Can anybody explain this behaviour?
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2019 5:39 pm
I have a Rotary washing airier in our lawn, as well as a bird feeder structure made from a converted old rotary airier with the arms shortened and the nylon cable removed from which we hang various bird feeders.
To enable me to move these structures around for the laundry airer to catch the sun as it moves down the garden , and to stop the grassed area under the bird feeder being damaged by trampling bird feet and bird poo, we've sunk metal anchoring spikes in the lawn in alternative locations in which to insert the central,pole of these structures . To avoid the grass growing over these, I wedge upturned empty little Benecol plastic drink pots which I've sprayed green.
In recent weeks these little "plugs" have started disappearing. At first I thought it was strong wind blowing them around the garden but they never reappeared. Then yesterday I spotted one of our resident pair of crows vigorously attacking one of these pots as it became visible above the snow, knocking hell out of it for several minutes until it finally dislodged it from its anchorage. Then he grabbed it with his beak, wandered around the lawn with it for a few moments and the. flew off with it.
Now it's obvious what has happened to all my other pots. But why should he be doing this and more to the point, for what purpose can he be using all them. . It's obviously become a habit now and not an isolated accidental "plunder".
We laughed as we watched him do it strutting around the lawn with his prize sticking out of his beak before he flew off with it but actually it's getting rather annoying as I now have to collect more pots and spray them green.
So why's he doing it and how can I stop him?
To enable me to move these structures around for the laundry airer to catch the sun as it moves down the garden , and to stop the grassed area under the bird feeder being damaged by trampling bird feet and bird poo, we've sunk metal anchoring spikes in the lawn in alternative locations in which to insert the central,pole of these structures . To avoid the grass growing over these, I wedge upturned empty little Benecol plastic drink pots which I've sprayed green.
In recent weeks these little "plugs" have started disappearing. At first I thought it was strong wind blowing them around the garden but they never reappeared. Then yesterday I spotted one of our resident pair of crows vigorously attacking one of these pots as it became visible above the snow, knocking hell out of it for several minutes until it finally dislodged it from its anchorage. Then he grabbed it with his beak, wandered around the lawn with it for a few moments and the. flew off with it.
Now it's obvious what has happened to all my other pots. But why should he be doing this and more to the point, for what purpose can he be using all them. . It's obviously become a habit now and not an isolated accidental "plunder".
We laughed as we watched him do it strutting around the lawn with his prize sticking out of his beak before he flew off with it but actually it's getting rather annoying as I now have to collect more pots and spray them green.
So why's he doing it and how can I stop him?
