Game of Crows………………continued.

Over the last 10 years I have been observing a pair of Carrion Crow that held a territory in Whitehead Meadow and the surrounding area (including the garden).

Any other Corvid (Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie etc.) that ventured to feed in their territory were quickly chased off.

It has not always been the same birds present over the years as at one point the male disappeared and was replaced by another male and I assume that this could have happened more than once and also maybe the female.

Most years only one young was raised with at least 2 years with no young.

Back in mid-December last year another pair of Crows appeared and there was a violent confrontation.

Since that time Crows have been markedly absent from the meadow and garden area with only minimal sightings and no aggression to other Corvids.

Subsequently other Corvids are now seen feeding regularly in the meadow and garden. The Church road Rookery is close to the garden and there is a small colony of Jackdaw nesting at the other end of the meadow and these seem to have the freedom to forage more openly in the area now.

Even a pair of Jay have moved in to the area this year and can be heard regularly nearby.

I am unsure of what has now happened, maybe the resident pair of Crows now have different territorial responsibilities due to another pair nearby, or have they been completely ousted?

But it obviously leaves a vacuum in this area for another pair of Crows. What has changed in the Corvid dynamics of the area?

All photos from the garden

 Carrion Crow
 The Fight
 Jackdaw
 Rook
 Magpie
Jay


from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/03/game-of-crowscontinued.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 off to a reasonable start

Image
Overcast, 5°, light NNW. A Little Egret seen today on the way out to Lollingdon and appeared to drop down near Amwell Spring. The hill hosted around 100 Fieldfare and a flock of c50 Meadow Pipit for a time before moving off over the top. Several Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer around the hill and a single Corn Bunting . A small flock of c20 Pied Wagtail feeding out with the Sheep. A few more Fieldfare and Redwing scattered around the Lollingdon area, a Goldcrest , Grey Heron , Kestrel , a couple of Jay , 2 Bullfinch and several Starling amongst other species. A Brambling in a private garden. Per Alan Dawson. 2 Blackcap in TW’s garden and 2 Chiffchaff at CSW. The flock of c60 Golden Plover still around Cholsey Hill. Brambling (courtesy Alan Dawson) from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-off-to-reasonable-start.html
Read more

A Butterfly day

Image
Another sunny day, 24°, light E. A walk alongside the Bunk line from Church road to the bypass. Butterflies were the order of the day with literally hundreds of Meadow Brown on the wing today. They were everywhere. Another 8 Painted Lady seen with some looking very tatty after a presumably long flight and ageing. Best one of the day was a single Silver-washed Fritillary seen flying around a large garden before disappearing from view. Good numbers of Marbled White all along the route. Other species noted were: Small Skipper , Large Skipper , Large White , Small White , Green-veined White , Brimstone (1), Brown Argus (3), Common Blue (8), Red Admiral (6), Small Tortoiseshell (c20), Comma (3), Speckled Wood (2), Ringlet (12) and Small Heath (2). Some thistles were in flower on the edge of a bean field and these held the majority of Painted Lady , Small Tort and Marbled White . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle (M&F), Large Red Damselfly and Southern Hawke...
Read more

Dormice and Hibernation

Image
A few weeks ago we had our quick dormice pre-hibernation checks to make sure they were all OK for the winter, and confirm how many kits we have bred over the summer. Good news!.. Both our pairs have had large litters of dormice, and so we have many babies to prepare for release next year. As part of the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Groups (CDCBG) we, along with many other holders across the south, breed dormice as part of the studbook for release out in to the wild. Once out of hibernation next Spring they will all be collected up and released back in to the wild in collaboration with the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). We do have two species of dormice in the UK. The native, calm, small and adorable hazel dormouse above. Below is the larger, bitey and much more erratic edible dormouse that was introduced to the UK. You can really see the size difference with both in the hand like this. Both species of dormice are entering, or have already started, to h...
Read more