Crows nesting on my roof

Una1981

Hello fellow bird lovers!

I am enduring an ordeal of crow's living on my roof this year. I have always had small garden birds and have created a wonderful environment for them in my small garden. The crow's turned up this year to nest in my roof and have driven the small birds out, taking all the food and creating a raucous.

I would never interfere with a nest, as per law, but what am I within my rights to do next year to stop the crow's from nesting there and taking over? It's been a tough few months with the crow's, Thanks

magicbastarder

nesting or just perching - you say *on* the roof, is there a nest visible?

Una1981

magicbastarder wrote: »

nesting or just perching - you say *on* the roof, is there a nest visible?

Yes they had a nest next to my chimney. It was a novelty at first but the noise and reduction of small garden birds visiting has been awful, neighbours complaining about them also and I cannot blame them

OpenYourEyes

Once they've finished nesting and the chicks have fledged you can put something up around the chimney to prevent them from nesting there again next year. It' needn't be anything expensive or complicated - just look at how they used the chimney to build a nest and make sure you've obstructed it with caging or vertical sticks etc. to prevent them doing the same again.

Also - re: them having driven other birds from your garden, keep in mind that garden bird numbers always drop off around this time of year so you'd have very few now anyway. A lot of people confuse correlation with causation when their garden birds leave during the summer months!

Deadmou5e

Late for them to be still nesting I would of thought

runawaybishop

If the roost gets established they will come back again and again. Block access for nests any way you can, and consider getting a bird of prey decoy. Crows are clever though, so decoys only work for so long. Might be enough to stop them establishing though

Bass Reeves

A few shots will deter them.

magicbastarder

a useful suggestion on the nature and *bird watching* forum.

Bass Reeves

magicbastarder wrote: »

a useful suggestion on the nature and *bird watching* forum.

Crows are very hard to prevent from returning to nest in a location they have used before. I did not say shoot them but the sound of shots may deter them.

Crows are mainly a carrion bird. They are top of the food chain in Ireland. While we have other bird's of prey they are not in big enough number's to attack crows. As well they prefer non carrion bird to carrion birds. Crows have become much more numerous over the last 20 years

On OP's posting about smaller birds not being present in there garden any longer. This would not be uncommon. Crows will raid the nest of other bird's and take eggs and nestlings of other bird's. As well they will attack weaker and injured birds

OpenYourEyes

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Crows are mainly a carrion bird. They are top of the food chain in Ireland. While we have other bird's of prey they are not in big enough number's to attack crows. As well they prefer non carrion bird to carrion birds. Crows have become much more numerous over the last 20 years

On OP's posting about smaller birds not being present in there garden any longer. This would not be uncommon. Crows will raid the nest of other bird's and take eggs and nestlings of other bird's. As well they will attack weaker and injured birds

Corvids are proven to be one of the main parts of the diet of Buzzards in Ireland.

Also it's misleading to discuss 'crows' - the ecology and diet of a Jackdaw is very different to a Magpie, which is very different to a Rook, which is very different to a Raven, which is very different to a Jay, which is very different to a Hooded Crow.

dePeatrick

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Corvids are proven to be one of the main parts of the diet of Buzzards in Ireland.

Also it's misleading to discuss 'crows' - the ecology and diet of a Jackdaw is very different to a Magpie, which is very different to a Rook, which is very different to a Raven, which is very different to a Jay, which is very different to a Hooded Crow.

Would you care to enlighten the less informed about this?

Bass Reeves

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Corvids are proven to be one of the main parts of the diet of Buzzards in Ireland.

Also it's misleading to discuss 'crows' - the ecology and diet of a Jackdaw is very different to a Magpie, which is very different to a Rook, which is very different to a Raven, which is very different to a Jay, which is very different to a Hooded Crow.

Well if it's the main part of there diet they are making no inroads into the crow population numbers are increasing..

From bird information


Like other members of the crow family rooks are extremely adaptable when it comes to diet. They are opportunistic omnivores that will scavenge on carrion and domestic waste.

They will take eggs and chicks of other birds as well as small mammals if they can catch them.

The same info is up.om ravens, magpie's and hooded (grey) crows

Del.Monte

Una1981 wrote: »

Yes they had a nest next to my chimney. It was a novelty at first but the noise and reduction of small garden birds visiting has been awful, neighbours complaining about them also and I cannot blame them

Can you be more specific, were the crows nesting in the chimney or on the roof as the latter is unlikely? If in the chimney fit a crow guard which while not foolproof will deter some crows - almost certainly Jackdaws in your case.

OpenYourEyes

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Well if it's the main part of there diet they are making no inroads into the crow population numbers are increasing..

From bird information


Like other members of the crow family rooks are extremely adaptable when it comes to diet. They are opportunistic omnivores that will scavenge on carrion and domestic waste.

They will take eggs and chicks of other birds as well as small mammals if they can catch them.

The same info is up.om ravens, magpie's and hooded (grey) crows

Predator-prey population dynamics don't necessarily mean there is a noticeable decrease in prey population numbers. That's why the people who are convinced that Sparrowhawks, Herring Gulls and Cormorants are wiping out X, Y and Z are generally wide of the mark. Also, for all we know the rate of increase of Rook, Hooded Crow, Jackdaw numbers would all be higher in the absence of Buzzards!

I've never heard of "Bird Information"? Is it a reliable source? Species like Magpies and Hooded Crows are much more adept at nest predation than Rooks or Jackdaws. It's true to say they'll all eat eggs if they come across them, but it's like saying "Bob and Jim both eat pizza", but Bob is eating Pizza every night and Jim is having it once a month.