Crows...

[Multiplex]

They are ingenious so and sos, everything I do to prevent them getting to the food they defeat it - help ...

We started with fat balls hanging in a string from a tree branch - they pulled up the string by pulling up a bit, traping it under a foot then getting a bit more string in their beaks, eventually they lifted it to the branch, hooked up the fat ball and devoured it.

I replaced the string with a straightened coat hanger, that worked for a while but the younger more agile crows just fly onto the ball and it is gone in munutes.

I tried a bell thing but nothing ate from that

I tried a small ceramic flower pot hung on its side, the starlings loved that but you've guessed it, the younger and braver crows go for it as well.

I'm about to put the tray and hook under our challenger feeder but to be honest I recon it will either deter every bird or allow the crows in.

We've got several kilos of insect cakes and mix (I feel less guilty having a grilled bacon sarnie knowing that the contents of the drip tray will feed the birds) to use up so any advice is welcome ...

[Emma]

Sounds like you need one of these:

http://www.birdfood.co.uk/product_details.php?area_id=2&group_id=9&nav_id=35&prd_id=343

I sometimes put a little ramekin dish in the centre and fill it with mealworms.

[Multiplex]

Hm, I saw them - we don't mind the sparrows though, and very few other birds go for the fat (but admittely the sparrows can be quite, ahem, boisterous)

[optrex]

That product should still allow sparrows through. It does however mention that it deters starlings.

I would love sparrows in my garden, but as its on a new estate the closest sparrow is 200 yards down the road.

[Multiplex]

Ah, you spotted my error - I meant Starlings

I think we get Sparrows - must check with my wife who is the one for recognising our visitors.

The Crows managed to get the small flowerpot out of the loop holding it up, and on the ground it didn't take long ...

They also found the tray useful for standing on while devouring the sunflower hearts from the feeder.

I kind of admire their ingenuity and persistence.

It looks like we'll be ordering a mini gaol for the fat cake

[Emma]

Multiplex, it seems to depend on your own personal starlings. Mine have never managed to get in the caged feeder I linked to above - but I know quite a few people on another forum who have the same cage and their starlings CAN get in. It's certainly not designed for starlings though, and I suspect it is only the most determind starlings that do get in.

Finches/all tits/sparrow/robin/wren/blackcap/dunnock etc., all get in easily.

There is also a caged ground feeder that allows starlings in but anything bigger cannot get in. I had one but sent it back as I was trying to deter the starlings (we get up to 65 of them on a bad day!).

An alternative would be to use a hanging basket turned upside down on the ground - securing it with tent pegs if necessary.

[Multiplex]

It's been a while but while we were in a garden centre I spotted hemispherical hanging basket frames, available in three sizes so I got two medium ones (about 12-14 inch diameter) they have a coarse mesh of about 2 inch holes and clipped together make a sphere and the fat can be hung inside or rested on the bottom. The young starlings loved it, and even a few adults. Some got in, others reached in, one crow even managed to get its head in but only the one.

It was getting too popular (noisy and messy) so we've taken it down for a while. The other feeder is still very popular and that does get the smaller birds.

[Denise]

Hi there, new to this facility, I am responding to 'crows'. I'd love to get crows into my garden and would indeed love to 'befriend' a crow. Apart from corn sited away from the house, do any one have any other ideas? We have an odd magpie, but they seem very sensitive to movement and fly away.

[Multiplex]

Well, what encourages them round here seems to be a near neighbour who puts bread out, but the chunks are quite large. I don't honestly know if they are aiming for the crows or that just happened.

I have a feeling that it is a matter of time - they are quite brave here and will allow us quite close but any sudden movement will scare them off so they're not that brave.

I do have some admiration for them and they're quite hansome, but they scare the smaller birds away or just east everything. And they make a lot of noise when they congregate on the TV arieal !

[Denise]

Thank you Multiplex, for replying to my first post. It is a very good feeling knowing that there are people out there who feelthe same way that I do about birds and to whom I can talk in detail!
I actually think that crows don't really need people in the same way as garden birds. they clearly have a defined system of communication, when you listen to them over a period of time and seem to operate as a group.
I have a long garden and will try to encourage them at the bottom where their trees are.
I suppose a large, roofless bird table might be a start, but does anyone know of a firm which makes customised bird tables?

[Denise]

Thank you Multiplex, for replying to my first post. It is a very good feeling knowing that there are people out there who feelthe same way that I do about birds and to whom I can talk in detail!
I actually think that crows don't really need people in the same way as garden birds. they clearly have a defined system of communication, when you listen to them over a period of time and seem to operate as a group.
I have a long garden and will try to encourage them at the bottom where their trees are.
I suppose a large, roofless bird table might be a start, but does anyone know of a firm which makes customised bird tables?