Never heard of anything like this

[Kanth]

http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/301519|oddlyenough|02-10-2003::10:45|reuters.html

Hungry 'Hitchcock' Ravens Kill 19 Sheep

Feb 10, 10:34 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A flock of hungry ravens killed 19 sheep grazing on snow-covered fields in southern Germany, raising the uneasy feeling that the killer birds of Alfred Hitchcock's famous thriller "The Birds" have come alive.
"There's a lot of snow in the area. The birds are hungry so they attack my sheep," shepherd Juergen Fritz said.

"I have seen the Hitchcock film. But I'm experiencing it 'live'," he said, referring to the 1963 classic, in which aggressive birds tyrannize a village in the United States.

Fritz said he was not able to protect his 500 sheep against attacks all the time. But even when he was with his flock, he was powerless when the ravens attacked.

"The worst thing is that I can't do anything about it. You're not allowed to shoot the ravens because they are protected animals," the 43-year old said.

Dietmar Ernst, a police spokesman in Loerrach, southwestern Germany, said he thought about 50 to 60 ravens living near a rubbish site had carried out the attacks on Fritz's sheep.

"It's a full-blown attack on the sheep. They use their beaks, their feet. They pick out the animals' eyes," he said. He said such attacks were common when a large number of birds gathered in one area where they could not easily find food.

"As soon as one starts the attack, the others all follow," he said. "But they're especially aggressive this year," he said.

Fritz said he had experienced attacks by ravens before in his 30 years as a traveling shepherd, but never had he lost so many animals in the course of a fortnight.

"I'm going to leave this area," he said, adding he had already lost about $2,000 due to the killings.

I would imagine that small children wouldn't be safe outdoors in that area.

[Vulcan]

Ummm we have Magpies, which I believe are species of crow, and its not uncommon for them to attack sheep, usually the lambs.

[capt. apathy]

when we where kids we had a nest of ravens that terrorised our block.  they built a nest about 50' up a tree on our street.  for a couple weeks you couldn't leave the house without them swoopping down on 'dive-bombing' runs at you.  no real damage though, just the talons in your hair and alot of noise mostly.  don't think they drew any blood though.

eventually my dad called animal control and they informed us that ravens don't act like this, so we must be mistaken. so then my dad called the cops, they laughed and told him 'your kids are making it up'.  my dad asked them what he was suposed to do about it if neither they nor animal control would do anything.  the cop was a real smart bellybutton and said 'tell ya what, next time you see them attack you go ahead and shoot them yourself'.

so thats what he did.  fairly exciting day on the block.  the vegan (sp?) hippies next door freaked when they heard the gun go off, the cops came to arrest the old man for firing a gun in the city, and whatever the do to you for killing a raven (is there a season on them?).  anyway the smart mouthed cop on the phone had the character to speak up when it was checked out, and admit what he said.  he got a reprimand, the old man got a lecture from the cops, we could walk freely, and one raven got hauled off to the dump.

[Hangtime]

Seagulls... Johnathan Livingston Rat With Wings Seagulls.

Ahhh for the good old days... a chum launcher, a 12 guage auto with 10 boxes of shells and not another fishing boat in sight....

[Kanth]

Wow, I've never heard of Ravens acting like that or magpies for that matter.

Sheep and even lambs are pretty large kill for a bird that size.

must be some serious teamwork going on.

I know that Crows (my fav bird) live in family groups so I'm gonna guess that Ravens must be the same way (not just flocks but actual family goups) This is why if you see a crow baby attacked by a hawk you will see the whole damn extended family hunting his butt down to make him pay and also why only very young inexperienced hawks will go after a crow baby.

really interesting I'm going to see what else I can dig up on this.

[Kanth]

http://www.calmzoo.org/stories/storyReader$74

okay Raven's pretty well rock..

Ravens mate for life. In courtship displays, the male will fly with wing tips touching the female's. They will dive like a falcon and tumble over and over in the air.

sahweeeet.


Magpies are relatives of the crows and jays, another thing I didn't know, there is seemingly no end to my ignorance

A relative of crows and jays, the yellow-billed magpie shares the family trait of being extremely gregarious. Shy and retiring they're not. Festooned with brilliant iridescent black and white feathers, a long tapered tail and a bright yellow beak, the yellow-billed magpie stands out in the farmlands and riparian forests it calls home. And, if their bright colors don't attract your attention, their scolding call will.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/watchable/magpies.html

they are brilliant but not my favorite. Jet black just looks awesome to me.

[Kanth]

Okay I'm converted.

okay not really but wow what an image!

[Angus]

I had sheep once, - about 100 of them They DID actually get picked on by ravens during the lambing season, and so did mares while having their foals. Seagulls of the larger sizes also do the same, but the raven is way faster to the  scene (much more clever)
This resulted in some really ugly casualties. If there was a slow birth, the birds would sit on the victim, start eating around the rectum/vagina, then the eyes and bowels. Very very nasty.
So, I started shooting ravens and gulls (back then it was not forbidden), and shot them by the dozens really. I found the nesting area of the Gulls (about 100 nests in a mossy field) and did not give mercy untill they had all packed and moved away:D
I belive that the Raven is not allowed to be shot anymore, however it is a possibility to get excluded from that rule in cases of emergency.
The raven, being smart does not really need to be shot by the dozens, shoot 1 dead, and let the dead one lay in the field, the others will stay away.
Alternatively, shoot them at 40 yards plus with a 12 gauge and a size 9 (clay pigeons), - they'll get the message and move without being seriously wounded.
I have some nice pictures of our local raven, and a tale to tell, - will post it later.

[Kanth]

I was doing some reading last nite, there was a breif story about a man doing research on Ravens, his boss told him that he'd have to shoot one to do further research and even tho he didn't want to , he did anyway.  He aimed his rifle up and got off a shot that just skimmed the raven, who kept circling, and dropped him a well aimed return gift

Originally posted by Angus

I have some nice pictures of our local raven, and a tale to tell, - will post it later.

[Naso]

Vulcher birds?

[Kanth]

Yep I believe Ravens are vultures as well as hunters.

Originally posted by Naso
Vulcher birds?

[lord dolf vader]

ya know when they made the movie birds they trained ravens to land on peoples heads for food. the people would run away and the bird would chase them trying to land on their head for a treat making it looke like they were attacking the people . after the movie the birds were set free ( a large number of them i believe) the artical i read said they got complaints about birds attacking people for months.


it couldent be could it?

[Wlfgng]

feed them alka-seltzer

[Kanth]

hurric, that you?  

Originally posted by Wlfgng
feed them alka-seltzer

[ra]

I find that if you stand just behind a sheep, really close, the ravens will leave it alone. I've saved many sheep that way.

ra