Merlin the Rook
This is Merlin, our resident rook who has been with us since he fell out of the nest this spring.
He completely rules the roost, putting the cats and dogs in their place and even having a go at the three peacocks!
Would love to hear from anyone else out there with a pet rook.
Update 7/12/08
There has only been one incidence of any interaction between Merlin and the wild rooks. In our garden [it being Rookery Farm] we have a pair of model plastic rooks, which have never attracted any interest from the wild rooks, nor very much from Merlin. One day back in September I heard a lot of cawing from a tree quite close to the house not normally frequented by rooks, Merlin became quite agitated, cawing quite frantically and then attacking a plastic rook viciously, climbing on its back [difficult as his feet kept slipping] and stabbing furiously at its head! The wild rooks went back to the rookery and have not attempted any further social interaction!
IBR
If you have a pet bird and are worried about it flying away and not being able to find its way back, it might be worth registering your bird with the IBR - £10 for 3 years cover. Your bird will be put on a database and will also receive a split telephone ring.
Letting your bird go
It will be very tricky dehumanising him if he is imprinted, if not impossible. Imprinted birds should under no circumstances be released.
- Firstly, it is against the law to release any imprinted animal, even wild ones. The penalty is a massive fine! We’re talking thousands!
- Secondly, it would most probably be a death sentence, a tame corvid would not last long once it started hanging around people for food or companionship, there are lots of people out there that hate corvids and will kill them if they catch them.
You will need to make a decision about his future. You could either take him to a rescue centre with others of his own kind, or you might decide to keep him youself, a big commitment, and one not to be taken lightly!
Update 20/1/09
When we came here 15 years ago we were told the terrible tale of how the baby rooks were shot out of their nests in rookery wood some time in the 60’s. The adults left and did not return for many years. When they did eventually return, they nested in the poplar trees to the west of the farmhouse and not in the wood.
At present, the main rookery continues to be located in the poplar trees with outlying nests around the garden, and usually one or two in the wood. I do not know how long there has been a rookery here, but judging by the fact that the house has always been known as Rookery Farm, The Rookery, or The Rookery Farm, and was originally built around 1700 probably a very long time indeed.
The wood is classified as ancient woodland and must have predated the farmhouse. I know arable farmers do not like rooks, but as someone with cattle and horses I regard them as the farmer’s friend. We like to make sure the pasture is grazed low in early spring and left to rest. The rooks come onto the land to feed and thoroughly cleanse the grass by eating worms and other parasites, and also harrow the droppings, saving us a job.
January 20th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Arable farmers and rooks have been enemies for a while now, but it wasn’t always that way. When rooks are pecking in arable fields, sure they can eat plenty of seed, but once the seeds have germinated, they don’t eat them anymore, and favour instead the various insect “pests”.
I know some organic arable farmers that are grateful for the rooks’ help, although I doubt there’s a farmer out there that’s too keen for them to eat the seed. There used to be a planting rhyme though:
One to die
One to grow
One for the rook
One for the crow
But I guess these days, with financial considerations greater than anything else, such as sharing nature’s bounty, they’re not so keen for only a quarter of their scattered seed to grow.
January 30th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
hi there.
our names are mark and lisa.
we run a small crow and corvid rescue sanctuary in wolverhampton west mids.
our web site is www.crowsrus.co.uk would you like a link from our page to rooks.org.
we have 3 resident birds at the moment. a crow named BRUCE, a rook called BRYN and a baby rook like merlin called BOO . have a look at our site and see what you think. we also talk to clare from new zealand who rescues rooks. thanx mark.
February 1st, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Hi Mark and Lisa
Thanx for leaving a comment, it would be interesting to know what words Bryn says. We are trying to teach Merlin to talk, he used to make noises like “Hello” and “Merlin” alot, just at the moment he is obsessed with doing impersonations of one of our little dogs barking and he sometimes does cat meows too!
I don’t know if you could post a link to this site, you would have to ask Sam Malone who is the administrator.
Thanks Jo.
February 1st, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I’d love to see Merlin barking and mewing! Any chance of some video?
I’ve added a link to crows r us in the main links bit on each page.
February 15th, 2009 at 12:07 am
We’ve been trying to capture Merlin talking on video but it is very difficult, he is very crafty about when he does it and only does it if he knows there is no chance of anyone seeing him do it!
We are working on his homepage at the moment so we’ll post any video we do get there, it’s still under construction at the moment but should be fully up in a few weeks,
it’s at
http://www.merlintherook.webs.com
June 1st, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Hi Jo. Very interested to hear about Merlin! I wonder if you can help me or tell me who can, I found a young rook a few days ago tangled in some brambles and very week, i watched it to see if its parents were about but no sign so gave it some cat food, i left it out for 2 nights but this mornig it was weak and covered in flys and maggots so i have taken him, (Ricki) inside. He’ had food all day and is much stronger and screeching well, what should i be feeding him? Best regards Pete
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Dear Peter, very concerned about the flies and maggots, I think a visit to the vet would be a good idea, they shouldn’t charge you as it’s a wild bird. You can also get a parasite treatment at pet shops for pet birds called beaphar spot on. For more information on Merlin he has his own website at www.merlintherook.webs.com with information about diet etc. please let me know if your bird survives, you can also get advice from Vanessa at Corvidaid who knows everything there is to know about caring for all species of corvid, hope to hear from you soon. jo ps superplume by Johnsons is also very good for feathers. (you must wash parasites off the bird and then put this on it)