garden birds and nasty huge big crows and ravens.

[mimififi]

Hi there,
I have been pinned to the kitchen table for most of the day writing some articles for a customer; planning some schemes of work and writing kids worksheets, and have been sitting in front of large glass patio doors and a huge window. This has been lovely, the sun's been streaming in, the Rape seed in the field behind has been billowing in the gentle spring breeze, the Wisteria is just coming into bloom and my magnolia is in full glory. I have taken this opportunity whilst sitting here working to observe one of the latest projects in my garden: The wooden bird house my little boy made me for my birthday and the copious amounts of wild bird seed and bread crusts that have been put out for the resident robin, song thrush, sparrows, swifts and tiny little un identified birds that I used to see in my garden. Today would have been lovely to see these ornithologic specimens fluttering around, busy in a mating dance,

BUT NO!
instead, I have been subject to a huge flock of scaveging crows and ravens. They descend down from the roof of my house, past the patio window and doors and have made me feel as though I am living in some kind of jurassic nightmare, intimidated by a flock of huge terradactils. Not only that, since they have been here, none of the lovely tiny birds have been seen for love nor money!

How do i get rid of said giant birds, and get the others back????
thanks you.

[hammerman]

They have as much right to be here as any other fluffy birds.
If crows weren't at the top of the food chain, something else would be.

Try to enjoy your crows but think of other ways of feeding the other birds....crows are very clever animals and soon learn.

Meanwhile, live and let live

[mimififi]

I do kind of agree, but we are not talking about one crow here, at one point this afternoon, there were 11 crows on the roof of the wendy house. The children were afraid to go out there and frankly after a terrifying experience in Matthew ******'s house in the fifth year at school watching Hitchcocks famous 3D creation, it was terrifying me too. they are not called a murder of crows for nothing you know.

I live very rurally, and there is plenty of road kill for them to eat, why don't they go and clean up the lane and leave mr Robin my sunflower seeds?

Have you ever seen a crow up close? Thoses birds are enormous, I'm afraid they might decide to peck my jewellery right off me.....

I know what you are saying, and they are very beautiful and clever and can carry off a whole loaf of bread still in the bag and spread it with utterly butterly before feeding it to their chicks with a spoon, and you can only admire that, but they are moving in. They'll be bringing their nests with them soon. I'm going to have to start charging rent!

What shall I do?

[nickmo]

Try what this guy did: http://www.dumpalink.com/pictures/1130085794/****_Off_Crows

Might do the trick..............

[mimififi]

And another thing, eating all the bird seed, taking the children's lunches that they left out there when they came running in after being scarred witless (my 3 year old said to me at bedtime, Mummy, the crows won't be able to open the doors will they?) if that wasn't enough, when I actually came to the door to see just what was going on, I swear to you, these massive black crows just sat in MY garden laughing at me. You could see it on their beaks a mean, black (or rather yellow in the case of one of them) sinister laugh, smiling at the smell of fear, this is their garden now, and possession is 9/10ths of the law.

They were talking to each other in their husky crowy voices, taunting me: "Come on sweetheart! Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough." One of them was wearing a trench coat smoking a cigar for crying out loud.....

I'd call the police, but I think they probably own the police.

The Gangsters of the Ornithological world.

[mimififi]

You know, Nickmo, I might try that, but you know, when the bloke who took the picture looked down at his camera to switch it on the owner of the hay bales was standing there, smiling pointing at his idea to meet aggression with aggression: But when his friend raised the camera to his eye, squinted for a sharper shot, he looked through his precision lens and the subject had vanished. He looked all around. Called his name. he was filled with a sudden sense of panic. His friend was no where to be seen. Then he turned around. A black cloud on the horizon coming nearer and nearer. It looked to be moving, laughing, intimidation and then.......

All that was left was the camera bag and the plastic housing of his Canon79. Everything with an irridescent coating had been taken, removed with a sharp, strong tool. Later both men were found half a mile away unidentifable from their own dental records. All their fillings had been removed with the same sharp strong tool.........

[nickmo]

Go out and make a lot of noise to move them away - its a bird that can be scared by sudden movement and noise - do this a few times and they will leave the garden as they will associate the place as 'unsafe' as they are pretty intelligent birds - if you leave them alone, they will start to use it as a safe haven from the others around which are noisy and scary.....just wave a tea towel and run towards them quickly - that'll shift them,

[mimififi]

DO you think I should remove all jewellery and perhaps wear some protective clothing? Safety glasses, Bee keepers hat? Or do you think I could take them? I'm featherweight, but quite tall.

[mimififi]

Or maybe construct a scare-crow? Or will this also keep away the other birds? Also, all the pictures I've seen in the Hand Christian Anderson dictionary of Farming scenes has crows resting on the outstretched arms of scare-crows so I always thought it was some kind of clever pun.

[nickmo]

mimififi - too much time on hands. Paranoia sets in. Household falls apart. 3 yr old suddenly is 47 and caring for gibbering wreck and fan of Hitchco.ck movie

Get a grip dear - just remember who is at the top of the food chain in the relationship you're building with them.........

[mimififi]

ummmmmmm, you could be right, I've been pondering the crows (birds, not band) for so long now, in fact darkness has fallen and I did in fact have to ask my other daughter to switch on the light as I was feeling a little bit scared, the trees are making eerie shadows in the half light, casting tall ominous shapes, beak -like, cool glossy blue leaves from the magnolia almost featherlike.........NO STOP!

Ok, it's fine. I was thinking maybe tomorrow then, I shall open the door a bit and perhaps fire a hairdryer out the door, The noise may well startle them, but then, they maybe easily startled, but they will be back, and in greater number (oh, no, that's sand people!)

Alternatively I could get one of those football honking aerosole cans things, except, where do you buy them? I've always wondered that, HCAnderson doesn't cover that.

So, in summary, Stop worrying about the crows, scare them away with loud noise and immitation wing flapping; bring home road kill for them to eat instead and sling it in the field so they go there first, perhaps along with my dog's poop as they like to eat that aswell as carrion, and stop writing scary stories about birds, focus instead on my editor's deadlines and stop frightening the children with my apparent insanity.
Cheers Nickmo: You are a real hero. (you could be Banana man and tell the crows what for!)

[Lonnie]

I've read all the posts with interest, I can understand how a lot of them can be scarey, we have two families of Crow, resident in a couple of Oak trees close by, they know their place, and know they are tolerated, they tend to leave all the other birds alone, except for any Magpie that strays in, Beautiful birds Crows, I love watching them especially in flight, also, for some strange reason, the other birds seem to know that these aren't going to harm them.

[nickmo]

Right - off to thave a stern talk to the corvus corone - to the trees, and away.......!!!!!!

Now get on with your work, really, this is no way to treat a deadline......

[mimififi]

So lonnie, does that mean then that the crows actually pose no threat to our personal safety?

Do you think that perhaps my fear of crows could be due to a more deep seated fear of something else, manifesting it self in a projected way onto an innocent feathered, otherwise, friend?

[mimififi]

Nickmo, you're right, I know I know. I will do my work. I have to get it finished tonight as I have to do regular mumsy type jobs like making safe the garden for youngsters to play in tomorrow and I' have to have it emailed in by midnight........

Cheers though, it's been fun.

[Clanad]

Verrry interesting, but it's spelled pterodactyl... tut, tut...

[mimififi]

well, what can I say Clanad, I wasn't Home Educated, if my mum had home educated me I may be able to spell and also have a more balanced view over the habbits and lifestyle of crows.

And to be fair, these were the Rappers of the crow world and they were spelling their call sign with a T, an Ice-T and a Snoop Dog to boot.

[mimififi]

Interestingly, after just engaging in a soothing if not turbulent conversation with my mother, (and obviously lamenting to her about the cheek of said maximus crowusi) she told me that when I was a little girl I was taken to the cinema to watch the family favourite classic: Dumbo. During the film there is a sequence with some crows who begin by taunting the poor pachiderm about his abnormally large ears. Apparently, as an infant, I was so distressed, and obviously still reeling from the torment of him being torn away from his mother, that I began to cry and cry and cry and was inconsolable and had to be ejected from the theatre. I refused to go back in and never did see the end. My Dad had to wait outside with me and walk me up and down the high street waiting for the end of the show.

I remember the film and I still don't like the crows. Just because they are wearing quirky clothing, doesn't make them OK.

maybe it is that fear that I have been experiencing today? Scarred by Disney.

[Lonnie]

Hi mimififi, As I said, I can fully understand a persons fear of Crows, my experience, can in no way be compared to yours, and I unreservedly apologise if what I wrote sounded as if I thought you shouldn't be scared of them.

[mimififi]

Hi Lonnie, do not be sorry.

Whilst I was asking a genuine question, and was beginning to worry that the crows were pushing more timid birds that had previously been happy in my garden away, I was also being very naughty.

I was perhaps getting a bit 'carried away' with the concept of 'crows as gangsters' and they weren't wearing trench coats, smoking cigars or wealding Uzi s. They were in fact, just eating the bread and being a bit cheeky.

but (Oh my word, a huge great big heron has just flown in slow motion past my window, I had no idea there were so many birds around here, it seems to becomming the avarian capital of UK) I was beginning to feel a bit timid of the big crows and my little girl was afraid.

I took no offence to your comments, and valued your accurate information regarding their habbits and lifestyles. It was a very useful response to my question.

I apologise for being a drama queen, telling tall tales and generally using this forum as a vent for a bit of 'creative writing'

*blush, blush, blush*
Hope we're still friends, Lonnie?
love
mimififi
XX

[WendyS]

mimififi - I really sympathise because we've been having the same problems with magpies. Perhaps that where the old "Scarecrow" originated.

I agree that sudden appearances and movements may possibly frighten them off in the short term, but I suspect that while they busy looking after babies, they're going to be pretty ruthless in the search for food.

I loved nickmo's link. Really made me laugh.