Massive Crows??

Theshooter2012

I have pheasant feeders out and in the morning and evening there are always giant crows at it i think they are rooks but i seen them once and a while before but now there are loads of them.I have tryed to shoot them i got 6 one day lying up against the hedge but they are very hard to get them into range now, nearly impossible.:mad::mad::mad:
Does anyone else notice these giant crows????

TossL1916

Theshooter2012 wrote: »

I have pheasant feeders out and in the morning and evening there are always giant crows at it i think they are rooks but i seen them once and a while before but now there are loads of them.I have tryed to shoot them i got 6 one day lying up against the hedge but they are very hard to get them into range now, nearly impossible.:mad::mad::mad:
Does anyone else notice these giant crows????

i was out the other day and saw a massive fella eating a rabbit, and it wouldn surprise if it was after killing the rabbit itself because this yoke was absolutely feckin huge!

Double Barrel

Probably a raven or a carrion crow (Corvus corone) .

tfox

Double Barrel wrote: »

Probably a raven or a carrion crow (Corvus corone) .

and raven's are protected so no shooting

Hunter21

tfox wrote: »

and raven's are protected so no shooting

Cant be shot at all? even if damaging crop?

Reason I ask is say if the raven isnt that big and he flew into a field while you were protecting crop then it'd be hard to tell the raven from a normal crow?

tfox

Hunter21 wrote: »

Cant be shot at all? even if damaging crop?

Reason I ask is say if the raven isnt that big and he flew into a field while you were protecting crop then it'd be hard to tell the raven from a normal crow?

A raven is quite a large bird, you will often see them mobbing buzzards. you can tell them by the "cronk" noise they make.

They mostly feed on carrion etc, tough on newborn lambs too, not sure how much crop damage they do, I'm sure someone who knows more will be along.

garv123

The first three can be shot for crop protection and are easy to tell apart and the raven is much much larger and easy to distinguish from the others too.

Spunk84

40y 30y 15y 10y:D looks all the same

tfox

Spunk84 wrote: »

40y 30y 15y 10y:D looks all the same

Now Dougal, these cows are small, but those ones are far far away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25N-4zrk390

TriggerPL

tfox wrote: »

Spunk84 wrote: »

40y 30y 15y 10y:D looks all the same

Now Dougal, these cows are small, but those ones are far far away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25N-4zrk390

Shoot them all let god decide . I'd say what you dealing with is rooks , raven aren't that plenty full that you would shoot 6 in a day

session savage

You would know a raven a mile away. They are way bigger than rooks. Anyway if it looks like a big rook but has a black beak then its not a big rook is it.
Jackdaws = small black/ash grey
Rook = black with a grey bill and white patch under the beak
Raven = BIG with a glossy black plumage and a massive black bill.

If you cant identify what your shooting then put the gun away. Simples.

Hunter21

garv123 wrote: »

The first three can be shot for crop protection and are easy to tell apart and the raven is much much larger and easy to distinguish from the others too.

Sound for that Garv..

Never seen one of them around my area anyway that's the reason I asked about if you seen a small raven how would you identify it before shooting it. Clearly they are away bigger then the other three breeds that are allowed to be shot.

pugw

A multi catch larsen trap might be the job, you cant shoot them all and you cant be there 24-7!

johngalway

TriggerPL wrote: »

Shoot them all let god decide . I'd say what you dealing with is rooks , raven aren't that plenty full that you would shoot 6 in a day

Depends where you are. 13/14 landed on a fence in front of me a couple of years ago while I was ambushing grey crows. They have not gotten less plentiful since. I have a soft spot for Ravens.

session savage wrote: »

You would know a raven a mile away.

+1.

Theshooter2012

i was talking to a farmer yesterday and he said that the should be shot along with the gray crows because they were taking eyes out of sheep and lambs during labour.
Where did you hear they cant be shot??? Just as a matter of interest

rabbit assassin

Theres 2 ravens out near me and its hard to believe the size of them :eek: Its impossible to get close to them though. 200 yards is as close as I can get !

Half-cocked

Theshooter2012 wrote: »

Where did you hear they cant be shot??? Just as a matter of interest

You'll find it in the Wildlife Act and the open seasons order. Shoot one and you're facing big fines, possible jail time and say goodbye to your gun license.

Half-cocked

rabbit assassin wrote: »

Theres 2 ravens out near me and its hard to believe the size of them :eek: Its impossible to get close to them though. 200 yards is as close as I can get !

I was in the Tower of London a few years back and they have captive Ravens there. These are massive birds close up and really handsome creatures. Wingspan is about 120cm compared to 85cm for a Rook. In the wild they pair for life, like geese. Got a pair on our shoot that have never caused us any trouble (and I've seen them harassing Buzzards, so maybe they are helping us!).

johngalway

Theshooter2012 wrote: »

they were taking eyes out of sheep and lambs during labour.

They will, but badgers have been known to kill lambs too. Just because something kills stock doesn't make it legal to shoot it.

On birds, all wild birds are protected. The only reason we're allowed in certain circumstances to shoot some species is because of a quarterly derogation signed by the minister of the Environment which says we can.

4200fps

Half-cocked wrote: »

I was in the Tower of London a few years back and they have captive Ravens there. These are massive birds close up and really handsome creatures. Wingspan is about 120cm compared to 85cm for a Rook. In the wild they pair for life, like geese. Got a pair on our shoot that have never caused us any trouble (and I've seen them harassing Buzzards, so maybe they are helping us!).

Them buzzards are massive. I didn't know what they were at first. Had to ask a few people. There was a few released around here 4 years ago and they are surviving great.

Half-cocked

4200fps wrote: »

Them buzzards are massive. I didn't know what they were at first. Had to ask a few people. There was a few released around here 4 years ago and they are surviving great.

If they're Buzzards, they will have moved into the area by themselves, I'm not aware a release program for Buzzards. Red Kites, Golden Eagles and White-tailed Sea Eagles have all been released recently - and they are all massive! The Sea Eagle has a wingspan of nearly 2 and a half metres - thats nearly 8 feet in old money. You could mistake it for a small aircraft;):D

fodda

johngalway wrote: »

They will, but badgers have been known to kill lambs too.

On that point John, they may have been known to eat dead sheep of any age or dead anything of any age just like most animals but never seen any reports or film footage of them killing lambs.

snipe02

there is a stuffed raven in the natural museum well worth a look its massive

johngalway

fodda wrote: »

On that point John, they may have been known to eat dead sheep of any age or dead anything of any age just like most animals but never seen any reports or film footage of them killing lambs.

They do, they will also kill fowl.

fodda

johngalway wrote: »

They do, they will also kill fowl.

Only the odd claim from a farmer i can find on the internet with millions on millions of film footage of them but none on this, and when you think about it an even easy prey for them "rabbits" but no film on that either when they could easily be dug out by them.
Anything trapped in a cage or pen/coop is easy food for any passing animal......food on a plate!

Dead animals yes but not hunting.............anyway......waaayyyy off subject.

good logs...

i seen me frist wild raven about a week a go, and theres no way you could mistake it for a big crow, and it was 60,70 yards a way. the noise it made, how black its feathers are, and the size of it.

Grizzly 45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guBwMUAWAJI&feature=related

Also Ravens are extremly intelligent,exellent sound imitators, and are the deer hunters friend.;)

Birdnuts

Theshooter2012 wrote: »

I have pheasant feeders out and in the morning and evening there are always giant crows at it i think they are rooks but i seen them once and a while before but now there are loads of them.I have tryed to shoot them i got 6 one day lying up against the hedge but they are very hard to get them into range now, nearly impossible.:mad::mad::mad:
Does anyone else notice these giant crows????

Where abouts are you?? - more and more Carrion Crows are turning up in the East of the country. They are bigger than Rooks and are basically Grey Crows without the Grey colour. Pure black feathers. They are closely related to Grey Crows and they can inter-breed. They basically replace Grey Crows in Southern Britain and Much of Western Europe.

Longranger

The ravens around my way feed on muntjac! and the occasional big black cat:D

Theshooter2012

I have done a bit of research and birdwatching today they are carrion crows they crow they do not croak and they are silent when flying they do not swish and from pictures i found on the internet the crow is much more sleak and smooth wheras the raven is a bit more rough.

Thanks for your stories and replies

Longranger

I'm on the edge of Clew Bay and we have a few, just a few, ravens round here and you could never mistake them for any other crow. They are feckin HUGE! I've yet to hear a sheep farmer say they had trouble with them though, it's ALWAYS grey crows.

dodderangler

Longranger wrote: »

I'm on the edge of Clew Bay and we have a few, just a few, ravens round here and you could never mistake them for any other crow. They are feckin HUGE! I've yet to hear a sheep farmer say they had trouble with them though, it's ALWAYS grey crows.

Ravens are rare so the greys will do the damage I've heard of ravens actually hunting like of rats and very young rabbits that don't know danger but I've heard of big greys doin that too
I have a Harris hawk and crows do follow her around I'd say a raven would prob proper attack her they are massive birds

garv123

dodderangler wrote: »

Ravens are rare so the greys will do the damage I've heard of ravens actually hunting like of rats and very young rabbits that don't know danger but I've heard of big greys doin that too
I have a Harris hawk and crows do follow her around I'd say a raven would prob proper attack her they are massive birds

Do they not follow her around so she cant get above/behind them to pounce on them? thats what we were told when i was back in primary school when they brought all the hawks and such to the school for a demo

dodderangler

garv123 wrote: »

dodderangler wrote: »

Ravens are rare so the greys will do the damage I've heard of ravens actually hunting like of rats and very young rabbits that don't know danger but I've heard of big greys doin that too
I have a Harris hawk and crows do follow her around I'd say a raven would prob proper attack her they are massive birds

Do they not follow her around so she cant get above/behind them to pounce on them? thats what we were told when i was back in primary school when they brought all the hawks and such to the school for a demo

Not really the likes of falcons attack from above
Most hawks hunt just at a height few feet from ground especially harris hawks and will take crows on ground or few feet up but suppose if she was soarin and seen crows in front and under her height then yeah I'm sure she'd take them she hasn't yet but I'd say she'd try it
One crow won't harass a hawk usually a group as its safer in groups

ace86

I have been told that a Raven's Beak is poisonous and i know of a few people that had lambs killed and injured from them and ltr died, and I have seen a lamb by a friend of mine this year where a hole has been picked out of his head and is still alive so far. Anyone else see or hear this?

Birdnuts

ace86 wrote: »

I have been told that a Raven's Beak is poisonous and i know of a few people that had lambs killed and injured from them and ltr died, and I have seen a lamb by a friend of mine this year where a hole has been picked out of his head and is still alive so far. Anyone else see or hear this?

There are no poisonous bird species(in the sense of certain snakes, spiders etc.) - any injuries on a lamb simply get infected by bacteria, in the same way any injury would eg.from barbed wire, dog bite etc. Very young lambs have undeveloped immune systems so die from such infections much more often then older animals.

Eddie B

fodda wrote: »

On that point John, they may have been known to eat dead sheep of any age or dead anything of any age just like most animals but never seen any reports or film footage of them killing lambs.

Raven's will feed on new born Lamb's, and healthy sheep which have rolled on their back's, just like Mag's and Gray's! The difference is, that Raven number's are low, unlike those of Mag's and Gray's, which need to be controlled to strike a balance!
The reason why there's no footage of this is because no one's gonna sit for hour's filming a farmer's sheep being eaten alive!:rolleyes: and anyone with an interest in filming Raven's ain't gonna show their bad side!

johngalway

Eddie B wrote: »

Raven's will feed on new born Lamb's, and healthy sheep which have rolled on their back's, just like Mag's and Gray's! The difference is, that Raven number's are low, unlike those of Mag's and Gray's, which need to be controlled to strike a balance!
The reason why there's no footage of this is because no one's gonna sit for hour's filming a farmer's sheep being eaten alive!:rolleyes: and anyone with an interest in filming Raven's ain't gonna show their bad side!

Fodda was talking about badgers, which I brought up. Though I think your last sentence in bold still applies

johngalway

Longranger wrote: »

I'm on the edge of Clew Bay and we have a few, just a few, ravens round here and you could never mistake them for any other crow. They are feckin HUGE! I've yet to hear a sheep farmer say they had trouble with them though, it's ALWAYS grey crows.

Prepare for that to change I see and hear them here every day and there are new nests appearing in various places each year. We're not too far apart as the Raven flies.

I've seen ravens on the ground heading for young lambs who'd been left by the ewe to be fed at the trough.

Longranger

Brazen feckers aren't they! I'll have to keep the eyes open.....

Theshooter2012

johngalway wrote: »

Prepare for that to change I see and hear them here every day and there are new nests appearing in various places each year. We're not too far apart as the Raven flies.

I've seen ravens on the ground heading for young lambs who'd been left by the ewe to be fed at the trough.

Video to prove it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpphQ9_OWQw

LostCovey

Theshooter2012 wrote: »

Video to prove it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpphQ9_OWQw

That video shows Carrion Crows not Ravens.

Eddie B

LostCovey wrote: »

That video shows Carrion Crows not Ravens.

You sure? Look like Raven's to me!

LostCovey

Eddie B wrote: »

You sure? Look like Raven's to me!

Fairly sure - they have none of the size or bulk of Ravens.

It's hard to overemphasise how huge they are - see Ravens at a sheep carcass here

Theshooter2012

LostCovey wrote: »

Fairly sure - they have none of the size or bulk of Ravens.

It's hard to overemphasise how huge they are - see Ravens at a sheep carcass here

Im sorry but i cant resist these crows are small but the ones in the video are far away. LOL :D
but seriously they are the same size as that lamb