Battle of the Birds

Who doesn't like birds? Most people and practically all avid gardeners I know love birds. Birds really know how to class up a garden. Many chirp pleasantly, they dine frequently at feeders, taking turns or politely waiting for an opening if the perch is crowded. Robins are frequent early spring arrivals, their touch downs on lawns give us quite a show as they skip and hop looking for their first morning grub. 

However, not all birds have manners. Some don't even try.

Up until a week ago, I thought I'd never say an unkind word about one particular group of birds. This group's disruptive conduct is not only unbecoming, they are bullies and quite frankly, they scare me. I'm talking about American crows and common Ravens that frequent Denver resident yards and probably your neighborhood too.   

My story -

We have close by renters who unknowingly have been the main attraction for crows and ravens. The word in the neighborhood is these renters have an open compost hole in their backyard. My hunch is that they are tossing food items that are very attractive to nuisance birds who dine on fat and bones, you know, food scraps that aren't recommended for home composting. The food pit is a favorite destination for these bird brutes as the pit thaws each spring. I have seen these birds in action, they nose dive directly into this backyard.

Of course these birds need a fresh drink of water after their meal. They emerge from the neighbor's food court, rest and digest on the alley utility lines, then they turn their attention to our backyard birdbath. Down they swoop displacing any and all finches, sparrows, even the bluejays step aside. What nerve they have! They leave bread chunks, bones and large poo in our small bird bath. This isn't nice.

My responses so far -

I "yeehaw" scream at the top of my lungs which sends the birds and all the neighborhood cats running. But only temporarily. Then the pot lids come out which work great. If the hose is attached I'll spray them away. All verbal and noise related hazing seems to work, just not permanently. Ferris is great at sending them flying, but only when he's out in the yard at any given moment. 

The battle is on -

One or two clicks online gave me all the answers I needed to know to win the bird war, I hope. Thank you internet, up to now I was most grateful for finding a special sauce recipe or driving directions to the dentist. 

More than one site said the absolutely best way to keep crows and ravens away is to purchase dead looking plastic birds that look like them. Hang or lay them in the yard where they can clearly be seen. Two are better than one and move them often. Evidently it totally freaks them out when seeing a deceased bird friend. They consider the area dangerous and won't hang around for long.

My online order arrived in three days, a pack of three fake feathered crows - the cheapest, realist looking ones I could find. They are not waterproof, I may end up ordering one of those soon. 

The sites also say to set up the dead birds when they are not in the area or disguise your face during placement. The birds remember faces of people who put out decoys and can show their displeasure in retaliation of some form. I don't want to find out what they do so I asked Glen to keep watch while I put out the fdb (fake dead birds).  

I hung one upside down on a wire strung between two tall green garden posts. It was close to the birdbath. The other one I just placed on the grass in plain view for all crows to see. I think the one on the lawn which has spread wings was the one that really sent them packing. 

While inside the safety of our house, I waited and watched, it only took five minutes for the "murder" discovery (a group of them are actually called a murder of crows). Wow did they freak out. They cawed and fussed for a good ten to fifteen minutes. One did several fly overs near the fdb on the lawn. They cawed on the roof, cawed on the alley wires and cawed in our trees. They finally left. They returned off and on later that day and the next day to find the fdb still in place. They never came close to the newly refreshed birdbath. All the little birds happily returned, even the woodpeckers and blue jays.

Snow was predicted so I took down the fdb and birdbath. Once we have spring again I'll set up the decoys in a different location. I'm also thinking about other diversions I've read about online. Many sites say to use more then one since these birds are smart and catch on quickly to human tricks and foolery. 

Online Resources that Helped Me -

How to Get Rid of Crows in your Yard or Garden 

Differences between Crows and Ravens

What to do about Crows

 

FDB (Fake Dead Bird)