songbird numbers, but this is not the case.

For more info please see the following research by the British Trust for Ornithology (2010) ?

?In the biggest ever analysis of songbirds and their predators, published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology, scientists look at the role of predators in the decline of species such as Bullfinch and Yellowhammer. Whilst a small number of associations may suggest significant negative effects between predator and prey species, for the majority of the songbird species examined there is no evidence that increases in common avian predators or Grey Squirrels are associated with large-scale population declines.?

http://www.bto.org/news-events/press-releases/are-predators-blame-songbird-declines

and more recently, Madden et al (2014) ?

?These results suggest that in most cases bird populations are unlikely to be limited by corvid predation and that conservation measures may generally be better targeted at other limiting factors.?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12223/abstract

Bessie1974's other point is that this is ?a serious noise pollution in the making?. How can she make such a comment when she lives in a busy, capital city? Perhaps Southwark Council should cull traffic, children, planes, music and builders before they start on crows?

[intexasatthe moment]

Ummm - a lot of posts seem to have dissapeared . Why ?

[intexasatthe moment]

D'oh ! Getting this thread confused with Dulwich Hospital Site one .Must try and keep up !

[Administrator]

I'm not aware of posts disappearing (until now obviously) I'll have a look and see what I can find out.