How to Get Rid of Ravens??

Down here in Tennessee, lead poisoning works pretty darn good.

I've heard the dry white rice thing works too, however, it won't differentiate between ravens and quail...those that partake in the rice, swell up, and die.
 
yaktamer said:
Can anybody explain the difference between a crow and a raven? I mean, in terms of being able to differentiate in the field. I know, I should just Google it, but then some future employer is going to ask some question about search engines I'll have to answer.:rolleyes:
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I don't know about the ravens out west, but we have some in the mountains in GA and on up into NC, etc. I have never seen them anywhere except at high elevations. They are much larger than crows and are usually seen singly or in pairs at most.

Also, unlike the varied vocabulary of crows, their one sound is pretty much "gwark".
 
The difference is the number of pinon feathers, a crow has 4 and a raven has 5.

I know you have heard all your life "it's a matter of a pinion" :D
 
The problem is what she is feeding the quail & sparrows. Bread is not that good for the birds and it is large enough to attract ravens. She should try using chicken/hen scratch (wheat & cracked corn) from your local feed supply house. It will bring in lots of quail and other birds but it's too small for the ravens to bother with and they will eventually go somewhere else.

Also, a bird feeder LIKE THIS ONE is a good idea when using grain feed.
 
Good tip about changing the feed that is put out for the smaller birds. Ravens won't eat finch food any more than a lumberjack eats quiche or sashimi.

Ravens are bright birds, crows not so much. Around SoCal, the ravens are twice as big as the crows. Crows in flight have squared off tails, and ravens have diamond or kite-shaped tails. Also, raven beaks are proportionately larger than crow beaks. If you see a young raven beside a mature crow, the size of the beak will distinguish them. And ravens, for want of a better word, often look "shaggy." It's tough for them to get all their feathers to lie down neatly, though some can manage the trick.

Ravens have a variety of calls. They can talk about their world in greater detail than crows can. I have had ravens talk back to me when I imitate that strange wood-block noise they make -- "clock, clock." I wish I knew what I was saying, but the ravens seem to take neither pleasure nor offense in it. Maybe it just means, "Well, here I am."
 
I remember as a kid walking out of my house into a field and watching the Ravens watching me. Every time I carried my rifle, however, they took off as soon as I appeared. They learn very fast and are highly intelligent. They not only learn from experience but it appears they can convey this information to other Ravens (crows to a lesser degree). If you can't shoot them, the choice of feed is probably the best idea. Try different types of feed until you find the one the "good" birds like and the Ravens won't eat. Bread is not a good idea, that's a favorite for them.
 
Tokyo has a raven problem. They call 'em crows but they gotta be ravens 'cause they are twice the size of any crows I saw in the US. In the city they feast off the trash, and one needs to secure the garbage in a garbage can or under mesh when you put it out for the garbage trucks to pick it up. If you put it out in a vinyl bag alone, the ravens get on it and strew it all over the street, chowing down on what they like. Nasty things. But, very smart.

When I moved into this place a tree in my back yard had a raven nest in it. With two young ravens, and their mom. Maybe the dad, too. Ten years ago so I don't recall. The house was famous among the people who maintain it as "the house with the ravens." Ravens will divebomb you, and sometimes scratch people's heads with their talons. (There are warning signs posted in parks here.)

I have some airsoft guns, and I thought about shootin' the youngsters in the nest and their parents, too, but considered: They can't go anywhere for a while. So, we just eyed each other warily for a couple of months. But when they got big and could fly, the battle commenced.

I was shootin' ravens when they were in my garden and they were divebombing me when I was in the street. At one point the youngesters came back and i found them sitting side by sde on a branch in the tree. Like most youngesters they were green, and i popped 'em both, sequentially,"gawk!," right in their chests, and they took off, never to be seen again.

Anyway, nowadays ravens very rarely come, and when they do, I grab my airsoft Python (sorry!) from my bookcase, hold it hidden down along my leg, and ease my way to the French doors that open onto the garden. The smart ones, most of them, take off at that point. If I get that far and they haven't, I'll whip up the gun and get a shot or two off as they take wing. Haven't definitely hit one in flight yet though.

But these birds are smart. At this point they mostly stay out of my yard, and in the years since we went toe-to-toe, they've stopped divebombing me in the street.
 
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