How about a corvid thread?couple more tonight

We seem to be having a Corvid takeover in the grounds surrounding our little estate of flats. Jackdaws have ruled the place for a number of years but in recent weeks we have replaced to soffits and barge boards and their nest holes have hopefully vanished. We don't like to see homeless Jackdaws but one pair were nesting about 6 foot from our bead end and are very early and noisy starters. Thankfully the contractors made a start before the nest became live again. We also have two pair of Crows around and they are very entertaining but the latest is a pair of Rooks who are not a species I would expect on the edge of town. These two spend a lot of time swinging on the seed feeders and the feeders post is getting a bit of a lean on. One job tomorrow will be fixing the post more firmly in the ground. Corvids never seem to fail to entertain even when you don't want entertsaining.

lol Pete, we can always rely on corvids to keep us entertained,, they are such an intelligent group of birds; also glad you will have a more peaceful nights sleep !
We have a crow in our garden who will literally just stand and stare (reminds me of that poem !) at us with his best impression of spaniel eyes until we chuck him out a treat such as a Peckers suet nugget - it's emotional blackmail really but how can you refuse when he will wait there for half an hour, eyes firmly fixed on the door of the conservatory lol Our Jackdaws are expert at hanging on to the mesh suet pellet feeder, taking it in turns on the feeder whilst its mate waits on the ground for any spillage ! I threw two large nugget chunks out once to the crow to test what he would do as I knew he could really only manage one in his bill to take away and cache; he turned them around, stacked them on top of one another and when he still couldn't manage to keep hold of the two, he put them back down again (placing them carefully) bit off the ends which went into his gular pouch and then tried stacking again, clamping his bill down and securing them successfully before heading off to his pantry lol you have to admire their endurance and thought process.

I was rather embarrassed to admit on this forum that I was very happy to see the Jackdaws nesting area destroyed but they were a real hazard to both our and our neighbours well being as they were so close to bedroom windows. The men that removed the old woodwork on the soffits were surprised . how much nesting material was inside the cavity. They gathered up all the twigs and branches and got Chris to weigh it all. There was over 20 pounds in weight of wood probably a fire hazard. I'm now looking for a sensible solution to stabalise the feeder pole,must get my thinker working as the grandsons say.

More garden corvids .............

Jay has spotted something he's not sure of ....   probably a rival Jay as we have two pairs in the garden  !

My boy "Earl"  who will wait patiently for you to chuck out his favourite treat of Peckish seed and mealworm nugget chunk or if really lucky a piece of cooked chicken  !! 

who's a pretty boy then ?    lol

on a mission to reach the nugget before the magpie does   !!

talking of which, this maggie is always on the sneaky prowl for stray mealies   !!

Great pics Hazy, I do like Earl striding out to beat Magpie to the mealies:-) he really is a striking bird. All of them are looking so good with their feathers in peak condition.

Beautiful photos, Hazel. Earl striding out to get his treat made me smile. I think Jays are still my favourite out of all the the corvids. I think it's their eyes that do it for me.

Thanks Tony, I love the Jays too, they are such beautiful looking and clever birds and have an amazing vocal range from Sci-fi elecronic sounds to the mewing of a Buzzard lol If I hear a bird sound I don't recognise then first I think Great Tit and then I think Jay !

Hazel, I've just seen your latest Corvid pics--great photos and they are wonderful characters--thanks!
PimperneBloke, We've only ever seen Hooded Crows on the Isle of Man, along with Choughs on the south of the Island.

PimperneBloke said:

A bit distant, but my 1st hooded I think?

Just in case you wanted confirmation then, yes, it is a Hooded Crow. I haven't seen one since I used to go walking in the West Highlands where they are pretty common.