This morning’s shock

[Mollypolly2610]

Got up this morning opened the door to the kitchen diner and there was a crow flapping about!
Ornaments smashed, things on the floor, shite everywhere! Windows, sills, worktops, all covered in it and it had shat all over the floor and even on the dining table.

When I tried to get it out it hid behind the microwave, it was a struggle to try and catch it.
Just finished the last of the cleaning (took my time) and poured a glass of wine.

Omg what a shock, do you know how it got in. Im not sure you should be giving it alcohol

We think it came in through the front door yesterday when we were cutting the hedge but it must have hid in the kitchen the whole night until we went to bed. That creeps me out! My DH always shuts the kitchen door so it was stuck in there and no signs of it being anywhere else in the house. How did we not hear it or see it all night?

Could it have come down a chimney? Funny, there was one hanging around in my front garden this morning v reluctant to move away from me, looking all evil.

For the future, if a bird gets in the house, close all windows and doors in the room, and the curtains / blinds.
Then open a decent size window and open the curtains. Usually they'll flap about a bit, then realise how to get out.
Shitting is part of the fight or flight response, but at least you have a glass of wine now!

I woke up this morning to a load of screeching - I ran downstairs and there was a baby starling in between my blinds and window. Also sat on the work surface was my rather sooty cat. My living room was a mess, soot everywhere ceilings needed cleaning as did the walls and carpets.

It’s a bit of a shock Molly it’s not the way you want to start the morning.

Ugh. I've seen what one blackbird can do when caught in a shed overnight, so I can hardly imagine the awful mess left by a crow.

Enjoy your well deserved wine Molly

But what's happening with the wildlife?

My shock isn't a fraction as dramatic as yours, but it was noticeable, in that we have a visiting squirrel, a miniature thug on steroids.

He ripped through the flower bed this morning, flinging decorative bark and mulch all over the patio
Adorable, vicious little bastard that he is

It was a mess (nothing on your scale though)

Sorry Op you reminded me of this. Though it's a bat, apparently.

www.bing.com/videos/search?q=irish+family+trying+to+catch+a+bird+in+the+house&docid=608053633781862151&mid=5027105C77DAB034AB185027105C77DAB034AB18&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

And then there's this one (sorry!).

www.bing.com/videos/search?q=put+a+bird+on+it+portlandia&docid=608042381020168797&mid=281675EBEED23ED8B3FF281675EBEED23ED8B3FF&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

I love my outdoor birds and feed them but prefer the small ones. The crows are wary of me if I see them near the seed and bread I chase them. I think this was a revenge attack!

Fucking hell! Never mind a glass, pour the whole bottle.

Apparently crows are very intelligent birds and can become fixated on a particular human ( so watch out OP!) , especially if they have contact with that person as a fledgling or 🐣.

Oh no, that sounds awful! But pleased you shut the door. We never shut any doors, so if something got in, it'd have the run of the house!

My husband came home from work once to a kitchen covered in bird shit, he assumed the cat had brought a bird in, chaos had commenced and the cat had caught and ate the bird...as there was no bird in sight. So dutifully he cleaned the mess up, watched T.V, had a drink and went to bed. The next morning he got up and bird shit was everywhere again, but still no bird. Feeling a little dazed, he began to clean up again. He was on his hands and knees cleaning the floor and just started to get up when he made eye contact with a wood pigeon sat on the work top.

The cat must have brought it in...only she had managed to get the thing up a kerb through the first cat flap, and up another step, through another cat flap and into the kitchen...the bird was miraculously unharmed.

The cat is still with us, but because of a recent mouse problem in our store room...we know she has officially retired from hunting now.

@weatherford that really made me chuckle!

I quite like crows, they chase off the Heron that's been eating my fish. and guide the Buzzards away from their nests, I think they seem quite wise old birds.

OP, here is an American scientific study for you on crows called 'The Crow Mystery'

Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.

However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.

MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.

The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause: when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.

The scientific conclusion was that while all the lookout crows could say "Cah", none could say "Truck."

I have an 8 foot bifold door. So far in the last week I have rescued a baby blue tit and a baby sparrow that have flown in and perched. Maiden flights I think, as when I released them they 'flew' on a downward trajectory. I have also had a couple of bigger birds fly in and quickly fly out again. Blackbirds knocking on the glass for sultanas and a Chaffinch that sees his reflection in any glass as a rival to be battered to death.