Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: Zuma on May 18, 2014, 08:25:44 am
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I build and maintain a bunch of bird houses. Mostly to encourage the Tree Swallows and Blue Birds. A Grackle has been stuffing my bath vent with green nest material.
Persistant cuss. last year the deer ate the buds off the tomato plants along with the zucchini and cantaloupe blossoms.
What has me really torqued now is this ---
Grrrr Zuma
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Crows? If so, shoot one and hang it on the garden post.
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Crows alright what pat said will take care of em. If you don't want to do that run a tight string about 6 inches above your rows this will discourage them but may not stop them. You can also put toy snakes in your garden and move them around every day.
Grady
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Down here squirrels used to do that to mine. Now all of the tree rats in my neighborhood live in my freezer.
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Thanks for the tips guys. I like the snake idea. Maybe an owl too.
I have never had anything like this happen since I planted my first garden.
I saw a small bird tugging on something on my way to the garden but couldn't identify it. I have killed crows when the corn turns ripe.
The worst was, they uprooted at least fifty plants straight on down the rows and
all I had planted in mounds?. It was like they were getting even with me for something bad I did to them. They didn't eat or take anything away.
I hate to dust but these birds need a gullet full of seven. lol
Thanks, now I feel better
Zuma
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Owl may not be the best idea. Good for other birds and squirrels but not crows. Crows hate owl and will attack them.
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They say crows can literally warn each other about you for multiple generations. "You know little Johnny, your great grandpa was shot to death by that bald white guy down there, then he hung him on the fence to rot!" We will never forget and plan on pecking his eyes out one day! ;D
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I have an owl decoy over my garden and the crows make fun of it.
Crows have facial recognition and very long memories. I watched a show on PBS about crows. The man doing the study had to wear a mask to disguise himself and anyone that wore that mask got hounded by the crows.
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Grackels and starlings will do it around here !
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Dad shoots anything and everything messing with his bird houses or gardens up to and including rabbits, except deer. They all get a .177 pellet at 1250 fps in the noodle for their transgressions.
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I'm with you guys about the crows.
They are family units here. I shot one, one fall. It wasn't dead when it fell to the ground.
I didn't want to waste another shell to dispatch the wounded creature.
So I walked over to it with a stick. He looked right at me as if to say,
"You better take me to the vet or your garden will be cursed for ever"
Since I have looked closer at the photos I now think that they were after
the sprouted seeds. It was the morning after a torential rain, so the soil was real soft allowing the seed to pop out with a tug on the stalk.
I guess I could break out the 4-10 when the neighbors go shopping. lol
Zuma.
Oh it don't end there---
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Crows are smart, I hate crows. They can be in your yard or garden and you can walk out and they will laugh at you, turn the corner with a gun and they disappear before you come into sight.
Grady
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The three things that will survive any disaster will be a crow, rat, and cockroach. LOL
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Up here there's a grub that lives underground, brown in color and about 1" long, that will chomp down new garden plants at the root, I think some people call it a cut worm. Very persistent little bugger and the only way to get rid of them is probe around the base of the newly chomped plant and dig them out, and squish them of course.
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I had a family of crows congregate at my bird bath every morning at gray daylight for a raucous, loud meet and greet. Being retired, 4:30 or 5:00 was earlier than I wanted to get up. I put a 22 by the back door, quickly opened the door(their sentry always caught me moving) and popped off a few rounds in their direction as they flew off, never hit one. Another time I slipped out with my shotgun and downed a couple of young ones before they could get away.
This has been years ago and even though they nest every year in the woods below the house they never stop by to visit at daylight anymore.
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I may be making this up but don't crows live to be 20 yrs old?
I googled it.
per Wikipedia
Crows reach sexual maturity around the age of 3 years for females and 5 years for males. Some crows may live to the age of 20, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost 30 years old.[23] The oldest captive crow documented died at age 59.[24]
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Crows are one of my favorite birds. Had one for awhile back in the early 90's I fed hand fed after finding it poisoned. It pulled through and flew off, but stayed around crying all night, but would not come back to me. A neighbor at the time, I lived in town, called the cops because they thought there was a baby crying in the alley. When the cops showed up I had to explain why the crow was crying like a baby in our back yard.
There is a killer movie/documentary called "A Murder of Crows", I forget who by now, but our library has it in Bloomington. It's totally worth watching. Amazing birds really.
Have a gooder, dp
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A group of crows is called a "murder of crows".
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A group of crows is called a "murder of crows".
Yea Pat. Hence the name of the movie. ;) dp
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I guess crows and Ravens must be just like Mutt and Jeffs.
The Raven sits on top of most Totem Poles in Alaska.
Most revered of the creatures.
I have interacted with my friends pet crows, squirrles, possoms, coons,
deer and fox. They let you know there is not much difference in intellect
between you and them. I have a great respect for all wildlife.
Yeah, Heckel and Jeckel too.
Zuma
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Problem solved.
Well maybe. He is garding the brocolli not the corn and beans?
Zuma
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Crows are one of my favorite birds. Had one for awhile back in the early 90's I fed hand fed after finding it poisoned. It pulled through and flew off, but stayed around crying all night, but would not come back to me. A neighbor at the time, I lived in town, called the cops because they thought there was a baby crying in the alley. When the cops showed up I had to explain why the crow was crying like a baby in our back yard.
There is a killer movie/documentary called "A Murder of Crows", I forget who by now, but our library has it in Bloomington. It's totally worth watching. Amazing birds really.
Have a gooder, dp
I agree crows and ravens are really smart birds. We learned in my animal behavior class that someone had taught ravens (I think not 100 percent) to use a vending machine. The machine initially gave them a peanut then they had to flip a switch to get a peanut then bring a coin to to get a peanut I think this was in the city were lose change could be readily had. I don't how accurate this is but I know that stuck with me from class. Also somewhere they will drop hard shelled nuts in the street and wait for cars to crush them. They can also recognize faces too especially ones that hassle them I wish I could remember all the details better
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Ravens live a really long time, and are indeed very intelligent! ;) The have quite the repertoires of sounds. Some times they sound like a short burst of a machine gun, and other times, like something big choking! ;)
Wayne
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What I am venting about may have nothing to do with crows and ravens.
Although I can't rule them out.
New drama right beside the garden.
This has also never happened before.
I have three Bluebird houses on a fence very near the garden.
The Tree Swallows usually take them over. They can come back here as early as
late February from Mexico. This year they were only a few that made it back in early April.
The Blue Birds will nest in the Swallows old nest sometimes before I clean them out between hatches.
Crap it takes a lot to vent.
Any way, after the excitement of the week end, the swallows were gone and a Blue Bird took up residence in the center box, five eggs.
I looked for swallows all day-----none.
I looked in the boxes of the Swallows and found this, ants and all.
Some mostly formed peeps and many broken (pecked eggs)???
Nothing eaten.
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Well, I put another snake in the garden.
Strung some string and things are lookin up for the corn and beans.
Haven't replanted the squash.
This is the guy that destroyed the swallows eggs.
He chases off the swallows that try to return. He guards all three boxes.
Zuma
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The nasty Blue bird actually killed the momma Tree swallow and left it in the box.
Then his mate laid egg there?
The male actually destroyed three swallow clutches.
Not sure but I think the strings saved some of my crops.
I did catch the CROWS at it but was un- armed.
That won't happen again. You are going down crows.
Zuma
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Just my 2 pennies but none of that's gonna help if ya don't water those things! :) Just kid'n around!
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Please enlighten me. Why would a Crow do that? They don't seem to be eating anything. Are they just being malicious?
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I'm watering the garden right now after planting some more corn to guard. lol
Marc they actually eat the seed they pull out of the ground.
Some that were to tough for them were snapped off at ground level.
A buddie of mine told me he saw them take out two rows of his corn before
getting his gun. Kinda hoped keeping the ground not to soft would help
but it didn't. GRRRrrrrr
Zuma
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I've had them and squirrels do the same when I plant beans and corn.
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I'm getting ready to start a hunt. Something is pulling down my grapes in bunches. They are eating the ripe ones and leaving the green ones. >:(
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I hear you Eddie.
I ran and got the 12 ga when I drove in, and saw a squirrel ( no trees for 200 feet)
headed for my corn. Shot a chuck just cause he was lickin his lips.
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I guess those Crows don't like you. We have lots of Crows up here in the Summer and I've yet to see one do that to any corn I've planted or even heard of one doing it
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The squirrels are the ones that pull up my seeds, usually beans and corn.
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Eddie, you might have a coon, or possum eating your grapes. Could also be squirrels. I have had the little $#@#$@! eat my pineapples! They will take a bite out of my mangoes, and then just bite them off the tree to see them fall, and not eat them. i have only gotten a few mangoes because of it.
Wayne
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I guess those Crows don't like you. We have lots of Crows up here in the Summer and I've yet to see one do that to any corn I've planted or even heard of one doing it
It's the first time for me Marc.
I bet you got some cotton tails?
I'll let them fatten up. lol
Zuma
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EEEEEWWWWWWW - Wascally Wabbits ! I've had a Wood Chuck hammering one of My Mullberrys. Seems to know when I have the .17 HMR sitting by the back door :embarassed: ! Bob
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Too far North for Cottontails, we have Snowshoe Hares. Had one in front of the house this morning eating cardboard, never seen that before.
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LOL chamook,
I had a commanding view of my garden when it was directly in front of the house.
Also 2 story decks all around. Great for chuck sitting and shooting.
No matter my cantaloupes would be cored out and nothing inside but the pits when I would come back from town or a visit to a friends.
I would stake out the garden for hours waiting for that chuck to show himself.
No luck.
One day I drove in from town and caught the rascal running from the garden towards the house. I thought I had him for sure, until he ducked into his burrow.
Right under the front deck. He would just wait under the deck till my truck drove off. There's a little Elmer Fud in us all.
Zuma
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We've been bothered by crows in the last few yeas. They will get in the garden and take a bite out of each tomato then move to the next. If they would just pick one tomato and eat it I wouldn't mind but noooooo. They have to take a bite from each. Two years ago we had about a mile of cotton twine spider webbed all over the garden plus aluminum foil flags all over the garden. I think the crows thought it was a party and invited more friends for the feast.
A few years ago something stripped the leaves off our tomatoes and okra. Why anything would prefer tomato leaves or okra leaves over other edibles in my garden is a surprise to me. I think this culprit was a whistle pig(ground hog).
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Went to my garden either Thurs or Fri and all of the jalapenos from only 1 plant were laying on the ground around that plant not eaten. I could see bite marks on the stems where the culprit bit it off so I don't think it was a coon. My parents have a squirrel and rabbits around the house and any other critter that might wander by.
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Wayne, it was a opossum, turns out he likes a rat poison, papaya, smoothie more then grapes. Haven't seen him in a while >:D It's funny, nothing wants to eat my Ghost and Scorpion peppers :D
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Yep those possums sure do love grapes, used to go out and shoot them at nite out of the vines.This year we have a mocking bird nest in the vines and they are attacking everything in the yard. First year I didn't have any squirrels in my lychee trees !!!.My pine apples are getting ripe so it's about time to coon proof them. I put a garbage can over them at nite with a weight on it,coons know when your going to pick them and they get them the nite before >:(.nothing like a golden sun ripened pineapple ;D Wayne last year I made little wire cages to go over my last dozen mangoes. They worked good for squirrels but the coons just grabbed mangoes cage and all ! So far nothing is messing with my atemoyas but me.
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Crapola,
I'm thinking of throwing in the towel.
I was pretty ill last week. The June Bugs were buzzin but they never did much harm in the garden before. Chewed some leaves or wormed into ears but this is bad bad.
The surviving corn is chest high but got infested while I was out of commission.
Maybe the caterpilers are't June Bugs but there were a couple adult junies in with the cats.
Yuck,
Zuma
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Now this---
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Its not your year I guess
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You're a nice man feeding all those critters... :o