Where Have All The Rabbits Gone?

stevoman

i went out for a shot last nite to a place i used to go with my grandfather when i was a lad about 12 to 14 years ago. i remember when we used to go out with his .22 in the evenings we would never come home without a rabbit. it been a very long time since iv been there. so i went by there yesterday evening and i couldnt beleive it, what was once a lovely area populated in rabits i found that in time things do change. all the hills and trees had all vanished under the plow and what burrows i inspected hadnt been used in years. the more i look around the laois/offally area the more i am coming to conclusion that the rabbit population around here has completly dwindled. i suppose all the houses and the masses moving out of dublin and fields upon fielsd being transformed into estates has to have a prfound effect on the species but even in more rural areas there doesnt seem to be half as many as there used to be. does anybody else notice this???

Clare gunner

Saw somthing I havent seen on our farm in appx 20 years yesterday.A rabbit!!!:) Cant find any of the trad rabbit signs,IE runs,latrines or burrows.This would leave me to think it is a "bush "rabbit as the old timers around here used to call them.Anyone here know or can tell me what the difference is?Is it a different breed of rabbit or .....

stevoman

thats a great question because i have also heard of rabbits being reffered to this before, but from what i have read and have talked to landowners a lot of out normal "cotton tail" rabbits are starting to prefer to burrow in bushes rather than they traditionally do in fields in response to years of hunting and the use of farm machinery etc..

Ruger.220swift

I know a spot where there used to be hundreds and hundreds of rabbits i shot 58 in one night with a shotgun under the lights of a jeep sitting on the bonnet with not even a hand held lamp for a farmer i know. took me most of the next day to skin them all.... i have been up there recently and they have completely disappeared there are three buzzards in the immediate area and i am giving them the blame i used to see half eaten rabbits in locations throughout the hills. none of the rabbits have the mixi in this area..and i regularly lamp it for foxes and feral cats that come to the squeal...:D

stevoman

i have been up there recently and they have completely disappeared there are three buzzards in the immediate area and i am giving them the blame i used to see half eaten rabbits in locations throughout the hills.

i think we all know what has to be done there so!!!

jaycee

i think we all know what has to be done there so!!!

What would you suggest ...?

the hunter

its time to stop buzzrads from eating all the rabbits ???;)

the hunter

its time to stop buzzards from eating all the rabbits ???;)

stevoman

exactly. they'l just have to be hunted off in my opinion. rabbit are an excellent game, they taste great and make for a great days shooting with the rifle.

the hunter

. rabbit are an excellent game, they taste great and make for a great days shooting with the rifle.[/QUOTE]

i second that stevoman

Ruger.220swift

one small problem the farmer loves them and watches them...

Clare gunner

Other small problem.... Buzzards are protected as well.And it is a major no no to be suggesting harm to anything with a hooked beak.

stevoman

so has anyone goy any other ideas?

the hunter

hi clare gunner i pm you yesterday did you get it ??

the hunter

stevoman wrote:

so has anyone goy any other ideas?

can you get your hands on the machine the farmers use 2 scare birds away ... i think its a pressure thing.. bangs every few minutes

stevoman

sounds good of course the farmer is fond of these so maybe that might'nt be a good option.
i always thought to be a good idea to help the rabbit population is to find an area that you frequently shoot, a nice are that the farmer never plows and uses it to graze cattle on it seldomly. i seen that when people ferrit for rabbits they set up a bet on the outside of the burrow to catch the rabbits when they come out. it would be a great idea near the end of season to do this and release a certain number of rabbits into unpopulated areas where they can in turn breed and re populate. it means of course leaving them for a season or two but it would be well worth it in the long run.

Umiq88

stevoman wrote:

so has anyone goy any other ideas?

[me] Honestly sir i taught it was big pigeon it came out of nowhere didnt have much time to react.

[judge] Well i guess anyone could make that mistake take this as a warning but if this happens again you wont be getting off lightly.

[me]Yes sir, sorry sir, thanks you sir

[judge] alright your can go...... just out of curiosity what did you do with it?

[me] I ate it your honor!

[judge] You what!!! How could you do that

[me] well i didnt want it to go to waste

[judege] Alright fair enough do you mind if i ask what it tasted like.

[me] well you know your honor it reminded me a bit of swan




Above story is entirely fictional;)

jaycee

So conserve the rabbits which are vermin and scare off the protected species ..
I dunno, seems a bit like "Poacher turns gamekeeper" to me..


Buzzards are protected as was mentioned earlier and are wonderful to have in an area. Apart from the legal trouble someone would find themselves in for either hunting them or disturbing them with noise etc , I hope that people
would have enough sense to respect and admire them.

Most people in Ireland have never even seen a Buzzard so count yourself lucky.

Umiq88

I think some of the problem is that they can be to concentrated that there is a couple of birds closish and then acres of country side with nothin tagging and releasing them somewhere else might be an option

Its like anything they've no natural predators AFAIK so they will need to be controlled

jaycee

The common buzzard was driven to extinction from Ireland in about 1890 and it was not until the 1950s that the breeding of 10 pairs along the Ulster coast - mostly on Rathlin Island - signalled a serious recolonisation from Scotland. There was a set-back when rabbits (the birds' chief prey, along with mice and small birds) were reduced by myxomatosis, but numbers slowly built up until, by the 1980s, the birds were familiar across the North.

It took the Republic's ban on strychnine in 1991 to make the Southern countryside safe for the buzzard's explorations. Today, the South has perhaps 150 pairs, with breeding in five counties as far down as Wicklow, and birds are seen wandering in most of the rest of the island. Seven pairs nesting in north Co Dublin have brought the buzzard's soaring, spiralling flight to the capital's doorstep.

From ... http://www.ireland.com/timeseye/birds/comeback.htm

They are just making a comeback here so we're hardly overrun by them.


[IMG][/img]

From http://www.goldeneagle.ie/birds_of_prey/buzzard.html

Count ourselves lucky ...!

mallards

I have six buzzards regularly circling my area in Tyrone and Im sure I spotted the golden Eagle last year that went for a wander over Tyrone from its release site in Donegal. I watched it being mobbed by a couple of very brave crows! An awsome sight! give me a Golden Eagle or a Buzzard over just another pheasant any day! And for me thats saying something!

Mallards.

Clare gunner

Above story is entirely fictional;)

Good job it is too.Apart from the fact that shooting a hooked beak species causes more ripples than most other shenanigans that are done by the Cowboys amongst us.The pirds of prey are actually an important part of our eco system,as they will eat[bar falcons ASFIK] carrion as well.
Not only that;eating a bird of prey,would proably give you a fatal dose of internal parasites,usually of the worm and fluke variety,due to their carrion diet:eek:

Clare gunner

the hunter wrote:

can you get your hands on the machine the farmers use 2 scare birds away ... i think its a pressure thing.. bangs every few minutes

Hi Hunter ,sure did ,will PM hopefully still today.
Yeah,a piegon scarer.Works on LPG.Try any of the farm suppliers.Better is the old type banger,that worked on a slow burn erratic fuse.Havent seen them in ages.The LPG job,as it is so frequent,the birds can actually get used to it.

Whizzo

Where I now live, in north meath, I have seldom seen buzzards. The 1st sighting for me in this area was when I went on to our Pheasant pens during the summer to check the food etc. A buzzard was feasting on a dead chick and flew off when he heard/saw me. I mentioned this to a club member and he asked why I didn't shoot it?? I was disgusted.
I'm mid 30's and have shot since a teenager. I saw my 1st buzzard in my late 20's and feel privaleged to have seen them. One of my pigeon decoys was attacked/buzzed by a buzzard one day, Incredible sight.
Nature will find its balance of predators, why should we take the No 1 spot all the time?:mad:

Ruger.220swift

i think that they need to update their info on these birds... there are everywhere in north leinster.. good to see them... i seen an eagle owl sitting on top of a stack of bales about a year ago on one of the side roads off the m1 towards dundalk..

Vegeta

ok sorry for the ignorance about to be displayed here

I have seen many birds of prey as of late but are we referring to them all as buzzards or is there a particular bird called a buzzard?

mallards

mine are definitly Buzzards, Aswell as that I have nesting sparrowhawks, and on the last day of the season a partridge I just shot was buzzed by a perigrine as we went to retrieve it oh and that single spotting of the golden Eagle I had last year. Birds of prey are safe on my land, come to think of it, the way I shoot game they have a pretty good chance also!


Mallards.

Clare gunner

[
I have seen many birds of prey as of late but are we referring to them all as buzzards or is there a particular bird called a buzzard?[/QUOTE]

Yes there is a distinctive type of BOP that is known as a Buzzard.Well actually two,but one isnt ASFIK in Ireland,the Honey Buzzard.It lives off wasp and bee grubs,and roots out their nests[quite a useful fellah:D ]

The Buzzard,we have here is the common European Buzzard [bueto bueto] Appx 4ft wingspan 2lb weight. Live prey catcher and carrion eater. Very distinctive call [Heyyyair].Circles on thermals to study its terrain.Wings held stiffly in flight,with just the tips in use.

Vegeta

cool thanks for that

there are quite a few of the hovering ones around my way (cant remember their name at the mo)

The just sit in the one position in the air about 20-30ft off the ground. on the tip of my tongue...oh that'll annoy me until i get it

mallards

Kestrel?

Rovi

Here we go (Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo)-


Loads of info here (mostly in English :rolleyes:)-
http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/accipitriformes/common.buzzard.html

Vegeta

mallards wrote:

Kestrel?

thank you that was killing me

Thanks for the pic of the buzzard Rovi

stevoman

i think i might go get myself one or two rabbits this evening after work with the .22. i have until wednsday off now so i'l go make myself a nice hide tomorow morning and use them as bait and get myself a few crows. anyone any plans for the same?

happyout

Around me there used to be lots (too many rabbits). They dissappeared. A new disease not mixy was introduced by people and it made it way accross europe through Italy and wiped our population of rabbits. 2 summers ago rabbits made an appearance again and last year a plague. just this eve in the field next to my house (3 acres) there was rabbits everywhere both new season and last season. I have .17 coming next week to cull them as they are a problem and tastey. I also saw three buzzards all last summer and it made no difference to the rabbits, they ran of course but didnt effect their numbers.
In fact two weeks ago a guy asked could he net some rabbits so he could reintroduce rabbits to his area. Mark my words 5 years time farmers will be asking us guys to shoot rabbits again.

Vegeta

out last night on a new permission and shot 6 rabbits, if I was a better marksman I would have had more but I just cant shoot off hand.

Its a horse breaking/training facility and the rabbits are digging holes everywhere and the trainer is worried they will cause a horse damage.

I was only too happy to oblige

Umiq88

Nice one Veg that new gun is getting plenty of running in was just down in cork for the last 4 days and shot 30 rabbits would have had more but only bought one box of ammo.

Btw i had to zero it first im not that bad a shot

Vegeta

what I love about rabbits is they taste great and can be used as bait then for other vermin. They're the sport that keeps on giving

Yeah I have no bi-pod for the .22lr and it is was ruining my ability to shoot the rabbits. Saw loads of rabbits (maybe 100) but couldn't shoot at most as i knew my ability off hand is crap so didn't take the shot or just missed outright

I have a nice set of home made shooting sticks, i must give them a go with the .22lr

its lovely weather to be out anyway

Umiq88

Thats what its all about i was stalking them on foot for a change lovely to be out when its so fine crawling up the side of the hill tryin to keep my head down.

Vegeta

psittacosis wrote:

Thats what its all about i was stalking them on foot for a change lovely to be out when its so fine crawling up the side of the hill tryin to keep my head down.

Sounds nice, any pics

Like a dope I forgot to bring my camera. Actually I think the camera is bad luck for me. Everytime I have brought it this year I have shot nothing but the one time I forget it.....6 rabbits :rolleyes:

Umiq88

brought it and there was no card in it

Lovely country down there thought might be down a day next week and will bring plenty of ammo and a card for the camera.

stevoman

i was out early there on tuesday morning. i only got 3 and at that one was too big, 1 was too small but the last one was just perfect!! again i got no pics. i might go out this evening with the camera and get a few pictures if i get any.

Vegeta

here's a few from tuesday night

stevoman

well done vegeta. looks like you enjoyed a big dinner!!!!!!!!

Vegeta

yup, I also use any that I don't as bait for foxes.

Also notice in the picture, the rabbit on the left has weird colouring. White ring around his neck

stevoman

i never seen that before. could be a hybrid between a cotton tail and maybe a white pet rabbit let loose. you never know. i know that regular crows and greycrows can crossbreed to make a hybrid crow with just a grey hood on his head. i remember i shot a black rabbit once by a large sandpit about 13 years ago and i have never seen one since. i mean now he was as black as a boot all over. have you ever seen anything like that b4?

Vegeta

I have seen pictures of black rabbits but only on other shooting forums, never have I seen one here in Ireland.

Was probably someones pet bunny

mallards

I have shot rabbits around a particular softwood plantation that were grey with black tips to the hairs from a short distance they look black. They are known in the area as the black rabbits and have seen them that colour there since I was a child.


Mallards.

J.R.

Vegeta wrote:

here's a few from tuesday night

Brillant shooting Vegeta - did you get them with the shotgun or rifle?

Vegeta

Cheers they were all with a .22lr

Its amazing how close you can get in the dark with favourable wind and being quiet

stevoman

i got 4 luvly ones yesterday evening. i noticed that all around the burrows somewhon had sprinklied small white pellets on the ground and anywhere near where all the rabbbits are. is this a poisin for the rabbits?????

Rovi

stevoman wrote:

i got 4 luvly ones yesterday evening. i noticed that all around the burrows somewhon had sprinklied small white pellets on the ground and anywhere near where all the rabbbits are. is this a poisin for the rabbits?????

It wasn't granular fertilizer you saw, was it?
It's the time of year for it.