Meet Our Wildlife

At Corvid Aid, we do not believe in putting any bird down, unless it cannot possibly maintain itself – even in captivity. We strive to get all birds fit, and well enough to be rehabilitated so that they can be released back into their natural habitat as soon as possible.

Sadly, this does not always happen as birds that are disabled or too tame cannot survive in the wild.

We are strictly against releasing imprinted birds firstly because this is actually illegal under the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960 and secondly because it is not in the best interests of either the bird or the general public. Tame corvids can cause havoc seeking out human companionship – they might try to land on an unsuspecting member of the public’s head or shoulders, for example. Now, whilst some people might enjoy a corvid’s friendly advances, many more are far more likely to find it terrifying to have a strange big black bird land on them! Imprinted birds do not have the natural fear of humans that their peers in the wild depend upon for their safety, and as such, they are more liable to be shot. In the breeding season also, when they are natuarally at their most aggressive, they might choose to attack a passer-by in order to protect their young.

We try to avoid imprinting by hand-rearing groups of chicks and stopping all human contact once they are weaned. Sadly however, some birds will still develop into imprints. We are trying releasing semi-tame crows at the moment, in the hope that they will fly free around the local area and integrate with the wild crows there. In the meantime they still get fed by us and this seems to be working. Fully tame birds are unlikely to ever be suitable for realease.

Obviously, we cannot keep all unreleasable birds at the sanctuary as they block valuable space needed for other, more needy, birds as they come in. Therefore we try to find suitable homes for them, which is proving somewhat difficult. We would prefer our birds to go to people who will use them to educate the public about corvids and dispell the bad press they receive; though of course, a loving home with an experienced bird-keeper is better than none at all. If you feel that you could provide a suitable home for one of our crows, then by all means get in touch with us.

Our current roster of permanent birds consist of three carrion crows, a barn owl and a hare (yes, we know the last two are not corvids, but we do take in other British wildlife from time to time). Click on a menu item to find out more about our birds (and hare).

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