I do not remember leather jacket damage when we first started growing veg here but recently the problem has become worse. We live on the Essex/Suffolk border near Colchester. When we first moved here 30 years ago, we made a list of every bird we saw in our three acre garden. The list was very long, with some unusual birds. Over the years the magpies moved in and now we have Sparrow hawks, loads of kestrels and often I see anything up to six pairs of buzzards circling over head. I do not think it is a coincidence that we now see hardly any garden birds. Starlings eat loads of leather jackets, I have not seen one of these lovely little birds for about 15 years. Nor do we have Song thrushes, wind thrushes, blackbirds or jays, the list goes on and on. We only see blue tits, grate tits, robins, pigeons and pheasants all the rest are carrion. Has anyone else found this to be the case? There must be a connection between carrion that eat the birds, young and eggs of the species that help keep grubs, caterpillars and anything else gardeners need help getting rid of.
Best regards Anne