DEAR JOAN: I have had success with a fake dead crow in the past, not so with this single bird. I don’t know if it’s a he or her, but there does not appear to be any others flying around with it.
I first saw it trying to bite off the ceramic bird on the side of my bird watering plate. I put out the dead crow, but there was no difference. It sat right next to the fake crow at the dish, still trying to bite off the ceramic bird.
I tried getting rid of the dish, and after a week I put out the dead crow again. It seemed to work, but only for a week.
It doesn’t appear to have had parents to teach it what’s real and what’s not, what’s to be feared and what’s not. I just don’t want it dunking bread in my bird water, or scaring off the smaller birds.
Do you have any suggestions?
— Debbie R., Richmond
DEAR DEBBIE: Because not everyone knows about the dead crow ruse, let me explain. It involves hanging a fake crow upside down in a prominent spot in your yard. The crows see it and leave the immediate area.
The key, however, is how and when the fake is placed. It only works when placed at night, under the cover of darkness. It’s important that to the crows, it just appears, with no connection to the human.
Your annoying crow might have seen you putting out the fake one. In any case, I wouldn’t give up on the decoy ploy. Try getting a new fake crow, and putting it out overnight. Instead of just laying it in place, hang it where the crow is sure to see it.
It’s impossible to banish just one bird, and if you try targeting it — chasing it, spraying it with a hose, making loud noises to frighten it away — you might cause more harm to yourself. Crows are extremely intelligent and they have the ability to remember faces. Whenever they see the person who harassed them, they have been known to attack them
The fake crow isn’t always a lasting success. You might have to accept the crow’s messy nature until it decides to move elsewhere. You can encourage a departure by taking in the water vessel, and taking down any feeding stations until it’s safe to put them out again. Although crows can hold grudges, this one seems to just be doing what comes naturally.
DEAR JOAN: In the morning the scrub jays call me with their shrill call and I put out some peanuts. They then screech at me from the magnolia tree to go inside so they can get the peanuts.
Lately, there has been one with a hoarse screech calling me. I put out the peanuts and then he screeches at me with the same hoarse call to go away, but he doesn’t come and get the peanuts.
What’s with the hoarse screech and not picking up the peanuts?
— Jack Svirsky, Hayward
DEAR JACK: Maybe he doesn’t like peanuts and is yelling at you to change the menu.
The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Richmond crow won’t heed the message to go away )
Also on site :