We feed the birds here in the Pacific Northwest which means we also get crows. Now, we're not crow haters. In fact, we admire their intelligence and social behaviors. However, that does not mean we like the way a group of them can drop into our backyard and immediately empty a newly filled feeder. We have a raised platform feeder which we really like because it will draw normally ground feeding birds up to where they are easier to view. Unfortunately the crows seem to know when Nancy fills the feeders and up to two dozen of them will fly in and eat all the seed before any of the other birds get a chance.
I tried adding a roof to the platform hoping it would make the space too tight for the crows. They were not bothered by it one bit. A couple weeks ago I ordered myself a Sparrow Free Magic Halo in the hopes it would help control the crows. I finally added it to the platform feeder and am cautiously optimistic that I may have hit upon a solution. Our trees were full of crows the morning after installing the halo and we did not see any of them land on the feeder. Since then they haven't been hanging around at all. I have seen a few fly through but none of them have stopped. I realize a few days of sporadic observations does not yell SUCCESS but I think we may be on to something here.
I think most everyone who feeds birds eventually reaches a point where they wonder if a new bird will ever enter their yard. I don't think Nancy and I have had any new birds since a few waxwings had stopped for a couple days earlier this year. So, it was a pretty big surprise when Nancy yelled down the stairs that their was big new bird under one of the maple trees out front. I glanced out the window and saw that we could finally add a pheasant to our house list. It was a female who had moved out our regular quail so it could enjoy the millet and cracked corn scattered under the tree. Since then, we have seen it several more times scratching under a large platform feeder we have mounted on a tall 4x4. We get a lot of quail and doves to our yard but had never had a pheasant before.
