One of our BKA members has a problem

[Erichalfbee]

Oh dear

 

[user 819]

Air rifle.

 

[warsaw_hive]

Oh dear

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View attachment 40768

I don't see the problem unless you're one of these (deleted) who want to kill everything.

 

[Wilco]

I don't see the problem unless you're one of these ( deleted) who want to kill everything.

Most of us don't want to kill everything, just specific individuals which become pests. It's better than being either one of these morons who want to kill everything or one of these ultra morons who don't understand ecology and seem to think the world is a Disney film.

For the corvid above, there will be a range of deterrent options which should do the job to scare it off- they're wonderfully intelligent so should get the message.

 

[enrico]

I don't see the problem unless you're one of these (deleted) who want to kill everything.

Not too keen on your wording, maybe you might like to edit it. No need to be offensive.

 

[Swarm]

I doubt a crow is going to eat all those bees

 

[Vanterrier]

Use a scarey cat!


K

 

[JamezF]

I doubt a crow is going to eat all those bees

My experience is that there isn't "a" crow for long. Even so, I'm not sure that even a reasonable size murder would make that much of an impact. If it is genuinely a problem I'd have thought the simple initial solution would be to raise the height of the stand slightly, so the birds can't see the entrance from the ground.

James

 

[The Poot]

We had a pair of crows in the Spring, that my other half fed regularly, training them to a cough, to come out of their nest, high in a tree. They raised three young, which now demonstrate the same response to her cough.
The parents would see off the magpies, sparrow hawks and squirrels from the garden, right through the nesting season.

Whilst I had several birds taking bees this year, more than I’ve seen before, the crows weren’t among them.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not too keen on your wording, maybe you might like to edit it. No need to be offensive.

Fixed it for you

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don't see the problem unless you're one of these (deleted) who want to kill everything.

Not me. I don’t have a problem.
I just thought I’d like to post how resourceful they are.

 

[Garry R]

We had a problem in the village a few years ago where a crow went rogue. It stripped the flexible part of car wiper blade rubber . It pecked and pulled the seals out of double glazed windows and the rubber seals out of car door windows. It became a pest everywhere and many a ruse was tried to prevent the damage but it was estimated that it caused the guts of £500 damage before it departed the area due to high velocity lead poisoning. There are limits................

 

[Wilco]

We had a problem in the village a few years ago where a crow went rogue. It stripped the flexible part of car wiper blade rubber . It pecked and pulled the seals out of double glazed windows and the rubber seals out of car door windows. It became a pest everywhere and many a ruse was tried to prevent the damage but it was estimated that it caused the guts of £500 damage before it departed the area due to high velocity lead poisoning. There are limits................

A shepherd friend of mine local has had an issue with magpies in one particular field in late summer for the last few years- this particular family of magpies has worked out that they can sit on the back of his rams and peck at them, literally eating a hole into their backs.

 

[Newbeeneil]

There was a bit on the local news about a sea gull (Stephen) who steals packets of crisps from a local shop. He comes in the door, takes a packet and nips outside to peck it open and eat the contents. I think they said he’s stolen about 30 packets in the last month or so. The shop owners have tried to put the spiciest packets closest to the door to try and deter him .

 

[Erichalfbee]

The shop owners have tried to put the spiciest packets closest to the door to try and deter him .

Well that won’t work. There is advice out there to put chilli on birdseed if squirrels are stealing it.
Stan had an ice cream snatched out of his hand at Llandudno once. I couldn’t move for laughing.

 

[JamezF]

Our chicken feeders are hung on chains to keep them off the ground. Eventually the jackdaws and then the crows worked out that they could fly up under the rain shield, perch on the rim of the feeder, and flick food out onto the ground to eat. Took me quite a while to come up with a solution: I ran a set of vertical wires from the edge of the rain shield to the rim of the feeder so they can't get their feet on the rim whilst their wings are open. They've had a fair few years now, but still not found a way around it.

James

 

[JamezF]

There is advice out there to put chilli on birdseed if squirrels are stealing it.

I wonder if that could somehow be made to work for peanuts? My in-laws have a couple of peanut feeders that squirrels are masters at getting into regardless of the design. After the most recent attempt at counter-measures I found one entire feeder three metres away on the ground having been ripped free of its moorings. I have cured a few squirrels of their addiction by means of a high speed lead injection, but there always seem to be more to take their place.

James

 

[Wilco]

Should work. Birds generally can't taste capsaicin (spicy flavours) due to lack of the correct receptor but mammals can.

 

[Richard]

Should work. Birds generally can't taste capsaicin (spicy flavours) due to lack of the correct receptor but mammals can.

I believe that is the reason spicy food evolved. If birds eat them, the seeds are usually spread further than if mammals eat them.
Our parrots loved eating dried chillies that were in their mixed seed food.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

a reasonable size murder

Bet you loved the chance to say that.