Corvids, the Crow family have taken over.

[Dave in Wales]

I live in rural West Wales, been here 23 years, all fields, very little woodland.

We are inundated with Corvids, in our case Jackdaws, Crows and Magpies to a lesser degree.

When we first came there there was a balance off Corvids, common Garden birds and the odd Woodland birds.

We have seen NO birds in our garden for at least 6 weeks and I do mean NONE.

But overhead, in trees and on rooftops (mine included) there are lots and lots of Corvids.

Since the Corvids fledged......NO BIRDS IN OUR GARDEN.....is it just coincidence?

Is the Corvid shooting ban to blame perhaps, or is it a general thing.

Your's, a very sad sometime 'Twitcher'

[Gerry]

For the past several years just about every bird type has almost disappeared where I live in the north west outskirts of Frankfurt, with the exception of Crows and Magpies. Nesting places for just about any bird are available in abundance, but the number and variety of insects coupled with the aggressive Crows have really had a negative impact.

[MJ224]

H'mmm. Do you feed the birds? Without a feeder, you will be lucky to get much other than the Covids. They fed on insects in the grass, so probably why you are seeing them. I feed all year round, and as a result, I have 40+ sparrows, plus a few blue tits, coal tits, and the odd Dunnock. This time of year is also partly to blame, the warblers have or are going, and the woofdland birds are still in the woods so to speak. I am seeing blackbirds, wrens goldfinches at the moment on our Nature Trail, but not many...

I feed all year round for two reasons, one is to attract birds, I just love to see them, and second, I believe it does help them to maintain numbers........

[Dave in Wales]

Yes Mark, feeders and water are available.

[BDennis]

Not sure what the answer is to the crows etc. Like Mark said having some feeders regularly filled and some drinking and bathing water for them helps attract the smaller birds. I filled the feeders up at lunchtime here and about 20 sparrows appeared. You have to be watching at the right time though, they’ve all gone now! They’ll probably be back at tea time. If all your neighbours have cats it doesn’t help though…

Bill

[Gate Keeper]

I am sorry you are going through this.

We had this problem with the crows big time in our garden in Nairobi. I used a catapult to frighten off the crows. I add, none were hurt and I didn’t hit any. What scared them off in the end was not the catapult it was birds of prey, the hawks.

[huwnothugh]

"We have seen NO birds in our garden for at least 6 weeks and I do mean NONE."

Don't forget that songbirds will have been moulting throughout August and early September. The adults are particularly vulnerable while their tail and flight feathers regrow, so have probably been lying low. Doesn't explain why you haven't seen any youngsters though.

[MJ224]

This is what you need, Dave, a Sparrow tree..

[blackfox]

In general its been the worst year I can remember for any type of bird photography , I think a combination of weather ,climate change , human activities and bird flu have all impacted the song bird population as well as some of the larger species including raptors and gulls ..however I’m starting to see and read reports of the winter migrants returning early which could bode well for the winter season .. time will tell on this .
Even had the first sighting of a short eared owl on the local marshes and that’s a month early … weather on the continent will dictate things more than anything else a cold winter in Scandinavia leads to a major influx usually .. so for now DONT PANIC

[Harold Gough]

The numbers and diversity of small birds in our garden plummets during late summer/early autumn each year.

There is no point in putting out food until they return.

There is open farmland and a river plain at the bottom of the garden.

In the feeding season we have a pair of Carrion Crows, a Magpie or two and a few Jays, which visit most days, none of them posing a problem.

Harold

[blackfox]

Sounds like caversham ? Or the southcote area .. lived in southcote manor about 50 years ago

[Harold Gough]

Caversham. Ours is the third from last house from Henley on the south side.

Harold

[blackfox]

Know the area well or did LOL … had a cabin cruiser on the kennet and used to pop down to the Thames often .. not been back to reading for 40+ years .. lived in southcote then earley for 18 years before moving to wales

[Phill D]

Interesting discussion. We've seen an increase in the corvids here too. Crows with magpies and jackdaws mainly but I'm sure I've seen a couple of ravens too. Certainly a lot less of the smaller birds and no goldfinches at all this year. Little owls seem to have done well in the end as its the first time I've seen 4 together. The magpies were definitely attacking them on occasion though so hope they all survived. Highlight was a first sighting of a green woodpecker! Very fleeting so no images but great to finally see after hearing them for a while.

[wornish]

Having moved into a new build house the only birds I have seen so far in the "garden" or even on the fence are Magpies and Crows. No small birds at all.

Quite a few common Starlings in the bushes when I go for a walk though.

That said overhead and nearby there are many more raptors than I used to see in Cheshire.

My next challenge is to get pics of them in flight.

[MJ224]

Starlings have just moved in, in small numbers...:-)

[blackfox]

Wife said there was a flock of long tailed tits around this morning

[Dave in Wales]

Yippee......saw one lonely Dunnock yesterday hopping around.

Things are on the up

[MJ224]

And this morning, Mr Robin flew into the garden..............:-)