I've had a jackdaw problem for the past few weeks and I have to admit I'm being outwitted and thwarted by the beady-eyed villains.
In an ideal world I'd be happy to have them nesting in the turrets of my castle but sadly in real life they cause a squabbling mess near my neighbours washing and outdoor furniture
I tried a similar thing to the hanging basket idea with the mushrooms the army uses to prop up cam nets but it didn't work. This morning I've taken receipt of some ground feeding stations one of which I've put over the bird table and I'll have to see how that goes.
In case anyone thinks I'm being mean to jackdaws, I do feed them too (further away), I just want to be able to restrict how much they have and have some remaining for the birds who don't like to get involved in the frenzy.
All members of the crow family are among the most intelligent of birds and they are great opportunists too which is what makes them so successful.Perhaps try bringing bird feeders closer to the house,this might help.However,less bold species like Blackbirds are still very common birds which suggests they will survive despite being bossed around at the bird table.
Jackdaws are clever - and funny... I used to feed the birds at a previous workplace and I've seen them drag peanut holders along the branches until they fall onto the floor and also pick peanuts out and spit them down to another jackdaw on the floor.
I also like how they join mixed flocks and not just in times of hardship
Funnily enough Fishy, I took the coconuts and bird cake off the table today as everyone has their washing out and left them next to the side door which has been open all day thinking no bird would see them there only to surprise a blackbird later on, feasting on the step.
I would move my feeders closer to the house were it not for my chickens who live there already, due to the risk of transmitting bird diseases...
Hi Victoria, yes some of the shyer species like Blackbirds and Robins are actually more trusting of humans whereas the Crow family tend to have a natural wariness of us.Its also notable how Crows and Ravens (Magpies too) are often depicted as sinister in folklore.I can remember years ago,my brother and myself walking the 'high street' path along the peaks in the Lake District.There was a pair of nesting Ravens on some crags and we were followed for quite some distance by one of them.It was really rather creepy and felt as though we were being seen off the premises.Its also estimated that your average Raven has the intelligence of a two year old toddler.So that's me done for then
Loving reading all your posts. all the bird species have their own characters. I could sit and watch them all day. Just now it's the starlings, the fast foodies who create the most fun. The young are so noisy, the poor parents will push anything in their beaks, just to shut them up. We have a regular unwelcome visitor to our garden. A sparrow hawk. Fortunately with plenty tree and shrub cover, the wee birds head for motionless safety. However they dont have the sense to keep clear of seagulls, which are now killing the fledglings, and eating them.
I agree with all that you say, Philipa , but watching birds being ripped apart and eaten while still alive, is very upsetting. The scary thing about many of the larger birds, is that they live to such a grand age, and once they've learned a new trick, the others copy.
Once a work colleague and I rescued some swallows whose mud house had collapsed into a drain after a downpour. We fed them cat food with tweezers over night until we were able to rig up a contraption in the eaves. The parents had stuck around and were feeding them again, now in their plastic glue pot nest.
Some days later they had all disappeared- a feather nearby made us think it was an owl... As humanzees we could have just let them drown/ freeze to death in the drain but at least this way they fed something else.
We can't save everything; that was the point I meant to make
Sadly nature is indeed cruel in our eyes but you can safely bet that Sparrowhawks are not in danger of destroying this very planet on which we live. What may seem even crueller is the fact that Sparrowhawk chicks are hatching at the same time as baby Blue Tits are leaving the nest.This gives the adult Sparrowhawks a plentiful food supply with which to feed their own hungry chicks just at the right time.How they know when to time this I don't know,but its that brutal kind of logic that nature possesses and it works.The upside of this though is that there will always be some Blue Tits survive to continue the species.
Posts
I've had a jackdaw problem for the past few weeks and I have to admit I'm being outwitted and thwarted by the beady-eyed villains.
In an ideal world I'd be happy to have them nesting in the turrets of my castle but sadly in real life they cause a squabbling mess near my neighbours washing and outdoor furniture
I tried a similar thing to the hanging basket idea with the mushrooms the army uses to prop up cam nets but it didn't work. This morning I've taken receipt of some ground feeding stations one of which I've put over the bird table and I'll have to see how that goes.
In case anyone thinks I'm being mean to jackdaws, I do feed them too (further away), I just want to be able to restrict how much they have and have some remaining for the birds who don't like to get involved in the frenzy.
In fairness we've only been here since September, I have bird feeder at the allotment but find it's contents are spilled on the ground!
All members of the crow family are among the most intelligent of birds and they are great opportunists too which is what makes them so successful.Perhaps try bringing bird feeders closer to the house,this might help.However,less bold species like Blackbirds are still very common birds which suggests they will survive despite being bossed around at the bird table.
Jackdaws are clever - and funny... I used to feed the birds at a previous workplace and I've seen them drag peanut holders along the branches until they fall onto the floor and also pick peanuts out and spit them down to another jackdaw on the floor.
I also like how they join mixed flocks and not just in times of hardship
Funnily enough Fishy, I took the coconuts and bird cake off the table today as everyone has their washing out and left them next to the side door which has been open all day thinking no bird would see them there only to surprise a blackbird later on, feasting on the step.
I would move my feeders closer to the house were it not for my chickens who live there already, due to the risk of transmitting bird diseases...
Hi Victoria, yes some of the shyer species like Blackbirds and Robins are actually more trusting of humans whereas the Crow family tend to have a natural wariness of us.Its also notable how Crows and Ravens (Magpies too) are often depicted as sinister in folklore.I can remember years ago,my brother and myself walking the 'high street' path along the peaks in the Lake District.There was a pair of nesting Ravens on some crags and we were followed for quite some distance by one of them.It was really rather creepy and felt as though we were being seen off the premises.Its also estimated that your average Raven has the intelligence of a two year old toddler.So that's me done for then
They are sinister, but that is what makes them so cool... I once saw a corvid (?) family member chase off a heron...
And if I had to have one of the two, I'd take the average raven
Loving reading all your posts. all the bird species have their own characters. I could sit and watch them all day. Just now it's the starlings, the fast foodies who create the most fun. The young are so noisy, the poor parents will push anything in their beaks, just to shut them up. We have a regular unwelcome visitor to our garden. A sparrow hawk. Fortunately with plenty tree and shrub cover, the wee birds head for motionless safety. However they dont have the sense to keep clear of seagulls, which are now killing the fledglings, and eating them.
I agree with all that you say, Philipa , but watching birds being ripped apart and eaten while still alive, is very upsetting. The scary thing about many of the larger birds, is that they live to such a grand age, and once they've learned a new trick, the others copy.
Nature is cruel- it has to be to exist.
Once a work colleague and I rescued some swallows whose mud house had collapsed into a drain after a downpour. We fed them cat food with tweezers over night until we were able to rig up a contraption in the eaves. The parents had stuck around and were feeding them again, now in their plastic glue pot nest.
Some days later they had all disappeared- a feather nearby made us think it was an owl... As humanzees we could have just let them drown/ freeze to death in the drain but at least this way they fed something else.
We can't save everything; that was the point I meant to make
You both speak wisely
Sadly nature is indeed cruel in our eyes but you can safely bet that Sparrowhawks are not in danger of destroying this very planet on which we live. What may seem even crueller is the fact that Sparrowhawk chicks are hatching at the same time as baby Blue Tits are leaving the nest.This gives the adult Sparrowhawks a plentiful food supply with which to feed their own hungry chicks just at the right time.How they know when to time this I don't know,but its that brutal kind of logic that nature possesses and it works.The upside of this though is that there will always be some Blue Tits survive to continue the species.