MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Several staff have been dive bombed by an over enthusiastic crow recently and are now scared to leave the building. What are our options?
I expect lots of puns and piss taking, but perhaps within the usual STW melee there might be a sensible suggestion!
Which breed?
Let them be ... 😀
Add some amusements to already dull existence I guess ...
You can shoot them, but needs to be done safely (i.e. no others) and humanely (to the crow)
What is the crow enthusiastic about, how are you going to recognise the right crow to shoot?
[i]scared to leave the building. What are our options?[/i]
As they're in the building anyway you could offer them some overtime?
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and some bath gels
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Let the staff dress up..
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this thread has thrown a malicious page threat, some hunting ad.
Which breed?
corvus bastardius
what's the bath gels gonna do? make them smell nice? 😀
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Tragic accident 🙁
Zip ties are the answer
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He looks a bit grumpy, do your fellow colleagues?
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what's the bath gels gonna do? make them smell nice?
Better than 'ol blue eyes' launching ball bearings off in to the air.
I don't know how good a shot he is 🙂
how are you going to recognise the right crow to shoot?
The black one.
I am tempted to apply the MTFU option. I'll get them to ride the scary buzzard trail in Yair Forest, then they will really know what a scary flesh shredding bird is like.
You can TRY to shoot a crow. But the crow will know fine well and scarper quick sharp. Clever birds like.
We have this problem every year with nesting seagulls in Cornwall.
The humane solution is a Super Soaker water pistol.
Makes you fell all manly and "call of duty" by taking out the flying pests, without actually harming them.
Crows are super intelligent and will soon get the message. Gulls however are as dumb as soup.
It's illegal to shoot groups of crows as it's classed as murder.
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Surely the best option is to get a new office that affords wonderful views of the weakest staff members getting mauled?
You can stone them.
you need to give the staff something to swing at them.
the name's on the tin.
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Manning the **** up?What are our options?
Crows are ace...only a **** would [i]genuinely[/i] wish to harm one.
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stevied: since when was Ross Noble an authority on crows?...
Find a small elephant that needs to learn to fly,that should keep them busy.
FFS tell 'em to get a grip, you're in the countryside.
And no, you can't shoot crows there if it's a public place and/or likely to 'overshoot' a public thoroughfare.
Years ago used to see them hung upside down on fences to ward off the devil!
It'd be fun though.
Years ago used to see them hung upside down on fences to ward off the devil
Yup me too but it was to show the landowner that the gamekeeper was doing their job not anything to do with the devil.
Just pick them out with your finger like everyone else.
Be careful if you do try, some might shoot back:
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Years ago used to see them hung upside down on fences to ward off the devil!
that's a bat mate.
😀 at ^
That's a Robin Stevied.
This one can shoot back.
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I had two pet crows. Pretty intelligent birds! Cool story I know. 😉
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Ian Brown was in Hawk the Slayer??!! WTF!
Issue these to anyone being hassled:
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Could you buy some cap guns and give those to the affected staff?
A few bangs and a whiff of gunpowder should persuade the crow to desist.
I asked this coupla years ago and Cougar has beaten me to the best reply back then.
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You can TRY to shoot a crow. But the crow will know fine well and scarper quick sharp. Clever birds like.
Indeed. If you do shoot one all it's mates will gang up on you.
Just get in the sea.
I can, but I don't
I'd quite like a pet magpie
I had two pet crows. Pretty intelligent birds!
I had one as a pet once, too.
Briefly.
I'd rescued it off the cat, or something with an injured wing. I had it hopping around on the grass outside our house one day with a long piece of string tied around its leg so it wouldn't escape (it still couldn't fly). Our elderly neighbour was chatting to my mum over the wall and saw the crow. He asked me if he could have it - I must have assumed that he wanted to hold it, or something, so reeled it in and gave the poor bird to him. He immediately wrung its neck and said "Thank you very much!".
He wanted it to hang in his veg garden [i]pour encourager les autres[/i].
(This was the reason crows used to get hung up around where I lived - they are very clever - seeing a dead one keeps them away. Once they have been shot at, even the sight of a gun would make them bugger off.)
My granddad, as a child, used to go out after thunderstorms and shove dead crows up sheep's bottoms. Shropshire folk, what can I say (and I live here now) ?
You could always do this, and leave one outside the office to scare the crows off. Might attract the Welsh crows having said that.......
All species of bird are legally protected in the UK. However, certain generic licenses apply which allow you to trap and dispatch, or shoot particular species such as crows is certain conditions apply. I think you need to prove that they are causing damage to crops, forestry plantations or are posing a direct threat to human health.
Crows are cool. Leave them alone. Shoot Pigeons, they're nothing but pests with wings.
They're birds, for chris'sakes, not bloody pit-bulls! Stand up to them and hit them with your hand, they're relatively fragile creatures and can be easily damaged, that alone will make them back off.
As has been said, corvidae are very smart birds, and quick learners.
I know it's nature, but crows are evil bastards. FiL loses quite a few lambs due to crows.
They must ether be really small lambs or [i]massive[/i] crows.
Not really.
They're very intelligent birds who can recognise easy pickings.
It happens a lot.
Anecdotally, at least.
My granddad, as a child, used to go out after thunderstorms and shove dead crows up sheep's bottoms. Shropshire folk, what can I say (and I live here now) ?
😯
Yes you can
[url= http://basc.org.uk/shooting/general-licences/ ]Linky[/url]
General licences are issued by government agencies to provide a legal basis for people to carry out a range of activities relating to wildlife. By definition you do not need to apply for general licences but you are required by law to abide by their terms and conditions.General licences are renewed annually in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These general licences are made available on the websites of the relevant government agencies and include those general licences relevant to the all year round control of ‘pest birds’ such as carrion and hooded crows, magpies and woodpigeon. Control methods allowed under general licence may include shooting; the destruction of eggs and nests; and the use of cage traps such as larsen traps, larsen mates and multi-catch traps.
In regards to stuff hung on fences many moons ago as others have said it was to prove the gamekeeper was doing his/her job and was known as a ‘gamekeeper’s gibbet’.
Back in the day when I first started gamekeeping we still used them but within 2 years they were phased out due to the fact
A) They stank ALOT!
B) As more townes moved out of the cities and either bought or rented houses on estates they did peoples heads in with their constant complaining about them, so we just cut them down and buried them for an easier life. 🙂
C) It saved you lugging dead stuff back to hang it up. Foxes etc get quiet heavy after a while when you on foot and several miles from base
That's my personal take on it anyway.
They must ether be really small lambs or massive crows.
They peck the eyes (and bumholes) out of lambs. I know it's nature but cute lambs trump evil crows.
If your company is looking for sensible suggestions, there are falconry firms who will bring a much bigger bird to scare away crows, gulls etc. Used over a number of days they are effective.
Or just place a plastic owl/bop on a window ledge/roof and that will deter the crows from coming near the building.
A cheap humane solution.
Or just place a plastic owl/bop on a window ledge/roof and that will deter the crows from coming near the building.
A cheap humane solution.
That doesn't work.
If your company is looking for sensible suggestions, there are falconry firms who will bring a much bigger bird to scare away crows, gulls etc. Used over a number of days they are effective.
We tried that at our work. The gulls just went away on day trips to the island across the water, loaded up on chips and continued their antics once the hawks went home.
Call in Gorgeous George
Tell staff to HTFU and stop whining. Don't go killing animals for the sake of someone getting scared of a small feathered creature.
If you see a group of Crows, they are Ravens. If you see a Raven on it's own it's a Crow.
+ what coffeeking said
You can't shoot crows. A few years ago my father-in-law came back from the pub very late and very drunk. Then got his 12 bore out and started shooting the crows in the trees at the bottom of the garden. The police were around the next day to take away his guns and license.
Are you sure that the fact it was crows is the reason? I suspect not...
If you see a group of Crows, they are Ravens. If you see a Raven on it's own it's a Crow.
Whenever I've heard that before it been rook rather than raven, which would make more sense given how rare ravens are compared to rooks.
Yes you can, under the general licence as quoted above.You can't shoot crows.
You can't shoot crows. A few years ago my father-in-law came back from the pub very late and very drunk. Then got his 12 bore out and started shooting the crows in the trees at the bottom of the garden. The police were around the next day to take away his guns and license.
So absolutely nothing to do with what he was shooting.
Whenever I've heard that before it been rook rather than raven, which would make more sense given how rare ravens are compared to rooks.
Yup Rooks are more common and appear in large groups, they're still crows.
breadcrumb - Member
I know it's nature, but crows are evil bastards. FiL loses quite a few lambs due to crows.
They peck the eyes (and bumholes) out of lambs. I know it's nature but cute lambs trump evil crows.
And you know that for a fact? Corvidae are scavengers and carrion birds, they'll be going after the afterbirth and stillborn lambs. How can you tell the difference between a stillborn lamb and a live one that's allegedly been attacked by crows? You can't.
If it was a live lamb that is now dead, with the eyes gone, a fox or dog got it and the crows are cleaning up.
And it'll only be two varieties of corvidae; carrion crows, (see, there's a real clue in the name), and Ravens.
Magpies might peck at the corpse, but they're mostly scavengers and nest robbers, others are insect and invertebrate eaters.
If you see a group of Crows, they are Ravens. If you see a Raven on it's own it's a Crow.
That is total rubbish: large groups of corvidae will be a mixture of rooks and jackdaws, with a few carrion crows mixed in, carrion crows tend to be in very small groups or pairs, and Ravens are almost never seen in anything other than singly or as a mated pair; I've seen seven together, the parent birds and five young, but once the young disperse, the parents stay as a pair with a fixed territory.
Ravens are a lot commoner than they used to be, I've even seen a pair around where I live.
And there's a pair that nest on a radio mast a few miles away that have been there for years, there are no other pairs close by. Lots of rooks and jackdaws, though.
Other crows will mob Ravens like they do buzzards and other raptors, so you are highly unlikely to see them together, I've seen that happen a number of times, too.
I've seen a weak or ill, but very much alive sheep with their eyes pecked out and tounges removed by crows. Very intelligent birds though, would know the difference between a gun and a stick from a long way off.
You've seen very much alive sheep with their tongues removed?
You've seen very much alive sheep with their tongues removed?
Well, they were alive, as in breathing, hearts beating and capable of stumbling around. Definately not dead.
So absolutely nothing to do with what he was shooting.
Yep just that he was shooting. He'd been wanting to shoot the crows for ages but knew he couldn't.
Then down to the pub for a few pints 🙂
So although I'd say expressly - yes it was linked to not being able to shoot crows
Well, they were alive, as in breathing, hearts beating and capable of stumbling around. Definately not dead.
But not able to talk?
Clever those crows.
@ Badllama are you still a Gamekeeper now??