AS an amateur ornithologist I have read with interest articles forecasting the demise of the hen harrier and the kestrel. Now here we go again picking on the sparrowhawk.

There is clear evidence that all birds of prey in the UK are in decline, but the sparrowhawk kills only what it needs to survive, unlike the domestic cat, tame or feral, that kills for amusement and takes its prey back to home territory.

The equation is simple: more cats equal fewer small birds and cats breed faster than birds.

Man is steadily exterminating the tiger, snow leopard and other big cats but the domestic moggy and its stalking, killer instinct is a major reason why our small garden song birds are rapidly disappearing.

David Attenborough has suggested that cat owners should fit a collar and bell, as a warning; such an obvious simple solution, but I fear it may be too little too late.

Magpies and Carrion Crows are on the increase and they take eggs and chicks directly from nests. I once watched a magpie tear to pieces a juvenile starling.

The large windows of modern homes are “invisible” barriers and I regularly have perfect imprints of wood pigeon and collared doves on the glass.

New houses with few cracks and crevices in roofs, walls and fascias effectively prevent opportunist sparrows and starlings from nesting there.

Perhaps we should incorporate “sealed” cavity openings in brickwork or larger boxes under the eaves, and even false chimney pots for jackdaws to nest.

John Vayro, Hartlepool.