Carrion crows... Your thoughts?

[Tringa]

This is difficult one. The numbers of crows and magpies around my way have increased over the last 10 years. I have no proof, but I think one reason in my area is local restaurants and bakers dumping left over food (eg lots of loaves of bread and piles of chapatis) around a local pond. However, there is, as already mentioned, more road kill.

On the other hand we also artificially help to increase the numbers of other birds by putting food out for them.

While the sight of a magpie or crow raiding the nests of small birds is not nice, it is what they do to feed their young and perhaps it weeds out those birds that have not selected a good nesting site, and the corvids are very even handed about this, last week I saw a crow is doing its best to get into a nest of --- a magpie.

Its just life.

I would not want to lose all the blue tits, robins etc, but also would not want to lose the magpies and crows.

While the car has provided an easy meal for the crows etc, a couple of weeks ago I saw some road kill on the A835 west of Conon Bridge being swooped on by a kite – so not all bad.

PS Did someone mention 70mph? Have they introduced a speed limit then?!

[Bullseye]

A pair of Coal Tits have a nest in the cavity wall of my house,when they come back with food for the young,they have a good look about for crows or magpies before going to feed the young,the local magpies know there's a nest somewhere but hav'nt figured out quite where,natural selection in process, "survival of those most fitted".A few more days and I think they will leave the nest,then it's time to watch out for the local Sparrowhawks !.The crow genus,intelligent birds,got to admire them.

[hel1985]

hey guys,i have to agree that yes it is just nature and yes it is mostly our fault but it is a bit sad to watch..i had a jackdaw(comicle birds)as a pet for a few years(i found it on the main road as a chick,fed it on mashed cat food an goats milk and when it was able,tot it to fly,,it was left to cum an go as it pleased as we had an outdoor dog run that he stayed in at nite,,1 day he came crashin in an to my horror hed been shot),very,very clever family of birds so it really doesnt matter what you do,they sus it out..dont like carrions,remind me of ravens to much..lol

[epops]

i watched a jackdaw this morning go into the bambo in my garden and raid a blackbirds nest it went and cand came back 4 times each time it took a youngster away with it,hard to watch but then thats nature no way was it my place to interfere with it.

[nightshade]

We watched as a Magpie was driven off by around a dozen assorted birds after trying for a Blackbirds nest, then later in our own back yard, a Rook tried to raid a Jackdaws nest (we knew there were two but a third was in a ranch style chimney on a bungalow opposite) all three pairs weny into the attack.
Magpie was also patrolling the pond margins looking for floating fishfood sticks
or tadpoles/small fish. Now the rats have retreated (apparently) I feed the Corvid crew, Magpies, Crows, Rook, Jackdaws early (breakfast?) away from the other feeders so they clear the area for most of the day