Photo by Daveoratox at https://www.flickr.com/photos/atoxinsocks/4650058579
Dear Readers, on two occasions yesterday I was asked what to do about young crows that , while fully feathered, appeared to be out of the nest too early. I know exactly why people feel so concerned about these youngsters – they seem so naive and vulnerable that it’s very tempting to scoop them up and take them off to a wildlife rehabber. However, in most cases this isn’t necessary, and I recommend this website which explains why in detail. But, to summarise:
Young corvids (crows, jays, magpies, jackdaws etc) are often pushed out/fall out of the nest before they can fly properly. This might seem like a bad move, but in fact, as the youngsters get bigger, they get noisier and are more likely to attract a predator that will eat the whole brood. Unlike tits and finches, crow nests are often very obvious affairs, and are open-topped too, plus they have a certain shambolic quality which means they look to me as if the whole thing is going to fall out of the tree anyway. So, the youngsters clamber out of the nest before they can fly any distance.
However, parent crows will normally be around, feeding their offspring and putting up a bold and aggressive defence against any predators. It’s best to retreat to a safe distance and watch/listen for adult birds. They will guard their youngsters even after dark, and I’ve seen crows chase off cats, and even pursue a greyhound. I saw two magpies chase a tom cat up a tree and keep him there for two hours. So, these are feisty birds that will protect their fledglings against all comers.
There are exceptions of course: if a fledgling is obviously injured it may need help from a wildlife rehabber. However, be aware that all organisations are absolutely overwhelmed at this time of year, so it really should be a last resort.
If there are dogs or cats about, it can be as simple as catching the bird and putting it into a makeshift ‘nest’ in a bush or small tree, so that it has some protection.
It’s always so hard to decide what to do about baby birds, and I know I’ve not always gotten it right. In general, though, if the youngster is fully feathered and not in any immediate danger, it’s best to leave it to nature to sort out. You’d be surprised how often things work out fine.
By strange coincidence, I saw a young magpie hopping along by the side of the road the other day, while on holiday near Aberporth. It was going as fast as it could, down hill too, but I managed to pass it and left it to (hopefully) dive into the bottom of a hedge before a car came. (It was a quiet, dead-end, road).
We also think there might be a magpies nest in our neighbour’s tree, which overhangs our beech hedge. There always seems to be a lot of warning type noises going on when our dog passes by the hedge underneath. I do wonder if he will emerge with something, but so far nothing. 🤞🤞
Which reminds me, I should really post some images of the 3 owlets in the oak tree at the opposite side of our garden. But we may get some more images yet…
So many babies about at the moment! There were three baby squirrels chasing one another round and round the garden this morning, observed by a speculative magpie. It’s like Disneyland!
I’ve been intrigued as to what the little creatures were that were making no more than 2cm holes in the bottom of our garden, towards the stream. There’s no classic mole hill, just nice round holes, so I presumed they must be voles or water voles. On Saturday night, I put the trailcam out, pointing at a slightly larger hole which looked like it had a lot of traffic…
And ‘all’ I got was an owlet gradually shuffling towards the hole, then suddenly bobbing its head, as if to catch something and then lots of head movements as if swallowing whatever it was. In the next 10 second sequence, it turned its head, as if it had heard something and in the next, it was gone.
I’ve tried again on Sunday and Monday night, but only captured squirrels and birds.