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I love all birds, but I have an especially soft spot for the crow family. They're just such intelligent, belligerent, determined  little rascals, I can't help but admire them.

They fight, they argue, and they steal like mad, but they are so industrious, willing and able to exploit any situation.

Who are the last to fly to safety as your car approaches the road kill?

Who, rather than wait for someone to drop a crumb outside MacDonald's, will actually climb into the litter bin and open the discarded packaging themselves?

Who will steal a shiny object and hide it away just to look at, even though it has no practical purpose?

Who will land on my caravan roof at 6am, dance around until I run outside waving my fist, and then fly off cackling gleefully?

The Crows.

Rooks, Ravens, Magpies, Jays.... Natures miscreants, vagabonds, cut-purses and comedians. May their mischief sustain them for ever.




All the other birds wait for my horses to shed their coat, then they collect it and use line their nests. These Jackdaws just go right to the source and help themselves.

Lovely Post Tom. How do I tell the difference between a Rook & a Crow? And do Crows have the same bizarre nest-building habits & habitats as Crows?

Since you pointed out that Rookery by the M1 just south of Newport Pagnell, I have seen hundreds - literally - of such Rookery's across the country. I don't ever recall seeing them so plentiful in previous years, is the Rook/Crow population growing?

The Politician, racist, extraordinarily talented author, Veteran Car enthusiast, Diaryist & toff, Alan Clark lived in a rather splendid 14th Century Castle in Kent - Saltwood Castle - with quite a menagarie, including his Jack Russell Terrier - "Tom" - and two "wild" Jackdaws, who were tame "pets". They had no cage, they just vistited him every day in his study, & pinched all his pens & pencils!  When they passed away, he buried them in a proper grave & everything.

There is the most moving entry in his Diary one day of how he sort of accidentally shot & killed a Heron, after which he burst into tears.  He was a massive animal rights campaigner, & even rebuffed Margaret Thatcher over seal-culling in Canada.

He was a womaniser & cheated on his lovely wife countless times, but regretted it in later life. A real enigma of a man. He died a gruesomely agonising & slow death from a brain tumour. His collected Diries are perhaps the best semi-political & social Diaries ever written, & are well worth reading. They cover everything from his time as Defence Mnister, Cabinet Meetings with Margaret Thatcher, to his daily ablutions. I jest not. Read them & gape.

I'm rambling. Sorry.

Damn crows occasionally swoop down and pinch golf balls in front of the 4th green where I play in Nottingham. It happened to me once and I could hardly believe it. I've never liked them since, but I must admit a grudging respect.
It was a new ball too  :'(

Thinking about it, it may have just been one crow who's party trick this was as there was quite a spate of this happening a few years ago but no recent occurrances that I know of. I bet there's a crow's nest somewhere in Wollaton Park with a couple of dozen golf balls in it. I wondered at the time if maybe the crows thought that the golf balls were eggs.

I don't actually think it's covered in the rules of golf, but I gave myself a "free drop" without any penalty ???

There's two types of crow, carrion and hooded. They mate for life, and unlike the rook they build a solitary nest.

You can usually recognise a crow in the air because they have a slow rhythmic wing beat, and they tend to fly in straight lines, hence the expression "As the crow flies"

Whilst driving through the back lanes of the New Forest at 3am one morning last week I saw my first ever "live, up close" Brown Owl, sitting in the middle of the road, just staring at me in my oncoming car. He was huge, & achingly beautiful.

Imagine my despair when he failed to move, & my car hit him & killed him outright. I was devestated for days.

No way, i kill crows all the time but love owls. We used to have one in the hay barn next to our house and would hear him hooting most nights. I can never understand why they use owl hoots in horror movies as to me a hoot is a really soothing sound.

Why on earth do you kill crows?

Because they have an awful reputation round young lambs and dying sheep of pecking their eyes out.

I suppose it is a huge exaggeration to say i kill them all the time but if we're out shooting and there are no rabbits around, we look for crows.

And personally i would much rather see some bird of prey like a red kite.

Dont see the fascination in crows, rooks and ravens yes because they are much more intelligent and bigger.

Do you not feel bad or remorseful when you shoot a bird? Or a rabbit?

"I recognise him - he's that guy who's always on the TV"

Sadly, instead of star-struck, he was car-struck.

Groan...

I only kill pests which are what crows and rabbits are, and the odd fox. I dont like shooting foxes because i admire their cunning and they are close to dogs which of course i love. Crows i see as cruel animals.
And rabbits well i dont like killing them either but if you could see the damage they do when they get to such numbers as they do around here then they must be culled. I never shoot rabbits when they have got very young offspring. I never feel remorseful only if i think the animal has suffered which isnt very often as empahasis is on clean kills.

I consider myself an animal lover so dont particularly enjoy killing any animal but i enjoy the thrill of the hunt, the markmanship side of shooting and the general male bravado of going shooting with your mates!

Come the Revolution, I'll organise it so that birds, foxes & rabbits are all issued with guns.

Alan Glover, dubbed "The 20 stone barn-owl" by The Devilfish many moons ago  ;tk;

Dont joke when we are out hunting we have this running joke about going over a hump and there are about 20 rabbits with baseball bats ready to kick our arse!!!

Better be quick - the cats are already tooled up.

(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/templar3/Kitty-Kat-Killer.gif)   (http://www.greenconsciousness.org/images_blog/killer_kitty.jpg)

And the rabbits are putting some serious time in down the gym!

I met that Tikay of the telly you know.
(http://www.owlrescue.supanet.com/images/Owl_sling.gif)

yeah the same gym Kev uses ;)

I did too.
(http://www.natures-nursery.org/images/injured_short_eared_owl.jpg)

Must be this one then

Nice post Boss

I love the whole crow family, they are easily my favorite bird.  Every year, I always get a sick crow in my garden who has to get some extra care and attention ,  I always try to make sure they get a bit extra bread or food scraps.   Hopefully this year there will be no individual crow who needs help,  I am always happier when they are all fit and healthy .   

One thing that seems to be a common trait in Rooks susceptible to illness is increased size.  Over the last three or four years, every 'sick' rook who has required extra help has been larger than the rest and also seemed to have poorer eyesight.  They also appeared to have skin complaints unseen in the other birds.  Their intelligence was the same as the other group of birds, but they are weaker and can't hunt for themselves as well.  I have always thought this may be similar to giantism condition in humans, some people who are unusually tall tend to suffer from related illnesses. My saddest moment from a few summers ago was finding the sick Rook almost dead at the end of my Garden one morning when I went out to feed him.  I always regret that I didn't stay with him, instead I went in the House and wasn't really sure what to do, he died soon after when I was in the house.  Weeks before I had contacted a bird sanctuary to ask their advice, however they told me they get hundreds of similar calls each week and there was nothing they could do .  I named him Joe.

On the road between Kilmarnock and Glasgow, I always look at the posts at the side of the road and count the Birds of Prey. Over the last few years especially , there is a definite increase in the numbers I see. Almost every day I see a Bird of Prey now.  I also see Grey Heron on the River Irvine almost every day, beautiful birds.

The RSPB have a great book out now that you can loose yourself in for hours.

I think the increase in Crows & Rooks arises from the increased amount of roadkill these days, to which, sadly, I recently contributed.

It's lovely that you care so much for wildlife & nature, it truly is. I am certainly not sniping at anyone here, but the mere thought of shooting any of natures wonderful creations just makes me feel ashamed of what we as humans have sunk to in the name of "fun". Never mind man unto man, man unto animal is worse.

Shooting vermin on farm land isnt done just for fun.
Nice story Red & Sark.

I consider myself an animal lover so dont particularly enjoy killing any animal but i enjoy the thrill of the hunt, the markmanship side of shooting and the general male bravado of going shooting with your mates!

That sounds to me like it's done for what I assume is "fun", though I doubt the prey see it as such.

Sorry, missed the "just"......;)

I dont like magpies, the only reason is a slefish one. There never used to ba any around here when I was a kid, now there are more magpies than any other bird, and they are awfully loud in the morning and sit on the gutter squawk and sqeek and wake my baby up, and I can hear them in the front of the house...

Dam birds.

Cant remember seeing a raven, and whislt on the subject of birds, do we have cuckoos in this country?

I give up, in the last week i have been seen as a shit stirrer and now i just seem to rub everyone up the wrong way so id better leave me thinks.

Good luck everyone!

Each to there own mate, dont take things to heart when people say things on here.
The diversity of posters on Blonde is what makes it one of the best forums on the net.
WE NEED YOU! Especially if your a good shot ;)

We are just expressing opinions fella, no more, no less. We give it out, we have to take it.

You are fine with shooting animals, I am not, & I am sure the world is equally divided on the subject.

Are you a vegetarian Tikay?

I read somewhere that Magpies are the most populous birds in the UK, but I doubt that's true. I do know they attack my cat!

Cuckoos in this country? You bet! They have the most remarkable nesting habit of any bird but that's another story.

I was waiting for that question!

No, I'm a meat-eater, which is a real oddity when I think about it - which I try not to.

I'm quite ashamed to admit animals are slaughtered (horrible word) in abbatoirs (horribler word) for my benefit.

I guess that makes me a hypocrite, but all I knoiw is that I detest the thought killing animals, birds, fish, be it for fun, profit, or food. But I eat meat. I must admit to shuddering when I go into a KFC at how cheap a chicken's life seems to be worth. But I still eat KFC.

Makes no sense, I freely admit.

Funny old world, init.

Just a bit!

Its all about respect imo. Ask anyone who shoots and they will tell you how important it is to respect your quarry. I shoot pretty regularly and have been known to get the odd big bag of tasty woodpidgeon. To my mind, going out and bagging enough woodies for a couple of pies or a pot roast with red wine is no different to going down to tesco's and getting some chicken breasts. The problem is us humans have become so detatched from the meat= an animal equation that we feel sympathy where we should be celebrating. At least my pidgeon had a cracking life till i shot it, which is more than can be said for the chicken.

Red-Dog, as i said at BB4, if there is a spare gun at my shoot this year i would cordially invite you to a day out.

I am an animal lover. I think you know me well enough to accept that as a fact.

I was taught to hunt when I was a very small boy, long before I was old enough to make a moral judgement. I believe that this very fact contributed greatly to my love of animals and nature.

I hunted from necessity, I don't hunt now, but if it were to become necessary again I would have no qualms about killing something and eating it, it's natural. I think it's a lot more honest than buying some pre-packed, pre-cooked, sterilised, sanitised item from a supermarket.

I wouldn't kill something for fun, or because it wasn't intelligent enough.

There are as many different opinions on this subject as there are people, we have, within reason, to be tolerant of each other.

I'm another one of the animal lover/hunter folks, although I don't shoot much anymore (my Dad buggered up the sights on my Air rifle).

As people have killed off the apex predators people have to control the populations that they used to. Personally I'd be happy for wolves, bears, lynx to be reintroduced, but doubt the sheepfamers would.

Lovely thread Red

Magpies are my fav.

When we were kids I remember my gran after seeing a loan Magpie would salute it,and say "goodmorning captain hows the wife and family" But only if there was only one!

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for girl, four for a boy,five for silver,six for gold,seven for a story never to be told,or something like that she use to tell us.

wish i had thoughts like u red

gonna look at the world in the abstract,from a different viewpoint from now on

and slow down, take in the bigger picture


breath of fresh air


sparrows...i hear they are leaving the UK in their flock ( apparrently out phone masts bugger up their radar )

Sometimes people seem to go through life with their eyes closed. I feel like shaking them and saying "You're missing it, you're missing it"

 ;carlocitrone;

 ;carlocitrone;

 ;carlocitrone; ;carlocitrone; just surprised no ones said the obvious yet :D

Not even you.

i work outside and my work mate only last year showed me a neat trick...which further went to prove how oblivious i am to nature's wonders



a spider's web...flick a lil bit of paper on it and Mr Spider will after a few seconds rush out to eat his dinner..only to pause when he realises it isnt dinner at all...never mind....then Mr spider manages to unstick the paper and launch it from his web with such skill it never hits the web on the way down to the ground...so when i get the chance i stop and flick bits of papers at webs...from a distance i probably look quite mental....


Oh if u try and do the paper thing again Mr spider aint falling for it again...he never comes out from his hole again for you...MR Spider aint a daftie




wots this got to do with crows...i dunno..they eat spiders dont they?

i prefere pheasants . crows taste funny

So do clowns.

With thanks to "Crows.net" here is what Crows eat.....

FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS
Crows are remarkably adaptable birds that will feed on a wide variety of foods, both natural and manmade, although some foods are favored over others and individual crows may have individual preferences. Some of the foods they have been observed to eat are as follows.

All of the following are listed in various publications quoted in "The Life Histories of North American Jays, crows, and Titmice", Brent 1946: Insects (primarily beetles and their larvae and grasshoppers, locusts and crickets), spiders, millipeds, crustaceans, snails, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds and their eggs, poultry and their eggs, small mammals and carrion,May beetles, wireworms, caterpillars, grubs, cutworms, earthworms, clams, scallops, mussels, sea urchins, dead fish, marine invertebrates, dead seal, dead trout, , garbage, road kills (including dogs, cats, chickens, opossums, pigs and skunks) snakes, slaughter house waste, corn, sorghums, wheat, apples, almonds, beans, peas, figs, grapes, cherries, various wild fruits (including sumach, poison-ivy, poison-oak, bayberry, dogwood, sour gum, wild cherries, wild grapes, Virginia creeper, and pokeberry), meadow mice, star-nosed moles, short-tailed shrews, cranberry, juniper berries, smilax winterberry, nightshade berries, barley, corn, buckwheat, pumpkin or squash seeds.

More recently, urban crows will enjoy feeding at garbage dumps, dumpsters at fast food restaurants, picnic areas, and any place where human food waste is available. I have personally observed a crow flying by overhead with an entire slice of pizza in its beak. (MJW)


FEEDING CROWS

 
For the person who wishes to feed crows, any number of easily available foods will do. From personal observations, crows favor foods that have high fat or oil contents and items like bacon, cheese, suet, pizza, french fries, potato chips, corn chips, etc. are often taken in preference to all others. For routine feeding, a dry dogfood with pea sized nuggets seems to work very well. Foods like these have the advantage that, unlike sunflower or other seeds that crows will also eat, they do not attract squirrles (though the interactions of squirrles and crows are fascinating to watch).

During the nesting season, eggs are a highly favored food. In the picture above, a crow is about to fly off with a hardboiled hen's egg. The bird first punched a hole in the egg with its beak, then grasped it as illustrated, and flew off with it with no apparent difficulty.

In early May 2000, I personally observed a crow flying overhead carrying a garter snake that was about a foot long in its beak.

A resident of an assisted living facility reported (May 2000) that the crows were eating all the fish out of their pond. Exactly how they did their fishing was not reported.

Note "short-tailed shrews".

Presumably, medium or long-tailed shrews don't taste so good?

Oh I hope reading this makes me dream of Susan Stranks tonight, but no doubt I'll end up instead having a nightmare about Mick Robertson and his big hair.   ;gobsmacked;

Took me a min,the tv presenter's of Magpie the kids tv show!!