North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>]

   I like what Rivka has to say on this subject.  Rivka makes good sense.

   I also like the progression of our conversation from fruit stealing 
squirrels to 'junk yard cats' to cats preying on birds to (now) cats filling 
the niche of critters that used to prey on birds.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]

Many areas with a lot of free-roaming cats no longer have most of the
original predators who preyed on birds in that area. I don't know if
anyone has ever done studies correcting for this factor, to try to
determine whether the bird mortality rate from cats is higher than a
natural background rate with no cats, but with other bird predators in
the area.


--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly