RACING PIGEONS – IMPACT OF RAPTOR PREDATION

irds, a mean of 0.91 birds per loft. Of the 32 study lofts, 15 lofts (47%) reported
losses to sparrowhawks (all categories), a mean of 1.9 birds per loft. For individual
lofts, losses ranged from 0-4 birds. Considering only the five substantiated losses
there was a loss of 0.2 birds per loft. These estimates are below or fall towards the
lower end of the range of losses found in previous studies: 3.5 birds per loft in South
Wales (Dixon 2002: although this estimate was derived only from lofts that had
previously reported hawk attacks), 2.3 birds per loft (range 0.2-5.2) for 14 regions
throughout Britain and Ireland (RPRA), and 2.7 birds per loft (range 1.2-4.6)
throughout the UK (Shawyer et al. 2000). For Scotland, Shawyer et al. (2000)
estimated 3.5 birds per loft. The SHU (1998) reported a mean loss of 5 birds per loft,
across Federations, as a result of raptor attacks in the loft area. The SHU figure
however, does not differentiate between losses to sparrowhawks and other raptors.
There is some agreement between these various studies in the level of overall losses
of racing pigeons to sparrowhawks. The current study was designed to improve on
previous estimates by incorporating a standard objective methodology for recording
and investigating losses in order to substantiate the involvement of sparrowhawks.
Previous studies have relied solely on loft-owners’ potentially subjective assessments
of the cause of losses, without any independent validation process, unlike the present
study. The CSL study, therefore, includes an absolute minimum measure
(substantiated) in addition to a reported measure (substantiated plus probable plus
possible).
Nationally, these levels of losses are relatively low, representing