Clever daws have lots to crow about

A REGULAR reader emails me from time to time with questions and observations on the wildlife around him and, because he’s a very keen observer, his emails are always interesting. One came in the other day.

“I was in Tipperary town a few days ago doing a bit of shopping when I heard a noisy flock of jackdaws. They landed on a tall building, on the roof and the chimney. They chattered away and there was much tail wagging going on. Yesterday, at home, I observed jackdaws doing the same thing. This year has been a bad breeding year for birds, due to the poor weather and lack of insects. My understanding was that as soon as cold weather arrived breeding would not take place but the jackdaw behaviour suggests they were still in breeding mode. Because jackdaws are highly sociable birds, it could have been submissive behaviour. Any comments welcome.”

This was interesting for a couple of reasons. First of all I have noticed exactly the same sort of behaviour at least three times in the past couple of weeks in different parts of the country. On one occasion the birds were perched on a roadside phone cable and, significantly, there were a number of rooks mixed in with the jackdaws.