Have my birds been scared away?? (1 Viewer)

[Rufio]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the bird game and thought the best idea would be to take advantage of all the woodland half a mile away and set up a feeding station. Within two days I had blue tits great tits a Robin and some wood pigeons. They would come for a couple of minutes each day then shoot off. I woke up a week ago to find pigeon feathers everywhere but no sign of a body. Since then I have only seen two magpies in the garden. Any ideas why the lack of visitors?

Thanking you all in advance

Rufio

 

[Joe1980]

Sounds like a hawk had his way with a pigeon, and maybe spooked the local birds for a bit. Have no fear, they will return.

 

[fugl]

A week’s rather a long time, though. When there are bird of prey kills in my yard, the small fry usually return within a few minutes of the predator’s departure.

 

[Nature__lover]

a sparrowhawk probably killed the pigeon. but, do not resent it as a hawk would not scare the birds away for a whole week.

 

[Joe1980]

I had a stint this past fall where my 2 resident crows had a taste for birds, and were actively hunting them, mostly house sparrows. An unusual thing indeed, but none-the-less, I could count on one hand how many birds I saw at my feeders for over 2 weeks.

 

[Amy5]

I also had a hawk in my yard in early Feb and my yard was borderline empty. The hawk found the birds hiding spot (line of evergreens), so I think they feel nervous not having that coverage… but the song birds are not dumb. Instead of hiding in the evergreens, I see them going under the deck now. And finally my population is slowly starting to increase.

 

[Rufio]

I made it my habit to scare the magpies away whenever they were around and only today I started getting birds back!! Some very interesting posts! I didn't know crows could have the taste for other birds!!

 

[Joe1980]

I didn't know crows could have the taste for other birds!!

I didn't either until I kept finding bird carcasses in my birdbath. Then I actually witnessed a crow swoop from over my roof and grab a house sparrow, and of course, toss it in the birdbath, soak it, then eat it. They'd leave the guts in the water, which you can imagine fouls up the water pretty fast. This was happening everyday for a couple weeks.

 

[Rufio]

I bet that was a nice cleaning job for you! They must of been desperate for food to do that dont you think? Crows are very clever I watched a docu on them the other day and they can shape tools out of wire to get to food they couldnt normally reach!

 

[Joe1980]

I wouldn't say they were desperate for food in any way, because I have an abundance provided in my yard. I find that crows prefer meat, in any way, shape, or form, be it from roadkill, table scraps, garbage, or, in this case, fresh hunted. It's in the dead of winter that they show up at my feeders to grab some corn, when food is scarce. They also appreciate bread during summer, to feed their nestlings, but of course, it must be soaked in my bird bath first. In fact, here's a couple of pictures for you, of what happened here when I hadn't yet plugged in my heated bird bath. Mind you, I do not put bread out, so it is being brought from someone else's yard.

In picture #1, the crow looks to soak his bread, and in picture #2, I think it's safe to say he gave up.......