Monday 29 March 2010

Hungry Corvids

It has become a regular event to see four or five Jackdaws in the garden along with three or four Rooks eating the left over seed I scatter on the lawn. They have quite different eating habits. The Rooks gather and store seed in the pouch under their beaks whereas the Jackdaws eat there and then.

Yesterday there was one Rook among three Jackdaws. It was getting quite annoyed as they encroached on its feeding area and kept trying to chase them off but it was no match for a group.

Rook and Jackdaw 5

Rook and Jackdaw 4

Rook and Jackdaws 3

In the end it waddled away to a different part of the garden leaving the spoils to the Jackdaws.

Jackdaw 6

Jackdaw 7

I usually put a slice of bread in one of the feeders which helps to fill up the larger birds. Yesterday a Rook had managed to pull out quite a large piece and was sat for a while with it in its beak as if it was working out what was the best way to deal with its prize.

Rook with Bread

There is never a dull moment watching the larger birds as I can often see them stand and look carefully from various positions as they work out how to approach a problem.

Quite a surprise this morning when we got back from an earlier than usual early morning walk as there was a tight group of eleven Rooks feeding on the lawn. Still too dark to photograph unfortunately.

9 comments:

  1. Cracking pictures John, and fascinating to watch these chaps.
    I get a Magpie who visits, grabs a beak full of brown bread I throw out, (I should eat it myself, but toast don't taste the same), and then he dunks it in the water I put out. Makes it easier to swallow I guess.
    Garden watching is very rewarding.

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  2. They are fascinating Keith. Very intelligent. You can almost see their brains working as they eye up situations.
    I know what you mean about the brown bread!

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  3. Hours of entertainment to be had from any of the crow family.

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  4. As you say Adrian, hours of entertainment.

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  5. Loved your previous moon photos! Just amazing to see something so far away...up close :) When I first saw the bread in the rook's beak, I thought it was a clothes peg! Very entertaining creatures, indeed, and some terrific detailed photos. Where the photos taken using the new lens?

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  6. PS That should have been "Were" instead of "Where" ...;)

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  7. I will always take the opportunity to watch corvids if I get one. As a student of animal behaviour I have learned that their intelligence is now thought to be so much higher than we ever imagined. Give them a puzzle and they will probably solve it!

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  8. Hello Glo. I was pleasantly surprised how much detail could be seen on the Moon with a camera.

    It's the crows which need pegs on their beaks, noisy beasts.

    Yes I was using the 100-400mm zoom and as they were so close to the kitchen I could fill the frame some of the time.

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  9. Hello Matron. I keep trying to remember which member of the family I saw on the idiot lantern some time ago - using twigs as a tool to get food. I am always fascinated watching them come up to a situation which needs puzzling out and watching the way they look from different angles as they come up with a solution.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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