please help with crows & magpies!!!

sineadom

this morning I was woken at 6am by incessant cawing and looked out to see 4 magpies eating the fatballs and seeds I put out in feeders for the songbirds and at least a dozen crows under the two trees that hold the feeders.

the magpies were precariously perched on two of the feeders causing them to shake so violently that half the seed had spilled onto the ground where the crows were enjoying it. and there wasnt a songbird in sight!

I sleepily opened the window and clapped my hands whereupon they all flew off. within minutes (and seconds for some!) the feeders were covered in chaffinches, sparrows, goldfinches, greenfinches and great tits (mostly this years chicks) - who had clearly been waiting for the bigger birds to leave.

Ive been keeping an eye out since this morning and whenever a magpie or a couple of crows arrive the songbirds leave and wont return until they've gone (and they wont go until I clear them). there are flocks of crows - must've just recently fledged - and at least one family of magpies. im not looking to hurt them, i just really want to feed the songbirds and cant afford to feed both! especially when the bigger birds are keeping the others away from the food until its gone! I'm only out here at weekends and have no way to monitor what happens during the week.

I'd really really appreciate any ideas on how to keep the crows and magpies away from the feeders, or at least discourage them a bit. thanks in advance!

trebor28

do you know anyone with a rifle or shotgun?

there isnt a whole lot you can do i would say apart from covering the feeding area with some netting or chain link fence so only the smaller birds can get in.

Kess73

Stop leaving the food out overnight in quantities as the corvids have gotten into the routine of the food being there at that time. Maybe top up the seed and fatballs when you get up in the morning instead.

That way you or others in the house are up when the food is out in larger quantities and you can hunt the corvids off.

You could also look to see if there are other spots in the garden where you could hang your feeders that would be more awkward for the corvids to get them.

As with most animals if getting the food becomes difficult then the corvids start to look for easier pickings.

But don't discount the fact that you have fledglings in terms of the tits. sparrows etc in the area as being an attraction for the corvids either. They can be very partial to a young fledgling that is learning the ropes.

It is an annoying problem that you have, but by making it more difficult for the corvids to get the food (either by not leaving plenty out overnight or by moving the feeders) then they will seek food elsewhere given time.

Mothman

sineadom wrote: »

im not looking to hurt them,

trebor28 wrote: »

do you know anyone with a rifle or shotgun?

Not hurting and suggestions of guns are not compatible. I don't like seeing the suggestion of shooting etc here in Nature and BW particularly against native species.

The use of netting/fence is reasonable as are the suggestions by Kess.

I've had to resort to feeding my hens twice a day, rather than ad lib from a feeder because it was attracting so many crows.

slowburner

Someone I know has a problem with magpies on the flat roof over their bedroom. The magpies arrive at dawn and start scratching around in the gravel and rattling away with that horrible old racket they make. Those poor old folks are close to the brink.
I put some criss-crossed string over over the roof a few years back to make a form of netting as a deterrent. It worked well until this year and the mesh is still intact.
I was wondering if a decoy raptor would deter them, or would it make matters worse with magpies mobbing the decoy, as they sometimes do with cats?

trebor28

Mothman wrote: »

Not hurting and suggestions of guns are not compatible. I don't like seeing the suggestion of shooting etc here in Nature and BW particularly against native species.

The use of netting/fence is reasonable as are the suggestions by Kess.

I've had to resort to feeding my hens twice a day, rather than ad lib from a feeder because it was attracting so many crows.

i never actually suggested hurting them, apart from maybe their ears.

one good blast of the shotgun would keep the corvids away for a while, and any loud noise for a while after would be enough to unsettle them.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Watch what food is left out. At this time of year you shouldn't be feeding fatballs anyway. Suspend feeders with elastic bands that will take the weight of small birds easily, but not corvids. You could try putting food for the bigger birds elsewhere in the garden, laving the feeders free for the smaller birds.

When all is said and done though it's all Nature.

As feeding is preferable but not essential to the small birds at this time, you could even be drastic and stop feeding for a week or so. The Corvids will seek food elsewhere and if your garden is bird friendly the others will find plenty of wild food in it at present.

slowburner

Leroy Faithful Belt wrote: »

When all is said and done though it's all Nature.

Is it, when you are feeding them?

sineadom

Thanks for all the suggestions, will try feeding in the mornings instead. Netting a bit difficult, not sure where I would put it as the feeders are just hanging from trees. The fatballs are what are really attracting the magpies I think so I'm going to stop putting them out altogether for the moment at least but I'm curious, why shouldnt I be using fatballs at this time of year? I thought they'd be good for building up young chicks or are peanuts and seeds better for that?

slowburner

slowburner wrote: »

Someone I know has a problem with magpies on the flat roof over their bedroom. The magpies arrive at dawn and start scratching around in the gravel and rattling away with that horrible old racket they make. Those poor old folks are close to the brink.
I put some criss-crossed string over over the roof a few years back to make a form of netting as a deterrent. It worked well until this year and the mesh is still intact.
I was wondering if a decoy raptor would deter them, or would it make matters worse with magpies mobbing the decoy, as they sometimes do with cats?

Would LOVE to get some help on this too

tyler71

Regularly have problems with this, but I think it's unavoidable. Magpies, jackdaws, etc are all pretty bright and when some free food (especially fat) is going, they will sit there and do their best to figure out a way to get it. You need to come up with a way to stop them eating the food but letting the other birds do so and it usually has to do with using their difference in size and weight - for instance if your feeder is hanging off branches, you could try moving it to lighter branches that doesn't take their weight or extending the feeder with string so they can't reach down from the branch. I use string or net a lot as a barrier around my feeders ( as was mentioned above) but find that you regularly need to check for tautness and for gaps as if there are weaknesses they will find them, or make them by testing them for strength, so you can't just put something up and expect it to last forever, you need to regularly check it yourself.
I don't see this as being a bad thing, and have quite a bit of respect for the level of intelligence you see in the corvids, but they're bright enough to be able to fend for themselves without any help from me.

kincsem

I have this

http://www.haiths.com/Products/Ground-Feeding-Haven-WBAC01024/

Graces7

As others have said, they hate loud noise. Over the years in different houses, we have had success as our dog is trained to "see them off" when they start coming down. We add our shouts etc also.


If you persevere, as soon as they see you they fly off.

Someone told me that crows and magpies will not share land; we see often a crow seeing off a magpie.

We rarely feed the birds now because of this pest. And only when we are around and can make sure the magpies stay clear.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

sineadom wrote: »

why shouldnt I be using fatballs at this time of year? I thought they'd be good for building up young chicks or are peanuts and seeds better for that?

They need protein at the moment and not fats. Fats are a valuable addition in Winter but really not ideal at this time of year.

StephenHendry

Graces7

"Someone told me that crows and magpies will not share land; we see often a crow seeing off a magpie"
==================================================

you're right, rooks and jackdaws will happily live beside each other , but they won't allow magpies near them

Kess73

StephenHendry wrote: »

Graces7

"Someone told me that crows and magpies will not share land; we see often a crow seeing off a magpie"
==================================================

you're right, rooks and jackdaws will happily live beside each other , but they won't allow magpies near them

Not totally true.

The various corvids can get along in the one area pretty well if there is a big enough food source to sustain them.

They can also co-exist in areas with a strong raptor presence.


It is generally around the breeding season or in areas where the food supply is so so that tolerance levels drop to a considerable degree.

Birdnuts

Kess73 wrote: »

.

They can also co-exist in areas with a strong raptor presence.


.

Depends on the raptor species - certainly farmers in Donegal have noticed a decline in corvid activity within Golden Eagle territories. Goshawks and buzzards at high concentrations can have pronounded affects on numbers/activity too. This is most apparent on continental Europe with very high densities of these raptors compared to this country:)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In fairness, high concentrations of Goshawks or Buzzrads (or indeed most raptors) will have an impact on the numbers of any species in an area - and not just Corvids nor just birds)

Birdnuts

Leroy Faithful Belt wrote: »

In fairness, high concentrations of Goshawks or Buzzrads (or indeed most raptors) will have an impact on the numbers of any species in an area - and not just Corvids nor just birds)

Depends on their preferred prey - while small mammals and carrion are buzzards main food source, young corvids appear to be their favourite avian prey in this area at least. In any case corvids in Ireland have taken over many niches that raptors occupy in Europe and used to occupy in this country. EG. Red Kites and other raptor scavangers would dominate corvids at carcasses in Europe therby limiting this food source for the likes of Hoodies etc.

Stoner

op
I bought these on ebay to keep starlings away, using them for about a week now and thay have worked.


http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270635183797

cscook

Stoner wrote: »

op
I bought these on ebay to keep starlings away, using them for about a week now and thay have worked.


http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270635183797

I can see they'd keep starlings away. I'm interested to know if they also work with magpies ? - ours are intelligent enough to shake the seed feeder so that the seed falls to the ground. I just noticed my last expensive feeder has a crack in the housing from the last time they managed to actually shake it off the tree :mad:. Bookmarking that link, it looks more like what I want than the ground ones. I've seen a lovely one in Farmleigh, but haven't found anything like it online.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Birdnuts wrote: »

Depends on their preferred prey - while small mammals and carrion are buzzards main food source, young corvids appear to be their favourite avian prey in this area at least. In any case corvids in Ireland have taken over many niches that raptors occupy in Europe and used to occupy in this country. EG. Red Kites and other raptor scavangers would dominate corvids at carcasses in Europe therby limiting this food source for the likes of Hoodies etc.

Hi Birdnuts, I totally agree with everything you say there. But I was saying that High Concentrations of any bird of prey will have an impact on many species.:)

Buzzards in Britain are seen to take many corvids. I see some activity on that front here but never as much. It is said that the large numbers of Corvids in Ireland (compared to Britain & Europe) reflects the lack of predation on them by Raptors and thier filling of the niche left by the absence of Raptors. It will be interesting to see how Corvid numbers change over the decades ahead, as we re-introduce so many Raptor species.

Kess73

Birdnuts wrote: »

Depends on the raptor species - certainly farmers in Donegal have noticed a decline in corvid activity within Golden Eagle territories. Goshawks and buzzards at high concentrations can have pronounded affects on numbers/activity too. This is most apparent on continental Europe with very high densities of these raptors compared to this country:)

Yep, I should have been a little more specific in terms of what raptors as my post could be taken to be suggesting all native raptors.

Birdnuts

Leroy Faithful Belt wrote: »

Hi Birdnuts, I totally agree with everything you say there. But I was saying that High Concentrations of any bird of prey will have an impact on many species.:)

Buzzards in Britain are seen to take many corvids. I see some activity on that front here but never as much. It is said that the large numbers of Corvids in Ireland (compared to Britain & Europe) reflects the lack of predation on them by Raptors and thier filling of the niche left by the absence of Raptors. It will be interesting to see how Corvid numbers change over the decades ahead, as we re-introduce so many Raptor species.

This was brought home to me on a recent trip to the Dordogne in SW France. Lovely traditional rural landscape of woodland and small fields with a great variety of birdlife including good numbers of Quail,Partridge etc. What stood out most was the fact that nearly every clearing in the woodland appeared to have a buzzard and honey buzzard in attendance:cool: - also large numbers of various owl species were present at night!!

Similarly on a 10,000 acre ranch in Zimbabwe last spring I was astounded by the number and variety or raptors from native sparrowhawks,buzzards to fish eagles and vultures(including the giant Cape vulture that was like a small airplance when coming into land!!). Again the numbers of other birds like quail, bustards and wild-fowl were impressive in the same area:).


PS: In both places the only corvids I saw were a few in the major cities ie, Bordeaux and Harare!!

Stoner

cscook wrote: »

I can see they'd keep starlings away. I'm interested to know if they also work with magpies ? - ours are intelligent enough to shake the seed feeder so that the seed falls to the ground. I just noticed my last expensive feeder has a crack in the housing from the last time they managed to actually shake it off the tree :mad:. Bookmarking that link, it looks more like what I want than the ground ones. I've seen a lovely one in Farmleigh, but haven't found anything like it online.

to be honest the starlings shake them too and then other birds pick the spoils up off the ground, but if they were secured better that would help, I have a catalogue in work, can't remember the name of it but I'll look for it tomorrow, it had some lovely seed feeders very sturdy but they were expensive 40 to 70 pounds each. I'd imaging that a simple one with a good footing tightly secured that it would be difficult for bigger birds to shake it.

Outdoor enthusiast

Can anyone give me advise how to keep crows from eating apples from trees? Someone told me to invest in an imitation hawk - which I did and it seemed to do the trick for a small while, then they must`ve gotten used to it because it didn`t bother them anymore. I have 4 apple trees and a plum tree - plums aren`t just ripe yet but when they are its only a matter of time before the crows start to attack that tree aswell. Help!

Tabnabs

Can you put netting over the fruit trees? It's a frequent cure I've seen both locally and on a commercial scale.

The fake owls, hawks etc. work for about 5 minutes before the birds simply ignore it. A common problem on boats and harbours with seagulls.

As an alternative you could try a supply of cheap blank cds (or the wife's collection of 80s music!) strung up in a line on loose string (i.e. bounces around a lot) as this movement seems to give some success.

Outdoor enthusiast

I`ll try the netting, thanks