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How to keep crows and jackdaws off your bird feeders (but still let them share nicely!).

Lucydot
07/04/2012 22:51
Awoken by cackles  and gleeful shrieks outside the bedroom window, I looked
out early one morning to see a dozen or more crows and jackdaws  swinging on my
bird feeders and 'drinking' the contents .  I spoke later with a neighbour who
had experienced the same problem and because of this she had eventually given up
feeding the birds altogether.  New to birding, and not one to pass up a
challenge, I scoured the internet looking for ideas to prevent them stealing all
the food before their smaller colleagues got a look in.  Squirrel proof feeders,
although successful were expensive - after buying three I decided to look for a
less costly solution.  I found one economical solution sitting on the shelf in a
local agricultural store in the guise of hanging baskets. After buying six round
bottomed baskets and a pack of cable ties, I rushed home to try out the idea.  I
tied two cable ties loosely at the top, spaced wide enough to slip the feeder
handle through.  The weight of the baskets keeps the edges together with no
gaps.  I suspended the feeder and it's cover from a tree and within seconds the
birds were demonstrating their approval.  The roundness of both baskets together
provide a roomy internal space and the wires lots of comfortable perching space
while awaiting one's turn.  An additional use I have found is that if I hang a
small feeder and a single basket onto a tree hook and place it within the hedge,
the sparrows keep their own feed for themselves, away from the beady eyes of
sparrow hawks and other flying predators.
One message that was often repeated in my internet searches was 'crows and
jackdaws etc. have to eat too', a sentiment I thoroughly agree with. We are all
satisfied now as the small birds sift through the mixed seeds looking for
their favourites and toss the rest to the ground for the crows and friends to
feast upon.

Note: baskets of different sizes accommodate most sizes of feeders.
  • 28/11/2012 19:37

    Brilliant!  I've just moved to Wales from Sussex, where my bird feeder was covered in small birds of all sorts.  Now, my fatballs get massacred by jackdaws within minutes and the little birds don't bother.

    I shall try you hanging basket trick and see what happens.

    Such a clever idea.  Thanks

    Spring is always in the air.

  • 29/11/2012 01:00 in reply to Tania Tessaro

    Hello Tania

    One year on and the hanging baskets are still fending off any birds larger than a starling.  They have worked very well for me.  The squirrel is proving more of a challenge though.  He learnt very quickly how to prise open the hanging baskets, and can even squeeze through the wires of the larger sized baskets.  I have started to use cable ties on the lower edges of the baskets ands secure the top edges with OXO bag clips which can be opened easily with one hand.  Very important with lots of feeders to fill!  Must admit that to seriously deter the squirrel, a guardian should be used in conjunction with the large sized hanging baskets.  The little birds don't worry in the least about negotiating two sets of wires - just use them as a perch to wait their turn....

    Good luck with you Welsh birds......

    Jill

  • 29/11/2012 01:04 in reply to Lucydot

    Should have read your Welsh birds :)

  • 29/11/2012 01:45 in reply to Lucydot

    What a great piece of improvisation! There are many crows in the vicinity of my garden, but they always fly over and (so far) do not visit. I had one that did, quite some time ago, but it was more interested in a drink than eating and was soon on it's way. The magpies are also to be seen flying back and forth, but other than pecking at the moss on the garage roof, they seldom visit the garden itself. Once again, great idea!

    Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos

    (One bush does not shelter two Robins)

    Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)

     

  • 29/11/2012 03:10 in reply to monkeycheese

    Our local crows seem to prefer feeding at some height - we actually use our (almost) flat shed roof as a feeding station.  They're quite happy to feed there and have yet to bother the small birds at the hanging feeders.

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • 24/05/2014 14:16

    Hello Lucydot and everyone - I have just joined. Sorry to resurrect an old thread but it is such a brilliant idea I thought others might benefit too.

    I found this forum whilst searching for a solution to rooks eating ALL the seed from my feeders. I was up at 5am (heavy rain here) watching what they did, even tho I'd suspended the feeder between 2 wires they STILL got it.

    Now just got to find out who pinched the fat balls that were wired to trellis with thin garden wire - the whole lot went over night. May be rats?

    Looks like a great forum so thanks rooks for helping me find it _ I do feed them too as I know they have huge great babies to feed.

  • 24/05/2014 15:32 in reply to barbara c

    Hi, Barbara - no need to apologise as this is such a great thread with some good ideas on it.  It's also nice to see some thought being given to the corvids who do have families to feed, though I'll agree that rooks have possibly the biggest appetite of all the visiting birds!!

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • 14/06/2014 17:38 in reply to Clare

    Hi - was searching the internet the other day to find out how to stop rooks and jackdaws eating all the food from our bird feeders before small birds got a look in. Have subsequently tried Lucydot's idea of using hanging baskets to protect the feeders. It's working fantastically! It's been entertaining watching the rooks and jackdaws trying to work out how to get to the food and their frustration at not being able to. However, they are still getting food because they now get the bits that fall onto the ground which is good as I didn't want to totally deprive them. The smaller birds also appear to feel safer even when the big ones are around as they are protected by the outer shell of the hanging basket cage. Thanks!!

  • 17/08/2014 20:24 in reply to Elizabeth W
    Hi, We've independently found the same solution, but on our birdtables, which we also supply squirrel baffles for! The hanging baskets fit just inside the rim of the table. We're at: www.birdtables.org.uk. We haven't got the hanging baskets on the website yet though we've done the photo.
  • 17/08/2014 20:44 in reply to larkandwarbler
    I can't seem to put 2 photos on, so here's the second in a separate posting - this is the same birdtable, without the hanging baskets, but with the squirrel baffle. You can see it properly at: https://www.birdtables.org.uk.