RE H Brown's letter ("Sparrow-hawks to blame for fewer birds," March 7). What a pity they don't seem to be attracted to such vermin as feral pigeons.

Perhaps the raptors are more choosy about what they eat, which is fortunate because they might well catch something unpleasant if they ate a pigeon.

I must look into the possibilities of building an aviary or something in my garden in which to keep a bird of prey. It might just clear the area of these carriers of disease and greatly reduce the amount of bird muck that gets dropped on our property and the washing that's drying on the line.

We're not the only household in the neighbourhood complaining about this nuisance, so any helpful suggestions as to how we can resolve the problem would be much appreciated by others too.

M Bowker,

Deepdale, York.

Updated: 10:22 Wednesday, March 22, 2006