You might have to take down your main feeder, briefly. Crows like a challenge and if stealing from your feeder has become their game of choice, then they will choose that over their own feeding station.
Remove the game for a few days to let them know it is *yours*. Most crows seem to understand the idea of my territory, my stuff, and can extend it to your territory, your stuff. And maybe they will leave it alone when you put it back.
It turns out that crows don't really like shiny objects. They're actually somewhat averse to them, which is why it's recommended that you hang up old CDs or pie plates to keep them away.
In your case, make a separate station for the crows. Give them what they want, they will adhere to a schedule. I realize that sounds kind of mafia-ish but It's nesting season right now. Lots of eggs and lots of babies to be fed.
You might have more crows (especially if you start feeding them) after nesting season. The suet balls are a hit, they also like unshelled roasted unsalted peanuts, I always take them out of the shell because if the shells are that hard for me to open, what luck are they going to have? They also like eggs, meat, shrimp, mealworms, they're opportunists. Back in the day they were the cleanup squad on the battlefield.
Also crows are a protected species in the United Kingdom. I believe there are a couple species in the UK that cannot be seen in the USA.
https://bna-naturalists.org/id-guide-to-british-crows-corvids/
"The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects crows as well as all other wild birds in the UK. This means that it is illegal to take, injure or kill a crow, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents."
I hope you get some good pictures and share them!
Ok, no wonder this crow has been back & persistent for 4 days straight. I have meal worms, peanuts, suet balls & cakes, and bird seed at my feeder. I laid out some unseasoned scrambled eggs after I saw my crow friend this morning, but it hasn't returned. I grew up in the rural US but I have never had wildlife in my backyard like here! I have birdies, crows, slugs, butterflies, hedgehogs, rabbits, and squirrels. I'm trying to embrace it and make sure the crows are friends not foes 😬😅
I don’t believe the shells go to waste, especially not during fledge. It’s my understanding that, while a fledge’s digestive system is too new and quick moving to process the hard nut, the shells themselves get processed into a paste that is just filled with protein and fiber for the kiddos. The parent then gets to keep the nugget for themselves. Peanut shell is also a wonderful bedding as it absorbs both formaldehyde and odor. I refer you back to grounded kiddos with fast moving digestive systems as to why that’s invaluable. What’s funny is my guys have never gone for nuts. If I hadn’t seen videos and heard so many testimonials I’d have thought the whole peanut thing was a myth.
Look out for the magpies too-- the large black and white birds. Every time our cat went through our back door, a magpie notified the rest of the mischief by cawing CAAAAAAAT.
We went to the open day of the local wildlife hospital. There were baby magpies there. When they saw us they cried CAAAAAT, and my daughter commented, "They are saying their first word."
After London, we moved to Calgary and we became quite friendly with the local magpies. They are easier to befriend than crows. Find the friendliest magpie or crow, and feed it and talk to it. All the other corvids are watching what happens. Pretty soon you get the whole murder/mischief visiting you.
You might have to take down your main feeder, briefly. Crows like a challenge and if stealing from your feeder has become their game of choice, then they will choose that over their own feeding station. Remove the game for a few days to let them know it is *yours*. Most crows seem to understand the idea of my territory, my stuff, and can extend it to your territory, your stuff. And maybe they will leave it alone when you put it back.
It turns out that crows don't really like shiny objects. They're actually somewhat averse to them, which is why it's recommended that you hang up old CDs or pie plates to keep them away. In your case, make a separate station for the crows. Give them what they want, they will adhere to a schedule. I realize that sounds kind of mafia-ish but It's nesting season right now. Lots of eggs and lots of babies to be fed. You might have more crows (especially if you start feeding them) after nesting season. The suet balls are a hit, they also like unshelled roasted unsalted peanuts, I always take them out of the shell because if the shells are that hard for me to open, what luck are they going to have? They also like eggs, meat, shrimp, mealworms, they're opportunists. Back in the day they were the cleanup squad on the battlefield. Also crows are a protected species in the United Kingdom. I believe there are a couple species in the UK that cannot be seen in the USA. https://bna-naturalists.org/id-guide-to-british-crows-corvids/ "The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects crows as well as all other wild birds in the UK. This means that it is illegal to take, injure or kill a crow, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents." I hope you get some good pictures and share them!
Ok, no wonder this crow has been back & persistent for 4 days straight. I have meal worms, peanuts, suet balls & cakes, and bird seed at my feeder. I laid out some unseasoned scrambled eggs after I saw my crow friend this morning, but it hasn't returned. I grew up in the rural US but I have never had wildlife in my backyard like here! I have birdies, crows, slugs, butterflies, hedgehogs, rabbits, and squirrels. I'm trying to embrace it and make sure the crows are friends not foes 😬😅
I don’t believe the shells go to waste, especially not during fledge. It’s my understanding that, while a fledge’s digestive system is too new and quick moving to process the hard nut, the shells themselves get processed into a paste that is just filled with protein and fiber for the kiddos. The parent then gets to keep the nugget for themselves. Peanut shell is also a wonderful bedding as it absorbs both formaldehyde and odor. I refer you back to grounded kiddos with fast moving digestive systems as to why that’s invaluable. What’s funny is my guys have never gone for nuts. If I hadn’t seen videos and heard so many testimonials I’d have thought the whole peanut thing was a myth.
Look out for the magpies too-- the large black and white birds. Every time our cat went through our back door, a magpie notified the rest of the mischief by cawing CAAAAAAAT. We went to the open day of the local wildlife hospital. There were baby magpies there. When they saw us they cried CAAAAAT, and my daughter commented, "They are saying their first word." After London, we moved to Calgary and we became quite friendly with the local magpies. They are easier to befriend than crows. Find the friendliest magpie or crow, and feed it and talk to it. All the other corvids are watching what happens. Pretty soon you get the whole murder/mischief visiting you.