Hello folks
A little while ago there was a commotion outside my window and I was horrified to see a pair of jackdaws fighting over the corpse of a dead sparrow. I chased them off but they took the poor sparrow with them. Is it common for jackdaws to kill adult birds or is it more likely that the sparrow was already dead or injured and they just happened to find it? I've never seen a bird killed in my garden before and it's left me shaken, particularly as sparrows are one of my favourite birds (jackdaws now join my least favourites - those and starlings).
thanks
Fergus
I'd agree on that, we have Jackdaw young, several of them visiting most days, along with three Carrion Crow young. A Rook was brought here a few months back but they rarely ever come back again. I've reduced the suet available to them as that's what they seem to go for. We're on farm land so there are a LOT of them all around.
Hope this helps....
Since posting my original message, I have tried lots of different things. Following Mr. B 's suggestion, I have reduced my feeders. This is what I did and now have....
I removed the 2 ground feeders (in cages- one small mesh one large) completely and reduced my hanging feeders from 4 to 3.
I changed my hanging feeders to Guardsman squirrel proof hanging feeders.
I threw away the bird feeder stand in the centre of the lawn and instead hang one feeder in each of our 3 trees.
This is what I was left with: -
1 hanging feeder containing only 1 RSPB suet ball (instead of 3) the tits like these.
1 hanging feeder half filled with sunflower hearts the finches like these
1 hanging feeder containing a mixture of good quality bird seed, mixed with multi-flavoured suet pellets and meal worms for the common sparrows.
1 very low roofed bird table with a scattering of the bird mix mentioned immediately above.
The blackbirds take the odd bits that fall onto the grass below the hanging feedings and I see the occasional pigeon and jackdaw.
Although the squirrel has had the occasional attempt at breaking and entering they have never succeeded. In the winter I put a small amount of food in a flip top squirrel feeder fixed onto of the fence, which seems to keep the squirrels entertained.
Problem solved it seems.
It took 2 and 1/5 years (of living here) to reach this sublime set up, but I persevered and feel content that I got there in the end. :)
I certainly agreed with posts from Mr. B and Robbo. I think there are two different situations. Both I, and Scozmos live on or next to farmland. Jackdaws will exist regardless of food put out by people. I don't feed birds. Jackdaws are generalist. They're spending many hours eating apples currently. They've got fields to roam in etc. It is sadly the way of the World that generalists do well and continue to do so in many cases. Small scale solutions just move problems. (a general comment, not just re jackdaws). Conservation is impossible without tough (and often politically incorrect) decisions being taken. Very few do get taken and that will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.