Ravens pecking windows

ezzy6.5

Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Obviously this it not stalking related but i'm betting someone on here has an answer.

I was aproached by a guy at work last week, I have helped him out in the past by sorting out a few feral pidgeons that were living in his out buildings and rabbits that were in his padock. He has had a problem for the last 6 months with Ravens (he thinks) pecking the black foam seal out of his windows and doors. he's got a lovely house and he says there is four birds there all the time and they leave claw marks on all the windows frames. The local pest control officer came out and suggested bird spikes or netting over the windows.
I was thinking of lending him a big Owl decoy that i've got kicking around here somewhere other than that i'm a bit stuck. He has a neighbor that is not particularly country freindly so he has to be carefull. I want to help him out if i can as he comes from a big farming family and you never Know.
Any ideas?

Ezzy
 
Had the very same problem from crows pecking the windows and pulling out the silicon seal strips. I tried an owl and even a flapping falcon deek but neither worked after a day or so. The only worthwhile solution i found was the shotgun.

If they are doing it to his windows, they'll be doing it to everyone else's in the neighbourhood. I'd have a chat with the neighbours - you'll probably find that they are more than willing to let him shoot them with air rifle or shotgun.
 
whilst out driving i once saw a crow going mad at it's own reflection in the windscreen of a parked car, it got itself in such a frenzey it then started attacking the wiper blade as it was the only thing it could get it's beak into, i wouldnt mind betting your crow/raven is doing the same and if it is a crow then a larsen with a mirror in the bottom should do the trick
 
stick to the larsen quiet and deadly nice call sir lamp alot gotta be a crow or jackdaw got the odd raven here they are huge !
 
Had the very same problem from crows pecking the windows and pulling out the silicon seal strips. I tried an owl and even a flapping falcon deek but neither worked after a day or so. The only worthwhile solution i found was the shotgun.

If they are doing it to his windows, they'll be doing it to everyone else's in the neighbourhood. I'd have a chat with the neighbours - you'll probably find that they are more than willing to let him shoot them with air rifle or shotgun.

Best method I hav ever used is the shotgun
it stops it immediately
normally I find it is a dominant male crow that is the culprit and it's mate often joins in

but if you are finding four at a time at this time of year , then it normally tends to be Jackdaws
for some reason I hav never had rooks participate in such activities
 
I will try and swing by his place tomorrow and see if they are crows or raggedy wings. we do have shed loads of ravens here it's quite common to see 10 or more in a group.
Hardly ever see a crow these days, even the buzzards seem to be displaced. We have jackdaws at work and they constantly peck the steam pipe insulation, no one seems to know why.

Ezzy
 
Any rules against trapping them, whatever they are? I have some live-trap plans that work very well for Corvids. The traps aren't simple to make, but they are effective, and the birds can be relocated to appease the bunny-huggers or their necks wrung 'in private'. Ravens are federally protected in the US.

Regards,
Paul
 
Possibly pecking for spiders or insects from the glazing seals. Try washing down the seals with bleach or a stong detergent, failing that get the shotgun if it's crows, jackdaws - ravens are protected.
 
We had two crow last summer used to tap on the french door glass at 1st light after a week i waited behind the door and got a left & right had no more bother
after that

Mark
 
Yes - Ravens are protected. They are also highly intelligent and extremely strong. Once they begin a 'life of crime' they are a real handful. I don't know if a live cage trap would answer as they appear to be able to outhink the endeavours of most average humans, especially if they witness one of their kind being caught; and they have 24 hours a day in which to figure things out.
Maybe something like cuprinol mixed into putty and squeezed along the seals. It's very unpalatable and smelly stuff and might put them off.

Another cure might be to consider light weldmesh or chicken mesh tacked onto frames and pushed into place as a temporary measure until the habit is stopped. If thery were not a protected bird I'd be tempted to borrow an energiser to run off a 12V battery and clip it onto the mesh - and as the old man would say "That will stop their flatulence in church " !
 
They are also highly intelligent and extremely strong.
You're right ecoman, they are extraordinarily intelligent.

I used to have a federal license/permit for "rehabilitation of raptors", and have handled many of them and had a few as pets. (Ravens are doubly protected in the States: 1) being protected as a "raptor" and 2) being protected as a "migratory bird".) They will make a fool of your dog, and the ones I had took great pleasure in harassing my dogs. Anyway, the trap that will consistently fool them is called a 'ladder trap'.

One makes a small enclosure - say 1m x 2m square and about 1.5m high out of "chickenwire" or something similar. Instead of closing the top completely, a "ladder" is run from one end to the other across the top. This "ladder" should be slightly less than 30cm wide and the "rungs" should be about 15cm apart. Put something very tempting- raw meat, (gralloched liver for those that don't eat it themselves), or the like - in the bottom of the trap, WITHOUT THE 'LADDER' on the trap. Let the birds come to the meat for no more than a few hours. Then, even with the birds watching, put the 'ladder' across the top of the opening making sure there is no other access or egress, and walk away to a hide. They'll be right back on top in a moment, and they will have no fear of dropping right back down onto the bait. Then, reather quickly, rush out to the trap with a blanket and toss it over the 'ladder' opening. The birds will not have been able to escape through the 'ladder' as they won't be able to open their wings to fly between the rungs'. You must move smartly, as they WILL figure out after an attempt or two that they can jump up, grab the rungs, and swing themselves through. In my experience, you can only do this little trick twice at the most. They ARE very intelligent, and won't come back to the bait, no matter how enticing, after seeing their friends and family members 'man-handled'.

Of course you will need a permit to do this if, as everyone notes, they are protected. But since you won't be harming them, it might not be too difficult to get. (Over here, it is damn near impossible to get if you are not associated with some "official" research facility (university, or state or federal agency, or animal rescue entity.)

This trap will work for all the corvids except the very smallest ones. It will NOT work for most of the passerines or columbiformes (pigeons) as they can "dive" thorugh the rungs with their wings folded as they launch upward. The corvids, (and galliformes, and anserids by the way, :)) can't. I've never used it on "chickens" or ducks, but I'm told it works for them as well.

If "you" were to get such a permit, the authorities should tell you to be careful. A raven can trivially peck an eye out, (and will), and their beaks are strong enough to stab through a fox skull with one poke. By the way, a favorite food is brain. If you throw a whole rabbit in the trap as bait, you will see that the VERY FIRST 'thing' they eat is the brain.

All of the above explanation was probably for naught with regard to the problems of the original poster, but I'd bet that it 'has the wheel's turning' for one or two of 'you'.

Regards,
Paul

PS - I 'googled' "ladder trap", and got the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr-PczojBvI&feature=related

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13a2zwpnjKo
 
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Smullery - I have two. Neutred toms and very active hunters - and big. It's interesting to watch them stalking - from the uptairs window in what I call my study. One paw forward, then withdrawn to be placed patiently in a better place, the slow gathering of limbs - then the pounce. Half a dozen voles each per day, (In hunting weather), is fairly normal and the poor old Kestrel must be getting frustrated.

The ravens here used to tease my previous terrier and had great games with him every morning - leading him on up the fenceline. When he'd had his run up the boundary they'd then just fly away about their day's business.
So far they have been very respectful here.
We get the eagle taking a turn through now and then after bad weather - and that can be worrying unless you know where your animals are.
 
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