A crow is making a nest in my eaves. The front of the house is only single storey so not too high up ofd the ground. I have two young kids who play out near the front of the house a lot, will the crow get grumpy and fly at them one it’s got some eggs or babies?

If it’s ok I’ll leave it otherwise will get some bird spike things to stop it getting in

Depends on the crow – iirc laying to fledging can take up to 9 weeks – some crows dive bomb – get and umbrella or a hat with eyes on the back.

Once the young have left the nest crows will move out.

Crows may return next year if the site a good choice.

<I like crows>

I’d be more concerned about the massive amount of guano that they will leave behind.

I would say a resounding YES.

I assume you’re talking about jackdaws as crows don’t nest in eaves.

If they settle you will have a very disturbed summer. There could be as many as four young who will become extremely noisy during feeding. Plus you will have the clatter of the parents returning to the nest every few minutes with food. They could also have a second clutch later in the year so we’re talking months of screeching, scratching and shi… droppings.

They normally start from 04:30.

If you can intervene before the nest is built then I strongly advise you do.

Checkout the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for legal info.

I speak from experience…

We’ve had some in the chimney for last few years and they’ve not caused any issues other than.some noise now and again.  Doubting myself having read Derek’s post, they are definitely corvids of some sort.

Keep meaning to put a net over the cap when they moved out and keep forgetting. Don’t think they’ve started yet this year so just off to see if I can borrow a ladder.

Parents have rooks in their chimney every year, that one’s not capped. They’ve never successfully nested, seems to get nearly finished and then there is a crashing sound in the middle of the night and the dining room fireplace is full of twigs

Bird mites might also be a concern. Relatives had a bit of a nightmare with them from old nests.

Hmm don’t fancy 4.30am wake ups,  bird mites or loads of bird poo so ordered some bird spikes to fit where they have access before they get the nest made. There’s a big wood less than 25m away lazy gits

There’s a big wood less than 25m away lazy gits

The thing is, Jackdaws tend to be a more urban bird than most other corvids, and have been for a long time; their smaller size makes them well suited for nesting around human habitation. They are easily identified by their smaller size, short bill and grey nape to the head. Nice little bird, not as beautiful to look at as magpies, but AFAIK not as likely to raid other nests. You might have to keep an eye on anything shiny that’s lying around, tho’. Actually, that’s not just the Jackdaws…

For the first time in ages I’ve had magpies around, had one on the new bird table yesterday, which is a first.

I’ve got wagtails this year which is nice, using one of the old house martin nests.

I read the title as cows making a nest 😄

The point about guano still stands if it is cows, maybe even more so…