chandlerTX
13 posts
Aug 24, 2006
1:12 PM
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I am still reading all the archived posts and came across one that says if the crows are around, there are fewer problems with hawks. I am currious if anyone has tried calling the crows in with a crow call CD. We have used them to call the coyotes in before, and you can really hear the crows reacting, even if it is a wounded rabbit call. Has anyone done this, and has it helped any?
Chad
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
699 posts
Aug 24, 2006
2:03 PM
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Chad, I don't believe they will keep Coopers away, but they do pester them if they come across one, primarily during the winter and spring. This time of year they don't seem to pay much attention to the birds of prey.
The benifit of the crows (and jays and mockingbirds) is if you listen to what they are doing, they will alert you that there is a predator somewhere nearby.
During the summer and fall I listen to my mockingbirds more than anything. They have a distinct chirp-hiss they do repeatedly when they have spotted a cooper. It is 100 percent guaranteed that when I hear one doing that, there is a cooper somewhere really close hiding in the trees. Mockingbirds won't necessarily harass a cooper, they are more of an alarm, and a very accurate one too. Crows on the other hand will dive bomb and mass harass a cooper, especially in the fall and winter months. The crows do very little to keep them from attacking or hanging around. But if you come out in the morning and there are some crows making a racket, it is generally because there is a pred nearby.
I once bought a couple of crow calls when I lived in the city. I was getting hammered by coopers every day and noticed the crows would harass the coopers, even during their attacks on my birds and especially after it got one. One time I saw a cooper come over when I had a kit of young ones up. I grabbed the crow call, got a ladder and went up onto the roof. I made several calls but didn't hear any takers. Then the cooper eyes a young bird a few houses down and starts chasing it all over the place. I started huffing and puffing on that damn crow call to the point my neighbors probably thought I had lost my mind and was up there trying to call in ducks..lol. In seconds five crows appeared from out of no where and were on that cooper's ass at full speed, while the cooper was at full speed after my roller. For about 30 seconds there was this mass feathered chase over the houses and down the streets until finally the cooper snagged the roller. The crows then lit in the tree above it and just made noise.
Moral of the story: Crow calls won't stop coopers from getting your birds, but they will make your neighbors think you are drunk off your keister, especially if you are doing it from your roof!...lol.
Brian.
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lil_jess
10 posts
Aug 24, 2006
2:25 PM
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I have never trie or use a crow call but i am happy for the crow to stay around. Some of them nested across street to 1-200yds. Every hawk is near the perimeters one crow will called for backup and then when you know it there be more than enough crow chasing the hawk away. I had have great success flying my youngs. But sometime the crow will trie to attack the youngs too. Now Most of them crows are moving away and pretty much its not a good sign. See alots of perigrine hawks around.
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chandlerTX
14 posts
Aug 24, 2006
2:56 PM
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LMAO Brian. That is funny. The more I think about, if the call was done regularly, It might teach the hawks when to move in on the birds. I am about a week away from flying my first small kit of birds. I have not seen any hawks nearby, but I am sure they will show themselves as soon as I fly the birds. I am trying to think of ways to be on the offensive. I live in town next door to a city park, so my options my not be that great.
Chad
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Santandercol
273 posts
Aug 24, 2006
5:12 PM
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Yeah,,,All my neighbours think I'm nuts,Their not far off tho'.Been seen on my roof banging a bucket and yelling during pred attacks.I have found making a sharp noise when the coops are attacking helps to divert their attention for a second or two,long enough to give a pigeon a better chance at dodging.Them henerys tho',they're to damn fast to change their minds.
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Kelly
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AIREDALE
29 posts
Aug 25, 2006
2:31 AM
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Brian, thats a great story. Why did'nt you send that in for the "Lighterside Thread"? I can picture Elmer Fudd with a Deerslayer's hat and a duck call going after those wascally Coopers.Thanks for making my day.
John
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
700 posts
Aug 25, 2006
3:47 PM
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LOL, because I probably told another goofy tale in that thread that was true, and humorous...lol
Brian.
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katyroller
46 posts
Aug 25, 2006
7:16 PM
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Crows haven't stopped the Coopers from taking my birds in the past but they have been helpful at times. If I hear them raising hell I look for them dive bombing a hawk and usually don't fly. I have had times when they didn't make a sound and I thought it was safe to fly until I opened a kit box and was proven wrong. Crows aren't very plentiful in my area.
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motherlodelofts
883 posts
Aug 26, 2006
1:28 PM
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Bantams are great Cooper alarms.
Scott
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tapp
119 posts
Aug 26, 2006
7:24 PM
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Your right about the bantams Scott I have a pen full of them between were I sit to watch my kits and the kit boxes they let out a eire squawk. Only trouble is lately with all the hawks around there jumpy and doing it at doves, killdeer, swallows, and the lone pigeon, Keeps a guy bussy!But they will warn you every time.
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Tapp
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motherlodelofts
884 posts
Aug 26, 2006
7:30 PM
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Kim I need your telephone number.
Scott
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tapp
120 posts
Aug 27, 2006
4:39 PM
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Here it is Scott, 517-283-7043
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Tapp
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katyroller
53 posts
Aug 31, 2006
7:25 PM
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CooCoo, Wait until you are standing next to a kit box waiting on birds to land and a Cooper comes whipping around the corner of the kit box after a bird at chest level. The Coop got within 8 ft. which seemed like a lot less at the time. I can still see those big yellow eyes and the Coop trying to fly backward at the same time. I'm real glad the damn thing didn't hit me.
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parlorfancier916
149 posts
Sep 03, 2006
11:06 PM
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well I feed a cooper everyday, he doesn't eat my birds, seems like he has gotten used to me hand feeding him (was a rescued bird), but hey he's a good protector, he's what I call my sky dog. somehow he won't go away, tried to release him 20-30 miles away into the country side but I think he followed the car home. he's made a good place at a nearby old barn but yeah crows can be usefuls as skydawgs.
Last Edited by parlorfancier916 on Sep 03, 2006 11:09 PM
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pigeonlover01
6 posts
Sep 08, 2006
9:47 PM
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~~AnDrEaS wIlLmS~~
Crows keep many hawks away!!!
i have had crows for two years and i hand feed them expecially for this reason! When i fly my rollers i fly my crows as well. When they see trouble they are right after the hawks. And when they seem the they make lots of noise and my pigeons are used to that so when they here that the crows are loud the know there is a hawk! Crows are amazing for keeping hawks away , and mine come to me when i wistle! its really neat. Its somthing u all have to try there will be alot less hawks around and ur pigeons will be alot more aware!
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