Clever Corvids

I noticed Mr and Mrs Sparrow looking for food on our front lawn.

One bird was pecking around on the ground, the other was sitting high up in the lilac keeping an eye out for the cats. Then the two sparrows changed places.

I have bird feeders up which pigeons and crows can’t access. Two pigeons sit looking into the kitchen every morning until I throw them a few handfuls of seed. As soon as I do this I hear crows cawing loudly and they come down too. So they’re obviously calling to each other to tell them there’s food around. Amazes me how quickly they can clear it all up!

I have a small flat roof at the back of my bedroom and feed the birds every morning and late afternoon. I have an array of birds from starlings, pigeons, doves and this year an increase in sparrows. Over the past few years a magpie will visit and the other smaller birds will take off. We heard a commotion on Sunday and thought our cat had caught a baby - I ran out to find a magpie had a young starling and was pecking at it. The magpies flew off as I went over and the poor bird was still alive. I picked it up and it was quite poorly and died a short time later. Isn't nature cruel. We do have many feeders in the garden and have set up a feeding station under the trees. The pigeons and doves will try and sit in the larger open feeders and the starlings will hang onto the others and have such large appetites. Fat balls go in a matter of hours. I try to hide coconut shell feeders for the small birds but the starlings always find them. As for crows they do not come into my garden but I have watched them on bin day, go from one bag to the next and if they sense something food wise they will pull the bag apart to get at whatever is there. So clever.

On April 12th there was a podcast from a Book Club (Spectator, I think, someone sent it to me) by Frieda Hughes (Ted and Silvia's daughter) who has written a memoire about adopting a magpie, George. It was delightful. George even got on well with her Maltese terriers.

Since our last cat died, the magpies and a couple of regular crows have taken over our lawn. I've not actually seen them take down feeders but the crows in particular have come to dominate the lawn, leaving with beakfuls of food while the robin doesn't get a look in. We have a couple of acorn shaped feeders that hold peanuts and are so lightweight and swingy that only small birds attempt to feed from them fortunately.

Magpies are the smartest of all, patrolling the hedgerows around here, to raid the songbird nests. I wonder how may small bird chicks or eggs it takes to feed the magpies own nestlings.

We have several crows who have discovered our bird feeders. They try to hang on to them with wings flapping wildly then bang their heads agaythe feeder so the seeds drop out. Then its a mad scramble between crows and pigeons to see who can get the food that has fallen onto the grass! Strangely this is the first year we have had crows after the food

Last year we had a hare which browsed on the grass. This year it brought 4 leverets to eat the grass. Eco friendly lawn mowers. They haven't learned to ignore us yet as their mum did.

Another good book to read is The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife about the ravens at the Tower of London.

We have had a pair of crows here for some years now. One sits up in a tree near the door on watch and as soon as I come out with the bowl of bird food he shouts " cark" which I presume means "grubs up" because all the birds swoop down at the signal. I'm very fond of my corvids, the great clunky crows, the evening dress magpies (which are seen off by the collared doves) and a great flock of noisy jackdaws which live in the ruined house nextdoor. In

Exactly this! All winter/ spring long, I think it became a bit of a game with them, 2 feeders dislodged and dropped on the lawn most days( they are very strong) I eventually gave up with the feeders and stuck to ground feeding so everyone had a chance

I keep small sticky patterned patches permanently on the back windows to stop birds mainly wood pigeons from committing suicide.

I like all the stories about intelligent birds.

My dad used to shoot crows when a flock of them started to eat the crops on the farm. They were considered a menace. I agree they are very intelligent and I see them in my garden quite often. We also have a lot of magpies who are also very intelligent.

My daughter’s budgie escaped and flew up into a tree and within about 20 seconds a currawong ( big black and white bird) got it. Nature is red in tooth and claw, as they say.

Germanshepherdsmum

I certainly don’t admire birds of prey when I see them pouncing on other birds and taking them away. The crows chase them off, which I think is clever and brave.

Me neither. Very upsetting quite recently to see a sparrowhawk zoom down and take a great spotted woodpecker who was on our fat ball feeder. 😥

Fleurpepper I agree nature is nature , it’s just that I love my newts , they are so pretty. Interesting that this crow only visits in the Spring when it gets warm enough for the newts to come out of hibernation and into the pond . I woke up the other morning to the sound of loud tapping and a woodpecker was busy trying to get into a nest that was in the wooden fascia of the gutter next door . It’s a tough life !

I certainly don’t admire birds of prey when I see them pouncing on other birds and taking them away. The crows chase them off, which I think is clever and brave.

nature is nature, as hard as it seems at times. I do find it strange however, that crowns or magpies will be demonised by some for feeding on other birds and young, whilst it is admired and accepted for birds of prey like kites.

My canary’s cage was next to the garden window and he was used to seeing magpies and crows but I checked when he gave an alarm call that I hadn’t heard before and it was a Jay in the garden.
I stopped a couple of magpies raiding a rucksack that a dad had put down while playing with his child.
I was upset at seeing a crow fly up with something in his beak and drop it (as they do with shells and nuts) and when I checked it was a tiny gosling - still alive but died within seconds.

We have a pair of crows that are almost guaranteed to turn up very soon after I’ve thrown any crusts etc. on the lawn. Sometimes even before I’m back in the kitchen! Anything very dry is taken for a soaking in one of the bird baths, and they’ll typically pick up several bits until their beak can’t hold any more. I’ve seen them drop some, swallow some, and then pick up even more.
Scraps of leftover uncooked pastry are very popular!

They used to be extremely nervous - any slight movement even from behind the kitchen window would have them flying off, but they’re a lot less timid now.

There are two things that will completely clear my garden of birds.

One is next doors cat.

The other is a magpie.

We get ravens ,they look more or less the same. They take their food and wet it in the birdbath before they eat which none of the other birds do. They are very intelligent and if I call them they come for food- only the currawongs will do this apart from them. It’s funny because when I call the cats in,the birds fly over too. Sometimes I feel like a witch …..

cool video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9mrTdYhOHg
2 murders and their childern have lived around my house for 20 years they talk to you if you give them your time
when i wa young 11yrs my dad was working on his car he went in the house for something he was gone 2 crows came down and took off with 2 bolts im was blamed for loosing the parts

I have crows nesting in a nearby tree every year. There is one who flies down to my pond every morning when the sun is on the pond, carefully and surreptitiously removes some pond weed , waits totally still and then suddenly jerks and catches a newt . Very disturbing and I am worried that the newt population is diminishing rapidly. I have ordered a net but think it will be smart enough to make a hole in it . It obviously doesn’t let other crows know about his feeding station as it is the only one who visits.

Oreo

Think of them as toddling about in the grass looking like bikers 😆

🤣🤣🤣

I think it was leather jackets they were picking up from our garden. I was surprised because it’s a new build and the grass was only laid late last summer!

We rarely got starlings where we used to live so I’m happy to see these. Not so much the seagulls, who keep pooping on my white car. It looks like a ruddy Dalmatian now. 😡