Birds attacking squirrels

[megatronisabeast]

So I was enjoying watching Big Mama and her babies eating their treats when Big Bad Blue decides he will attack one of my babies! The squirrel was in the tree on a branch eating and Big bad kept trying to swoop in and peck him. What can I do to help alleviate this problem? Also, I have had crows, cardinals, and woodpeckers coming in the yard. Will they bother my squirrels?

[TubeDriver]

The jerk jays will swoop down and try to startle a squirrel into dropping its treat. They will not attack adult squirrels but they might mess a bit with a baby. But I think they are more of a harassment than a threat!

Crows can gang up on and kill a baby squirrel that is alone or lost but with mom around that will not happen. Crows also chase away hawks so I welcome them to my yard.



So I was enjoying watching Big Mama and her babies eating their treats when Big Bad Blue decides he will attack one of my babies! The squirrel was in the tree on a branch eating and Big bad kept trying to swoop in and peck him. What can I do to help alleviate this problem? Also, I have had crows, cardinals, and woodpeckers coming in the yard. Will they bother my squirrels?

[Fireweed]

Firstly, sounds like that jay was trying to get the baby to drop its food - a common tactic among jays. They will peck them if they can, as well, because they'll drop the food faster! But usually they don't get a peck in unless the squirrel is compromised in some way. They will also follow squirrels around and when the squirrel stashes its food, they know exactly where to get it.

Jays of all kinds, including blue jays, will take pinkies/baby squirrels right out of the nest and will attack even small squirrels if the opportunity is right. They are more vicious than people tend to think because they are so freaking smart. And when they kill it's slllllllllooooooooowly.

I personally don't like to attract crows/ravens/magpies/jays just to keep the hawks away even though I try my best to keep the hawks away myself. Hawks kill much more mercifully in general than any bird in the jay family. If you've ever seen a jay (crow/raven/magpie/blue jay) pecking to death a baby squirrel and/or dropping them over and over, you know it is far worse than a hawk killing a pinkie/baby/adult. They don't have the power that a hawk has to kill as quickly.
Hawks also tend to come and go in my experience, whereas once you've attracted jays/crows they tend to stick around the yard.

If you know what to listen for, all birds will announce the arrival of a hawk - robins (all thrushes), chickadees/wrens/warblers, woodpeckers/sapsuckers/flickers etc - and then you can chase the hawk away yourself. All the birds I mentioned will also swoop down on a hawk and/or make a racket right around the hawk, making the hunting area unattractive to a hawk and he will leave because all the birds/mammals are on guard and won't be easy to catch. You can help their efforts by getting in on the action :).
Jays like crows will also swoop down on hawks or chase them away but they aren't the only birds who do that. So I don't really see the benefit of jays myself especially because they do hurt squirrels.

For me the best way to keep hawks and/or crows/jays from hurting squirrels is not to feed the birds and/or leave out seed/nuts for birds/squirrels. The jays will be less attracted to the area, the hawks less attracted as well because there is not as much activity from squirrels congregating around the seeds/nuts and less birds in the area overall. JMO. :)

More info then you asked for :grin2 but I think it's all related.

[megatronisabeast]

I appreciate all of the info! Funny thing is I was working out in my garage with the door open waiting for my babies to come out and eat and a robin came within ten feet of me, looked right at me, said something and flew to the backyard. When I went back the squirrels were eating. It's like the robin knew I was waiting!

[island rehabber]

Two of the four babies I have right now were victims of a bird attack. Three teenagers saw the birds (crows) attacking the nest and actually saw the babies fall out onto the pavement. :(

[megatronisabeast]

The ones I have in my yard look to be around three months old based on when I first saw them. It seems like momma is always around. She has a drey in my yard and in my neighbors yard. I hope they can take care of themselves if one attacks them. They seem to be taking care of themselves.

[Baxied]

Just today on my way home I witnessed a dove being chased in flight by a crow who was in turn being chased by some other black bird. The dove, in it's frenzy to get away, was struck by a car but was still alive in the road. I immediately pulled over, but before I could even get out of the car the crow had swooped down and started pecking the dove. The other black bird was swooping at the crow, so it picked the dove up and was about to fly away when I ran up to it. It dropped the poor dove and I scooped it up and ran back to my car. It was still alert but passed cradled in my lap. I knew that crows could attack babies but never had I dreamed they could be predatory towards an adult like that. It has changed the way I view them. It all happened so fast that I'm not sure what type of bird the smaller black one was, but it is my hero.

[Fireweed]

Baxied, that's sad. Good thing the poor dove passed soon enough, and in your caring hands.
I took in a grosbeak once after getting it away from a magpie who was pecking him to death. The back of the grosbeak's neck was completely opened, a large gaping wound. Awful - and he was still alive. At least I was able to euthanize quickly instead of him suffering longer at the beak of the magpie. The chipmunk I just took in with a missing foot and various other wounds was probably attacked by a jay - bad wounds that fit with jay bird claws but the wounds weren't deep enough to kill him quickly. He probably managed to get away in time before the bird tore more chunks off him.
The first squirrel I rescued was attacked by a magpie - pecked at and dropped. He was around 7-8 weeks old. He had been just following his mother through the yard when the magpie swooped in and grabbed him. When I finally scared the magpie off, the baby had a broken back from being dropped repeatedly. And I can't tell you how many times I've seen gray jays (smaller than crows) take pinkies out of nests.
I could go on with the jay stories but I won't. :tilt Suffice to say they are opportunists in the worst way. Hawks are built to kill as efficiently as possible... jays just take advantage when they can and aren't built to kill as swiftly so they make do with torture. :shakehead

[megatronisabeast]

Is there something or someway to feed Big Bad Blue so as to keep him away from my babies? I have thrown treats to Big Mama only to have the Jay come in and take the food right away. I won't even see them around, but I guess they watch me. I even have a picture of a Jay getting caught in my glass feeding jar. I had to let him out. They are really greedy.