Fox’s

So basically like cats, dogs and budgies. Organised hunts for cats and dogs that people feed, by ego's with guns?

Indeed it is the same issue with feral cats and dogs. To be clear: I am not pro hunter/gun and I don’t want foxes to be exterminated. I am just saying the population shouldn’t be left unchecked as it would impact other wild animals foxes prey on.

You want to bet? I'm a longtime member of a local birdwatching club.

We have a hide at a small nature reserve where we have (had) a breeding population of several groundnesting wild bird species.

Couple years ago local fox population went into over drive and we watched as foxes decimated nesting birds and their young.

Foxes are known to scavenge and are predators of a wide range of animals including rabbits, rats, wild bird and even the odd domestic animal and fowl. In years when there is an increase in numbers and competition increases in the numbers of Foxes is often to be to the detriment of other species. Other issues with increases in the fox population include endemic mange and parvo.

I believe there are several wild life reserves worldwide including a number of islands where fox numbers are strictly managed and in some cases Foxes have had to be removed entirely due to the damage done to wild bird numbers.

And btw no I've nothing against Foxes - there is a very healthy population here. The trouble occurs when there are larger numbers of foxes than available food. Afaik this is one reason foxes started to move into cities in large numbers over the last couple of decades.

From the Conserve Ireland website

Main species impacted were Redshank and several species of duck.

Foxes are very plentiful in Ireland but periodically do create havoc for other species when their population increases over and above nomal levels. From what I've read the fox is the most widespread carnivore worldwide with population denisties here of up to 20 individuals per km2.

Afaik foxes are not considered endangered in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe. 

Good article on urban Foxes which have only been observed in urban areas such as London in the last 100 years or so

https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/questions/answer/when-and-how-did-foxes-come-to-live-in-our-towns-and-cities

Thats the upper limit quoted btw ie "up to" that I quoted. Around here atm I'd say it would be around easily half that if not more allowing for the fact that a sq km is equal to 100 hectares or 247 acres

In my experience ground nesting birds generally tend do a fairly good job at camouflaging nests against magpies and crows. That's not to say that there would be some loses.

However the only time I've seen breeding wildbirds effectively wiped out here was when the local fox population went into overdrive. I suspect Foxes mainly used scent to find or waited for the young birds to leave the nests

Foxes are known to be a problem with wild ground nesting birds such as lapwings and curlews being particularly vulnerable to predation by foxes

Predation by foxes is a major problem listed by conservation bodies for groundnesting birds here and around the world even including conservation areas with little or no human activity look it up. That's not to say there aren't other significant issues to do with habitat loss etc. But as in the example I've given - the birds had bred successfully for several generations with a a lot of work to ensure that the habitat and conditions were right. I know what happened is not at all unusual and this type of predation places extra pressure on native and migratory wildbird populations

The main problem I see is when fox numbers get of control. I'd reckon in previous times fox numbers were more strictly controlled compared to now and / or had their own predators.

As detailed foxes are highly opportunistic and do breed very successfully.

So back to your original point fox numbers can and do impact on other wildlife populations

Fair enough.

I remember back in the '70s there was a bounty paid for dead foxes. That's gone a long time now and around here foxes are a lot more plentiful now.

Btw curlew and lapwing are just two of the species in decline. Predation as a result of periodic overpopulation by foxes hasn't helped this.

But not my opinion about ground nesting birds being vulnerable to predation by foxes - that's what conservation groups have found and I've seen it myself here with local ground nesting birds being effectively wiped out.

But hey no problem.

Notwithstanding the vagaries of what was happening in the 80s or 90s. The issue here is what's happening now between a large fox population and already declining bird numbers.

On the curlew - there just one of the bird species mentioned by conservation groups as under pressure. The ground nesting birds I detailed were directly impacted and without doubt by a spike in the local fox population.

The predation happening now with a much larger number of foxes, is having a big impact on a smaller bird population (not just 'curlew') and that can be a significant problem for wildlife especially where their numbers are already in decline. This is one issue that conservation groups are concerned about.

Here's a picture of our nightly visitor. I noticed she has a mate now, we saw the too of them playing the field during the week in broad daylight. She's very comfortable around humans.