There is a Crow in my Garden

As I feed many small birds in my garden, and also because of my own six dogs and their eating requirements, we daily get a large number of Crow visitors to my compound. To read about the crow go to my earlier post at this link here, and to learn how very clever they are my post at links here and here. For a very comprehensive site created by crow aficionados go to this link here. 

I have read extensively on how to deal with the crow menace, and would recommend this link here which I found on the American Humane Society which deals with all kinds of information regarding unwelcome crow visitors. Below I am reproducing an extract from their article dealing specifically with Crows in Gardens. 

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Crows in gardens 

Crows are sometimes blamed for garden damage caused by other animals. Crows hanging around to eat insects and grubs may or may not also help themselves to fruits and vegetables. On balance, the benefits from crows eating insects, grubs, and waste grain may outweigh a little damage. 

You can ban crows from small gardens. 

• Drape bird netting over the plants or suspend it from a framework built around the plants. 

• Protect seedlings with fabric row covers 

• Protect ripening corn by placing a paper cup or bag over each ear after the silk has turned brown. 

• Set shiny streamers strategically throughout the garden. 

• Stretch cord, fishing line, or fine wire above gardens in a grid or parallel lines—at least a little higher than the gardener’s hat for safety. The stakes supporting tomatoes can support the wire. Reflective tape or other highly visible material will help both birds and gardeners see and avoid the lines. 

As long as crows have enjoyed our tasty crops and produce, we have been trying to frighten them away. What have we learned? 

• Birds can’t hear ultrasonic sounds. Devices supposed to scare birds away with ultrasonic sounds don’t work. 

• Birds are not fooled by plastic owls and inflatable snakes for long. 

• Effigies that move realistically may work for a little while. 

• Crows avoid effigies of dead crows. Paper crows, hung upside down with the wings spread, usually work. 

• Highly reflective shiny tape, or bird tape, hung in streamers or twisted and strung to make a temporary fence can frighten crows away. 

• Devices with reflective surfaces that spin or flap in the breeze can frighten crows. Buy them or make yourself—string up aluminum pie tins or discarded CDs around vulnerable plants or tie helium-filled Mylar party balloons around your garden. 

• Playing recorded crow distress calls disperses crows. 

• Farmers using firework. But these are too noisy unless your garden is far from neighbors. They may also be restricted or forbidden by local authorities. 

• A garden hose with motion sensor and sprinkler triggered by an animal’s arrival. The surprise of a sudden spray will frighten crows initially—until they learn there is no real harm. 

• All frightening devices work better when used consistently, moved around so crows don’t get used to them, and combined with other devices. 

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Browsing online I kept coming to the advice of hanging a dead crow in a tree to frighten away other crows. As Lord Sani is worshipped in South India, labourers I approached were unwilling to supply my garden with the necessary dead crow to put up in the trees. However finally a dead crow was acquired (through completely non violent means) and I was able to arrange for it to be put up into one of my garden trees. However I report that it doesn’t seem to work as most of the birds coming into my garden seem completely sangfroid that their deceased brethren is hanging close up. In fact even now a number of birds are happily perching on other branches of the same tree. 

I am still determined to rid myself of the pesky crow presence in my garden and to this end may order a CD of recorded crow distress calls from this website here. 

North of Arunachala off the Girivalam Roadway just before the Kubera Lingam, is a turnoff leading to the new and continually developing Balaji Temple (Lord Venkateshwara). 

 Lord Sani

As well as having a beautiful statue of the Lord identical in every aspect to that of the Balaji Temple at Tirupati, the Arunachala Balaji Temple has a number of other fascinating shrines. 

Shrine of Lord Sani with Raghu and Kettu

One of which is that of Lord Sani (Lord of the Crows) with Raghu and Kettu which is meant to be particularly efficacious in order to gain the support of Lord Sani thus mitigating painful and unpleasant karma. 

Cattle Egret

The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus Ibis and Unni Kokku = Tamil) is a species of Heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones and is seen throughout Tiruvannamalai. In non breeding birds its pure white plummage is distinguished from the Little Egret by the colour of its bill which is yellow not black. The Cattle Egret is white and adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. 

Cattle Egret, notice the yellow bill

Its wingspan is around 22 in and the bird weights up to 18 oz. It has a short, thick neck, sturdy bill and hunched posture. The positioning of the egret's eyes allows for binocular vision during feeding and it may be capable of nocturnal activity.

Cattle Egret with retracted neck

Cattle Egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other Heron species. Although the Cattle Egret sometimes feeds in shallow water, unlike most herons it is typically found in fields and dry grassy habitats, reflecting its greater dietary reliance on terrestrial insects rather than aquatic prey. This bird often accompanies cattle, catching insects and small creatures such as frogs disturbed by its attendant cow. 

Arunachala Field with Cow and Egret

The Cattle Egret adapted to a relationship with large browsing animals, but was easily able to switch to domesticated cattle and horses. When foraging with cattle, it has been shown to be 3.6 times more successful in capturing prey than when foraging alone. Its performance is similar when it follows farm machinery, but it is forced to move more. In urban situations cattle egrets have also been observed foraging in peculiar situations like railway lines 

Egret and Grazing Cow

Egret with Grazing Horse

This species gives a quiet, throaty rick-rack call at the breeding colony, but is otherwise largely silent. Its nesting season in South India is around November to March. It often nests in mixed colonies in large leafy trees, not necessarily near water. The male displays in a tree in the colony, using such behaviour as shaking a twig and pointing into the sky with a vertically upward bill. 

Male with material for nest

Its nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs and is constructed by both parents with the male collecting sticks and the female arranging them. 

Nests in large colonies of mixed birds

The clutch size can be anywhere from one to five eggs, although three or four is most common. Eggs are pale bluish-white. 

Abnormally large clutch of Egret eggs

Cattle Egret in Breeding Plummage

Incubation lasts around 23 days, with both sexes sharing incubation duties. The chicks begin to leave the nest and climb around at 2 weeks, fledges at 30 days and become independent at around the 45th day. 

Bird in Breeding Plummage with chicks