Yep

we have a lot to many up here

The number one killer of small game and birds is the cat.

I worked my whole life in fish and game programs and the animal damage control field and I dont believe that. I believe thats purely a sales pitch that we have been programmed to believe to take the pressure off of the bird of prey introductions. I have experienced in service trainings that tried their best to manipulate what people think, and to try to indoctrinate employees to give that sales pitch.
Number one,you didnt name specific cats....although I know housecats kill some small game,I believe there are more to the story than that.
Besides that you sort of veered off topic. The topic is the decline of the redtailed hawks in my area.
Sorry i have been awake since early and my mind isnt real alert yet.

A week ago I was outback dipping some traps and heard every bird giving their alarm sounds,so I went out around
the house to see what all the commotion was about and a giant red tail flew out of the wooded lot above me-
followed by a large grey squirrel dropping 3' from me-dead of course. He must have not been able to takeoff with
such a load,so I put the intact squirrel in my fisher bait freezer and watched him circle as all the other birds took turns
trying to get him to leave. Plenty of red tails here

West River Rogue:
You may be right, but it is your own colleagues that puts the data out there. So you believe the agencies you work for are not worth a grain of salt. Have you ever question on any of the report or data put out to the public. If you are right wildlife management is worthless. JMO. P.S. I see less and less cat now that the coyotes are around.

seeing more bald eagles a few less hawks maybe , instead of one every mile one every other mile

no shortage of turkey vultures which we didn't have at all when I was a kid



that was only half of what was in that one power tower

Feral cats kill like crazy down here. Before I knew any better I stopped my son from “removing” one from his yard on the plantation. As I scared it off it dropped something and I went to find a full grown quail. Two days later I was working in his yard and saw the cat again with another quail. That ended up being the last quail he ever killed. Now if one cat is killing 2 quail every 3 days…what’s the rest of the population of feral cats killing. Down here owners and managers count feral cats the same as taking coons or any other nest predator. And I don’t want to even get started on red tails!!

I thought they made the .17 just for hawks.

Haha! I was told by a “DNR person” that “everything” needs managed.

Now that you mention it, I haven't seen as many red tails lately. Then again, we've had a bumper crop lately maybe they've hurt themselves.

Thats a good thing in my opinion.

Those are black vultures that you’re referring to, not turkey vultures. They are an invasive from Mexico.

Its a typical thing in wildlife mgm,better safe than sorry and job security. I wouldnt say wildlife mgm is worthless,they brought back many species.....BUT,they also need to allow controls on others not only the ones putting money in funds per say.

There's also the mysterious bird disease going on too.

That could be a good thing!

Just wait until a cold cloudy day in November and look along interstate and 4 lane highways . They hunt the right of ways in droves . I know a young man that has fighting chickens that spends his days off driving the toll roads and highways counting cou on them . But the stick he uses has optics and is about .204 in diameter.

I wish the chicken killin SOBs were extinct in my neck of the woods.