Thwarting crows

[Clive Watson]

Most bird feeding stations, it seems, have problems with 'trash' species. When I had access to a garden, it used to be squirrels. Now I've got a new station set up on local farmland where I work, it's Carrion Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws. They start with the fat, which is supposed to attract woodpeckers and Nuthatches, and polish that off in minutes. Then they move onto the mixed seed feeders and demolish that too, leaving nothing for the small birds. They don't seem to be too interested in the sunflower feeder at the moment, or the niger feeder, although they probably can't access that one.

So I wanted to ask if anyone had any tips for discouraging these birds? I know it is possible to get feeder guardians, but I wanted to canvas opinion before I spent £100 on what I consider to be rather overpriced items.

[Twite]

I have the same problem with Jackdaws and haven't come up with a solution yet, I have been toying with the idea of putting the feeders in to a cage (home made to suit) of 50mm. mesh. The small birds could come and go and the Jackdaws would be kept out. It wouldn't be pretty but I think it would work.

Twite.

[Clive Watson]

Yeah, home-made caging might work, if it was fairly sturdy. Crows are less likely to rip it apart than squirrels, which I haven't had any trouble with. Yet.

[Twite]

Yeah, home-made caging might work, if it was fairly sturdy. Crows are less likely to rip it apart than squirrels, which I haven't had any trouble with. Yet.

The mesh I was thinking of is 50X50mm welded mesh, the wire is about 3mm. Diameter. A Squirrell wouldn't be able to damage it but may be able to get through a 50X50 hole.

Twite.

[Sancho]

Bizarrely this winter I´ve had no magpies, jackdaws or rooks in the garden. They were always daily visitors in previous years, and used to demolish fat balls or suet cake in minutes. The only difference is that this year we have a new little terrier/collie cross that spends most of the day in the garden. I presume this is the only reason, but it´s odd, because the crows don´t seem to be afraid of cats, and our dog can´t fly. Maybe it´s just his bark keeps them away.