save my wrens!!

soobee · #1 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 03:47 PM

Please can anyone advise me? I have had the joy of watching a couple of wrens establish a nest next to my kitchen window. There are now babies squeaking and being dutifully fed by their parents but yesterday I noticed 3 crows circling my garden. The crows are today in our tree and on the roof and the parent wrens are constantly shouting. Are these crows waiting for the wren babies to leave their nest or could there be a crow nest nearby? How can I frighten off the crows without hurting them? They are very brazen. Please help!

witham · #2 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 03:58 PM

We have a problem with crows, We often get one, I call it the scout casually flying over checking the garden out, if it thinks it's safe it will call the others and suddenly half a dozen or more can descend from nowhere, they can sense when there's babies about, I'm constantly shooing them off but was worried about also scaring my other feathery friends but it's funny that many of the smaller birds in the garden ignore me as they've grown accustomed to me only waving my arms about or clapping when the crows are close by, the problem with that is the crows also know when I'm not around and I often hear them squawking in the early hours of the mornings when the dawn chorus is going on so I dread to think what damage they do before I'm about, they've got to eat as well though but I still hate to see them nest robbing

Lincs Yellowbelly · #3 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 04:03 PM

Not much you can do to protect them, they are wild animals just like the Crows and it's just best if you leave them to it

lincs lass · #4 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 07:43 PM

There were 3 wren babies in a nest in my hanging basket by my front door and everytime I went past they'd squeak. Then one day they had gone, and the next day something had been at the nest and pulled out lots of it.

It was probaly the magpie although 2 crows have been in the garden a lot. Sadly you can't be there all the time, so it's a case of fingers crossed.

demicav · #5 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soobee

Please can anyone advise me? I have had the joy of watching a couple of wrens establish a nest next to my kitchen window. There are now babies squeaking and being dutifully fed by their parents but yesterday I noticed 3 crows circling my garden. The crows are today in our tree and on the roof and the parent wrens are constantly shouting. Are these crows waiting for the wren babies to leave their nest or could there be a crow nest nearby? How can I frighten off the crows without hurting them? They are very brazen. Please help!

No doubt that Corvids take the occasional young Bird and so many youngsters are lost in the food chain every year. This is nature I'm afraid, a bit like a lion seeking out the youngest or weakest Zebra. I understand how you feel though. You've watched these parents build their nest and now have the joy of seeing them raise their babies. The adult Wrens will do their best to deter the Crows and if the babies are very young the Crows may have moved on before they fledge. Try not to worry too much. It may help if there's plenty of cover around for when they leave the nest but other than that there's not much you can do. Good luck, let us know how you go on.

soobee · #6 (**permalink**) 11-06-2008, 08:28 AM

Hi Demicav
Thanks for that - it helped!
The update is that the reason I have 3 crows is that one is a baby! have now had the additional pleasure of watching the crow feeding happening on my fence!
Baby wrens are still in good voice and I've tried to clear the area ready for 'fallout'.
My robins are still active too and the tits are still flitting about.
My fish pond is looking fairly lively too. Not to mention the frogs in the undergrowth.
As you can tell, I don't get much done each day!

demicav · #7 (**permalink**) 11-06-2008, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soobee

Hi Demicav
Thanks for that - it helped!
The update is that the reason I have 3 crows is that one is a baby! have now had the additional pleasure of watching the crow feeding happening on my fence!
Baby wrens are still in good voice and I've tried to clear the area ready for 'fallout'.
My robins are still active too and the tits are still flitting about.
My fish pond is looking fairly lively too. Not to mention the frogs in the undergrowth.
As you can tell, I don't get much done each day!

Sounds like a busy garden. Good luck with the little ones.