Now it's the turn of White Tailed Eagles to get the sharp end of the pitchfork from some of my friends in the farming community.
This story on the PA Wires this morning (pic above is RSPB/PA Wire image) poses a few questions, not least how much extra money the return of sea eagles has brought in to the north west of Scotland in terms of tourism (on Skye alone fishing boats will take you out to throw fish to 'em, and the Visitor Centre above Portree uses the bird as its imposing symbol).
Presumably at least some farming communities will have received subsidies for helping with the return of the birds?
And I'll show my bum in MacDonald's window if all the lambs they have taken were alive at the time - sea eagles just lurve carrion after all....
Sea eagles blamed for deaths of lambs
Rosamond Hutt, PA
Scottish farmers are blaming sea eagles for the deaths of hundreds of lambs, it was reported today.
The birds of prey were brought from Norway as chicks and raised in aviaries before being released into the wild in the north-west Highlands.
But according to the BBC, farmers in the area claim the eagles have killed more than 200 lambs and are calling for more to be done to tackle the problem.
The birds are being reintroduced by RSPB Scotland, SNH and the Forestry Commission as part of a five-year conservation project.
Fifteen white-tailed sea eagles were released last month and William Fraser, chairman of Gairloch and Poolewe branch of the Crofting Foundation, said he believed these birds were responsible for the killings.
Speaking to Radio 4's Farming Today, he said: "This year has been particularly bad. The crofters know how many lambs they put out after lambing season and one woman has lost 50% of her animals.
"She actually saw a sea eagle lifting a lamb from her field and flying off with it.
"We've had lambs that have had their necks sliced, they then can't lift them and are found going round in circles."
However, the RSPB told the BBC it had inspected one nest containing the remains of a number of lambs and said it did not believe the birds were behind all the deaths.
A spokesman for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) told the Scotsman: "We are aware of these concerns and very surprised at the numbers being talked about. There is no doubt that they will take lambs, but usually dead or weak ones, and we've never heard of it being done on this scale."
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Och aye laddie, de yer not ken that these rampaging Ernes being released by these bloody sassenachs do-gooders from doon sooth, will kill up all our wee baby lambs afore we do.
My gillie, Hamish McSporran saw one of these evil hook-billed monsters driving 100 wee baby lambs over the cliffs near Castle Urquhart only yesterday morning. That other, not at all timorous beastie, that lives in the depths of Loch Ness was waiting below, gobbling them all up as the wee poor creatures fell into his cavernous mouth.
Hamish is a very reliable witness as he only has a few dozen wee drams with his porridge and then doesn't touch a drop until his morning rounds at 11-o-clock, when he has a few dozen more with his haggis, tatties and neaps.
He sometimes sleeps for a while in the afternoon, but his dog Braveheart is a bloody good shot with a 12-bore and would see of any unwelcome intruder, such as Evil Ernes or lowlanders if they came his way.
Och aye laddie, we should have another good clear out of the Highlands, this time of the Sassenachs and their namby-pamby re-introducing ways, afore they claim that the Isles of Skye are dead volcanos.
Yours disgustingly
Provost Marshal Earl Badenoch of Glen Strath Killiekrankie, Coconut Cameroon Highlanders (Ret)
And I thought I was the one with "issues". Keep taking the tablets JB, and I'd steer clear of crossing the border for awhile if I were you...
While doin' me weekly Wednesday walkies with doggies through Birkdale N.R. I was noticing a high number of butterflies, mostly Red Admirals. In one sunny corner next to the path I counted 9 Red Admirals and 2 Commas sunning themselves on the long grass. This got me thinkin' do they migrate in loose "flocks" and if they do, their collective name must surely be a fleet.
Only birds of note 3 Bullfinch and 2 Jays.
I've been painting pictures of birds from the north west. Mostly around the Calderstones Park Area and from the Dee Estuary. Wondered if any one would like to come look at my exhibit in the coach house in Calderstones Park, Nov 3rd -9th. There's also interesting and unusual information about the birds I've painted and a study of bird calls. There's some pictures at www.JoelBird.com