Moving from ferreting to springtime trapping
By Steve Caple.
WITH the cold and dreary winter months now thankfully well behind us we can begin to think of the warmer and sunnier times ahead. The early birds have already nested (some may have already fledged) and there is noticeably far more breeding activity and urgent intent in the daily activities of the local wildlife.
Young rabbits are far more noticeable, the swallows will soon be returning after their seven months or so away in warmer climates and the evenings are steadily becoming lighter and much longer. Soon, the blackthorn and hawthorn will be in blossom and the newly emerging fresh leaves will be concealing the nests of the bullfinch and linnet once again.
Spring has to be my favourite time of the year and I think May is the finest month of them all. Everything is so fresh and new, and the vegetation hasn’t yet taken on that tired and worn-out expression it wears towards the end of summer.
Traditionally, the early spring months were spent on rabbit control and great reductions can be made into the local rabbit population at this time of year. Cage trapping is one of the best methods to use as the young and as yet inexperienced rabbits from early litters are relatively easy to entice inside.
