1,000 crows
Jan 21, 2019 11:31:54 #
I usually see only 7-10 crows at a time, but this morning, as I watched the birds come to our feeders, I noticed hundreds of crows flying low over the trees for 45 minutes, from east to west, spread out for at least 10 miles from first to last. It was the coldest morning of the year, (about 3 degrees F), a slight wind and particle snow from the west. Where did they come from? Where were they going? We live 10 miles west of Rochester, NY, near some woods. Anyone else ever notice a phenomenon like this in the dead of winter?
Jan 21, 2019 11:37:18 #
Not really. Ten miles is a really long stretch. But the first thing that came to my mind is Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds. BTW I loved that movie.
Jan 21, 2019 11:37:35 #
Jan 21, 2019 11:39:06 #
Jan 21, 2019 11:40:45 #
Jan 21, 2019 11:41:01 #
ELNikkor wrote:
I know the difference between starlings and crows; I had 2 pet crows when I was younger...
Just asking. I've never seen crows (or ravens) do that either!
Jan 21, 2019 12:20:13 #
"...Crows have been congregating in large roosts in the fall and winter for as long as there have been crows. Crow roosts can range from small scattered roosts of under one hundred individuals to the spectacularly large roosts of hundreds of thousands, or even more than a million crows! A roost in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma was estimated to hold over two million crows (Gerald Iams, 1972, State of Oklahoma Upland Game Inventory W-82-R-10)..."
Jan 21, 2019 12:26:25 #
Thomas902 wrote:
"...Crows have been congregating in large roosts in the fall and winter for as long as there have been crows. Crow roosts can range from small scattered roosts of under one hundred individuals to the spectacularly large roosts of hundreds of thousands, or even more than a million crows! A roost in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma was estimated to hold over two million crows (Gerald Iams, 1972, State of Oklahoma Upland Game Inventory W-82-R-10)..."
Jan 21, 2019 13:36:37 #
Thomas902 wrote:
"...Crows have been congregating in large roosts in the fall and winter for as long as there have been crows. Crow roosts can range from small scattered roosts of under one hundred individuals to the spectacularly large roosts of hundreds of thousands, or even more than a million crows! A roost in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma was estimated to hold over two million crows (Gerald Iams, 1972, State of Oklahoma Upland Game Inventory W-82-R-10)..."
Yes, huge roosts that "commute" out to feed in the morning and back to roost at night are a normal thing. A flock/murder that large can descend on an area and strip everything edible leaving the local birds and animals out of food. During spring and summer the roosts can still be large.
When it happens to unharvested crops it can leave a farm/farmer/farm family in serious financial trouble. City/suburban dwellers see them as intelligent clowns who will sometimes chase off the hawks that hunt around their bird feeders and absolutely do not understand the attitude of people like me who grew up in farm country (Western Kentucky for me).
"You shot and killed them to chase them off. That is awful, how could you do that?"
Isn't hard when you see them about to wipe out your year's corn crop.
Jan 21, 2019 13:39:26 #
jerryc41 wrote:
I guess you would call that murder of crows.
Wouldn't that be a serial murder of crows?
Jan 21, 2019 15:06:17 #
ELNikkor wrote:
I usually see only 7-10 crows at a time, but this ... (show quote)
Agree with Thomas102. Inside DC beltway on route50 where the metro station is they roosted in the thousands in a former pine woods.
The murder of crows stopped years ago when they became protected by the Feds.. Till then it was 'great sport' to shoot them at the roosts.
It takes three or more crows for a murder. If you see two, is that attempted murder?
Bill
Jan 21, 2019 15:57:24 #
Jan 21, 2019 18:53:07 #
ELNikkor wrote:
I know the difference between starlings and crows; I had 2 pet crows when I was younger...
Maryland has four Corvids.
Blue Jay
Common Raven
American Crow and
Fish Crow.
The winter flocks here consist of both American and Fish crows.
There is little worry about them doing any real damage. Their numbers are reduced below where that is possible.
Here on the Chesapeake there can be a problem with them destroying osprey eggs and chicks. That is rare, as you can imagine, if you know how aggressive osprey are at the nest. They do, however eat abandoned eggs.
I, too,j had young crows as summer pets. Only caged at night and free in the day. I hand fed them so I was a food source in their eyes. Cheap canned cat food was a gormet treat to them. They left on their own before winter.
Bill
Jan 21, 2019 19:09:02 #
newtoyou wrote:
Agree with Thomas102. Inside DC beltway on route50 where the metro station is they roosted in the thousands in a former pine woods.
The murder of crows stopped years ago when they became protected by the Feds.. Till then it was 'great sport' to shoot them at the roosts.
It takes three or more crows for a murder. If you see two, is that attempted murder?
Bill
The murder of crows stopped years ago when they became protected by the Feds.. Till then it was 'great sport' to shoot them at the roosts.
It takes three or more crows for a murder. If you see two, is that attempted murder?
Bill
It may be illegal to hunt crows near their roost. They are definitely not federally protected. Here in Illinois the hunting season runs from October through February with no daily limit.
Jan 21, 2019 21:59:39 #
Thanks for the info., I'll look for the roost if it is nearby and often used, or if I see them in those numbers again. I also used to feed my crows canned cat food, Bill. Once, I took Edgar (Alan Crow) to high school and kept him in my locker. When I fed him at lunch time, I didn't have a spoon, so I fed him the cat food with my finger, then went directly to English class. Soon, the whole class was disturbed by the smell, so the teacher couldn't teach. I meekly confessed to having cat food on my finger. Of course, she needed an explanation, (go figure!), and soon she had me go fetch the crow and do a mini-lesson on raising a pet crow. Elevated my popularity after that...
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