A Talking Raven.

Magnificent bird and very good at mimicking sounds.



Gotta say I'm a wee bit jealous of the young lady being able to work with these very clever birds.
On another note has anyone noticed an increase of crows ravens etc? they are getting cocky around my parts.

Oh and here is a video showing how to make friends with them.

a reply to: boymonkey74
I own a very small company called avia wild bird care. I have noticed the increase in a lot of bird species.
twins-start.worthytales.net...

www.youtube.com...

well worth a watch. If you want to see some of the work I am doing with our local swans then I will supply you details if you pm me.




metro.co.uk...

a reply to: boymonkey74

On another note has anyone noticed an increase of crows ravens etc? they are getting cocky around my parts.

Yeah, I have too. The garden birds are decreasing and populations of gulls and crows seem to be increasing. Also buzzards. Until 4-5 years ago, there were hardly any buzzards in the NW and now they're down all the motorway corridors and circling above semi-rural areas. Incidentally, I was roofing yesterday and saw a group (a charm) of goldfinches high in a fir tree. Not often you see them.

The last time I saw a talking crow was as a kid. We were on hols near Dartmoor where that famous old ghost story is set. The one with the zombie-style critter picking out the leaded glass to attack someone's sister. The local inn had a jackdaw in a cage and it was a creepy looking thing with a raspy voice. Gave the younger me the creeps.

a reply to: Kandinsky
I live NW England near a disused canal used mainly for fishing. Not only a massive increase in goldfinches but all songbirds. Even bird distribution is changing positively. Birds are moving further up north and expanding their range, such as Nuthatches. I have had a pair of nuthatches overwinter with me for 2 years.

Keep your feeders full and you will attract them and they will stay all winter if they are getting the feed they need.

www.bto.org...

Here is some more info.

a reply to: chewi

I'll take your word for it but it's not my experience. I see fewer birds in general than I used to. For example, maybe three weeks I saw nearly 20 sparrows and that's the first time in years I've seen so many. It was curious because their brown looked very nice whereas in the past, with thousands of them, the colour was less appreciated. I guess that's what comes of taking things for granted. : )

I see fewer thrushes, wrens less often, blue tits in smaller numbers (pairs over groups), plenty of blackbirds - mixed really.

On the other hand, Silverdale near Grange-Over-Sands is fantastic for birds. Kingfishers, curlews, herons etc. Beautiful settings too. I have seen a lot of herons this year, but it's possible my old 'twitcher' interest has resurfaced.

a reply to: Kandinsky
I think its just that they got so low that an increase is hard for the public to notice as they are still very hard to spot in large numbers.
The increase doesn't mean we are anywhere near the numbers we had 20/30 yrs ago.
The bans on pesticides and better farming methods are only just bearing fruit, so to speak. We should see a year on year increase in all species of avians.
I hope more people notice and start to feed them as well. We can help to turn it round completely in an even shorter period of time.

Please do not feed them bread of any kind, it has no nutritional value whatsoever.

a reply to: chewi

Yeah that makes more sense. I mistook your point to be saying that birds were back to the numbers of the past. As a 6-7 year old, I can remember flocks of sparrows at dusk. Huge swarms of starlings and lapwings galore. : )

Nowadays, starlings have shifted to supermarket carparks and adapted to the human litter diet.

You're right about the bread however I'm still guilty of throwing toast crusts out for the crows at work.

a reply to: Kandinsky
I have a flock of sparrows in my bushes at the front of my house. They have lived for generations and preceded me moving into the house. They have generations of sparrows in that flock and number around 20, I have a responsibility to keep the feeders full all winter as 2 days of no feed can half the flock. They never seem to number more than 20, some must be chased away every year to start their own flock.
At the back of my house I feed the songbirds and finches who cannot compete with sparrows and they have different seeds and feeding methods. I have at this time on my feeders and the bushes surrounding them, 8 goldfinches, 3 great tits, 2 blue tits, 2 greenfinches,(they love hempseed), 1 chaffinch. At the front is the flock of sparrows who will be off flying and patrolling the area after feeding up.
I have the feeders on cctv and connected to the internet but don't know how to remote access it yet. I will message you the details of how, when I sort it this week.

a reply to: chewi

That sounds beautiful. My parents live in West Lancs and their garden attracts the same birds in similar numbers - minus sparrows. Over the years I've seen long-tailed tits, coal tits and even goldcrests. They used to put seed out for years until the local brown rats were attracted, followed by squirrels and pigeons.

It's semi-rural so larger rodents are inevitable and we wouldn't mind in moderation. Unfortunately, the rats bred and chose to stay. The squirrels attacked the feeders and the pigeons would 'squat' and prevent the smaller birds getting access. All of which led to less and less seed and it's now more sporadic. As frost comes in I'll put out lard/seed balls in the trees. The thing with birds, that I've noticed, is they form habits and forget them as easily. The seed/fat balls are neglected, but we'll have the seed feeders too. Years ago, birds of all types would come through in waves to feed on the fat and seeds; they've forgotten the technique and don't *recognise* them as food.

I live in an urban area where no gardens exist so the best we see are pigeons.

a reply to: Kandinsky
Crows will eat anything and gulls are the same. The increase in these is mainly due to landfill sites and the free food it supplies. This has a knock on effect for buzzards etc because there are a lot of unhealthy birds and carcasses to exploit.

If you ever visit a fast food drive through anywhere in England and wales you will see it has its own resident gulls and crows. You will see them fight for any dropped scraps within seconds of hit hitting the floor. Every fast food drive through I have visited on my sales trips has them.

a reply to: Kandinsky
I have the west lancs tattoo on my chest. We are blessed with a large variety of birds and wildfowl.

a reply to: Kandinsky
I can really help with all of that pm me for my facebook details and will give you some great advice on the fedders and feeds to use to get rid of vermin. Its the biggest problem with garden birds but its only the wrong feed at the wrong time and the wrong feeders.

Never ground feed.

a reply to: chewi

We never ground feed. The seed goes on bird tables, high garden wall and hanging from feeders. I'd appreciate suggestions for the feeders because my mum wants to feed the birds and my dad won't have it due to the vermin risk. For my part, I just like to support the wider ecosystem of wild birds and help them through the winter.

Not seeing so many squirrels this past season and not heard mention of rats for a long while either. Good window of opportunity

a reply to: boymonkey74

Thanks for the cool videos.

Gotta say I'm a wee bit jealous of the young lady being able to work with these very clever birds.

And I have to say that I am somewhat jealous of the Raven getting all of that wonderful attention from such a lovely young lady.


I've always enjoyed watching the ravens and crows. Not only are they beautiful creatures, but they are also among the most intelligent of any bird species. As I understand it, they actually have a somewhat decipherable language as well.

A little over two years ago we had a massive number of Kingbirds who decided to Summer in our area. I believe they were lured by the corresponding massive number of wasps and hornets that we suffered with that year.

Kingbirds are notorious for protecting their nesting territory. And, of course, the Crows are notorious for predating on smaller birds' nests. I was absolutely amazed at how the Kingbirds worked together to drive the crows away whenever the crows were brave enough to breach their perimeter. Not only did they work in pairs, I often saw three or more taking turns pecking at the crows while they flew away.

At one point it seemed as if the Kingbirds were taking great delight in catching an unsuspecting crow in their territory and going after it. As the crow would try to escape, it would cross into the territory of another pair, who had already been warned by the guttural call of their neighbors. They would then pick up the attack and usher the crow out of their territory into the waiting arms of their neighbors. I once observed a crow who was attacked for at least two or three blocks by one squadron of Kingbirds to the next.

The species name for the Eastern Kingbird is Tyrannus tyrannus, meaning Tyrant of tyrants. But I started referring to them as Tyrannus tactical because of the way the went after those crows who were easily four or five times their size. They looked like highly mobile, highly agile, extremely quick tactical fighter planes going after a heavy bomber. Even on those rare occasions when the crow attempted to retaliate, the Kingbird outmaneuvered it and counter attacked on its flank!

The most interesting result however was that after the Kingbirds left in the early Fall for their long sojourn South, the population of crows had changed. The mature old guard had disappeared and a younger, unfamiliar set of crows had taken their place.

In the years since, I've seen fewer and fewer Kingbirds nesting in the area. But the population of Crows has continued to increase.

-dex

a reply to: boymonkey74

Amazing. My son's fiancé's mother nurses birds back to health from her home. One week she and her family went out of town for the weekend and she asked my wife and I if we didn't mind feeding this particular Raven who she feeds in the morning. She just told us to stand on her back deck and hold our hand out and she would swoop down and feed from our hand.

Sure enough, as soon as I did that she came flying out of the woods, landed on the railing next to me, and started to eat out of my hand! It was quite an experience for me and the wife. My wife is a girly girl so she was afraid to feed it.

a reply to: Kandinsky
Squirrels have a problem with nijer seed and the feeders. You also don't get much spillage.
I would also provide a squirrel proof seed feeder.
Try to keep your mixed seed away from the straight seeds as they attract different birds and they will fight and scare each other away.
Mixed seed for sparrows
Black sunflower seed for finches and tits.
Sunflowers hearts/kernels, finches and tits favourite but can be expensive as they eat this first.

With your fat balls then hang them for the sparrows as the songbirds don't really go for it.

Greenfinches love hemp seed and cant get enough but other finches leave it.

Enjoy and be patient but KEEP THEM FULL, they are a creature of habit and if your feeders are ever empty they will find another source and stop visiting yours until the new source runs out.

Hope the info helps and persuades you to help them, they need it this winter. Thanks

Neat video.

Who has a larger vocabulary, you or the bird?

a reply to: WeRpeons
Once you earn their trust you will be amazed how friendly they can be. Take robins for example. The bravest little bird in uk and recently voted the national bird.

www.countryliving.co.uk...

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'm the same as the bird Monkey see Monkey do .