Nuisance Birds...
DAN WILSON
Posts: 111
Help!
My house is on the edge of a very small village surrounded by fields. Over the last 3 months I have been woken almost every morning at 5am by crows on the roof. Not sure if they are fighting, feeding or flirting.... The racket is incredible and wakes the whole house up.(I have two young children). One was even banging on the window!
They are not eating the putty in the windows, or worms in the woodwork.
I have reviewed the guidance re general licence and it appears I cant shoot them, or trap them. Any sensible ideas? The garden is large and I think they are nesting nearby. I just want rid....
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It's what they do at this time of year Dan. They mate, lay eggs and have youngsters. Unfortunately, they're very boisterous compared to other birds. We had a huge colony of them in the trees near our last house.
Ear plugs may be the only solution I'm afraid....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
hi dan Wilson that sounds a bit bad with crows so close to houses our good blessing is our dawn courus is the blackbirds and colour doves singing away and cooing the time we have crows but we chase them the other birds don't seem to be frightened only crows when we put 2 cupfulls of bird seed and I might add the bird seed cost more than my dog food ps as f/girl says this is the time for mateing and chicks
The joys of country life
In the sticks near Peterborough
nut
They are hideously noisy though!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Yes, this is what they do. Probably the noisy ones are the youngsters; they will soon grow up and learn to be less dependent on their parents. They are clamoring to be fed which is what you are hearing. It is a criminal offence to control them so you cannot be "rid" of them as you put it.....learn to live with them; it is part of our biodiversity.
Fairygirl: the huge colony you mention are probably Rooks, a cousin of Carrion Crow. Crows do not nest in colonies.
Last edited: 11 July 2016 21:36:12
I think a cat is in order in that case....
I was horrified to read that they peck the eyes out of newly born lambs, which is one of the reasons why the farmers destroy them in their 1000's. How awful!
We also have a breeding pair of green woodpeckers who make no noise whatsoever except if you startle one and they screech as they scarper off...
Last edited: 11 July 2016 21:52:10
We had a problem with rooks in the village where I used to live. I was on the Parish Council and we were asked if there was a way of controlling them since the rookery was expanding year by year, and the nuisance was affected many people. (They can be aggressive and will terrorise smaller birds and have been known to break open bird feeders!)
We were advised that it is possible legally to control corvids, but that special permission has to be granted first. You therefore have to find someone who will exercise the "control" - probably by organising a shoot, and seek permission for them to do it. And then you have to overcome those who will organise a protest at this being done, so you may find it more trouble than it is worth.
On the other hand, they are at their noisiest at this time of year, especially as the juveniles are still partially dependent on their parents. It should quieten down in time - until next year!
I live next door but one to a rookery. They put hobnail boots on and charge around on the uninsulated roof at 5-6 am so I feel your pain - they can be loud enough to wake me up but I usually smile and go back to sleep.
Not sure what they're doing? We wondered if they were after the moss on the roof but they do seem to hang about by the chimney - reason I say this is they are more audible from the en-suite so that would tie in.
One of these days I'm going to actually get up and go and have a look.
Alternatively we could put a camera in a tree.
Whatever, I accept it along with the cock-a-doodle-do, the occasional pony noises and tractor "blues and twos" (although they're yellow).
I've found that living in the country is not peaceful but it is beautiful, I love it.
If you love living in the countryside then there are certain compromises that have to be made. Noisy bird neighbours are to the countryside as traffic noises are to the towns and cities.