rec.gardens.ecosystems homepage -> archive: MOD$010625.14089@rec.gardens.ecosystems



Subject: Would you consider eliminating the crows?
From: simy1@my-deja.com (simy1)
Organization: http://groups.google.com/
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 01 12:17:02
Message-ID: <MOD$010625.14089@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



I have a good backyard ecosystem, rich in mammals and reptilians, not
to mention
wildflowers. Two acres of grassland, with many useful trees
surrounding it, support four groundhogs, countless snakes, squirrels
and butterfiles. There is a gang of crows living in the area, and they
do a couple
of things which I do not like: first, they have driven off hawks and
owls, which
we used to have. As a result, the rodent population, supported by the
grassland
that is my backyard, and by plenty of seeding trees (elms and maples),
has exploded. The snakes are all garters and eat no voles. Voles and
mice get into
my flowerbeds, my veggie garden, and my home. We had a two years
respite a few
years back when a fox took residence, and once all the rabbits were
eaten, the rodent popuation was eaten as well. Once these, too, had
gone, the fox went as well.

The second problem is that crows eat songbirds eggs. They have driven
out those as well. The little things do their best at defending their
nest but those pests are extremely persistent. I pull them in a bit in
the winter, when I am the only one offering a squirrel proof bird
feeder, but in the spring they go elsewhere to breed.

Would you consider trapping and killing the crows?