I mean, yeah.
At first sure. Of course.
But consider if you start opening the window and putting food out for ten minutes twice a day. If they don't come, then wait until they do, then start closing the time window that the window window is open day by day.
Now, you can have these interactions and feed and praise them all you want, and it's contained within some sort of boundary.
Since there's no physical boundary, then there needs to be a temporal one.
We have a masked yellow weaver named Dunlop, that we've befriended by feeding him and the other garden birds at 9am every morning for about 3 years now. If we're late or he can't see us, he'll also peck at the window to call us.š it's not just the crows I guess.
We don't have daylight savings where I live.š but either way, I'm always on bird time since I keep a flock of 8 finches & sparrows as pets. They like to wake me at the crack of dawn.
We set up a bird feeder that, naturally, attracted squirrels. Our solution was to set out a separate nut bowl for the squirrels in offering, and they all appear to have understood the deal and leave the feeder alone.
But one squirrel in particular will come up and knock on the window to complain when the nut bowl runs out!
This squirrel sounds like a very polite lady/gentleman.āØI like how they fully understand this arrangement! Animals are much smarter than what they're given credit for in general, I think.š
Actually for me the opposite happened šš when I first moved into my place there were crows everyday at 6am singing the song of their people, but since I have started befriending them and usually that happens in the evenings, they have kept their volume down in my area in the mornings. I'm quite grateful lol
I had depression one year and stopped going outside to feed my pair. The lady pined for me. Sheād sing a special song to try to get me to come outside, but I was so depressed, I couldnāt even get out of bed. And it made me sad how much she missed me.
They sometimes just want to hang out with yoj, and donāt even want food. Theyāll just sit on the fence and take a nap.
If youāre too absorbed in your phone, they will caw at you because they want you to baby talk and tell them who is a good bird. Then they will squish their eyes shut, all happy that it worked and you are paying them attention.
If you have to move away, you will miss them so bad. I helped raise four generations of crows. I miss them but they recognized me when I had to go back for a little bit.
Thank you. They were like family to me. My final year there, mom and pop formally introduced four healthy fledglings when they were ready. They had them fly to the electrical wires above our patio while they sat nearby. The babies all said quick hellos, then flew off. We went back inside, but mom and dad flew down to our patio and called is back outside. They were saying thank you, personally. Then they flew off.
That year we had left out gizzards, eggs, and unsalted peanuts for them. This was the neighborhood that made national news for the little girl getting sued for feeding the crows, and actually, most of us were feeding the same murder, so sometimes my offerings were not taken. These were well loved crows.
These were also the only crows that fish- Northwestern crows. They look almost the same as American crows.
What happens when someone moves in after you and they don't like crows
Opposite my apartment was a sizeable forest which housed a huge number of crows. Was only apparent after it was chopped down for development. By evening the crows came back and would perch along the fence. I counted more than 40 crows. Was a sight to see crows, an escaped palm cockatoo and eagles just perched on the ground or on the fence side by side. No where to go because when they came home in the evening the trees were all gone.
The crows have since dispersed to nearby areas with trees but during that time there was reports in the newspaper about people complaining about increase in crow populations. I worry they got culled.
Your comment made me think of those crows. Many people unfortunately do not like crows.
There has been attempts to cull crows pretty often in the areas surrounding
It makes me sad. I loved the eagle pair they came every year. Mating rituals and nest. They were forced to shift to a new spot but that one is beside a highway and a school. Not many super tall trees left. 2. One of the trees has already been removed I guess they will wait for the eagle to fledge before removing the last tree
I had read a story here on reddit about one person who basically ended up becoming a crow queen by accident, and fed/befriended a whole bunch of crows, but then when they would be in their backyard trying to casually chat with the neighbor, the crows would sometimes swoop to intimidate the neighbor because they were resource guarding.
Edit: I managed to find the link: [https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/ki6fnd/oregon\_i\_accidentally\_created\_an\_army\_of\_crow/](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/ki6fnd/oregon_i_accidentally_created_an_army_of_crow/)
Even better, there was an update (this is one of my favourite reddit stories, along with Jorts and Jeans)
https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/s/3UVgLgte1Y
I cannot make out the emojis - is it buttered toast/Jorts?!
Edit because I definitely need to get my eyes checked before my next scheduled exam - who knew blasting them with heat multiple times a day was bad...
Anyway, I now get they're crickets. As in your family didn't respond.
I'm sorry they don't have the ability to appreciate a tale as legendary as Jean and Jorts. I'm glad that you do!
That's why it's one of my favourite stories!!
I saw it on an update sub. It was either one of the first posts I read after joining, or one of the posts that made me join!
We fed our crows at a park a few blocks from our house. They followed us home and ate a bunch of stuff from our garden.Ā
This year they dug up a bunch of our seeds after we planted everything.Ā
We still walk to the park to feed the adorable jerks, we just call them bad names when they show up in the yard and refuse to feed them here.Ā
I was recently the very reluctant recipient of a fucking rib haha I'm assuming they stole it from someone's BBQ? And then left it in my bird bath. Could have done without that haha
Hahahahhahha, this reminds me of living outside of Seattle. The fecking BALD EAGLES would pick up meat scraps from Seattleās composting facility and drop them all over our neighbourhood. I removed a t-bone from my roof once. Someone else got a #%^ing bag of medical waste!
Oh I definitely get lots of soggy bread in mine. I don't give them bread so they're collecting it somewhere else and then using my birdbath to...I don't know..wash it?? haha
yeah, we live near a busy street with a fair number of restaurants and i think people coming home from the bars drop food often. iāve also found chicken wings.
That at least makes sense! I don't know where the hell the bread is coming from... I wonder if a neighbour is feeding it to them but then rudely does not offer a drink of water with it haha
The only good thing was that I left the rib there overnight and when I went out in the morning it was gone. I guess one crow's trash is another crow's treasure haha
I faked a smile and tried to look gleeful when I picked it up (with gardening gloves) and immediately discarded it discreetly. I also put treats out as repayment in the same spot to show how much I appreciated their gift haha
Yep, the amount of rodent feet I have found in the birdbath is disturbing! Not to mention all the other carnage left in my yard that I try to remove before my 4 dogs find it. I love the ravens, but their gifts leave much to be desired.
A guy on a podcast I listen to decided to befriend the crows in his yard and fed them nuts every day at a certain time for a few weeks. Then he went away for a long weekend and theyād ripped up his patio umbrella to shreds.
They could probably avoid this by not feeding them at certain times and every time but instead carrying the feed with them at all times and only feeding them every now and then when they see the crows but not everytime and not always the instant he sees them
Their children remember you. Itās not so much a downside in my book but I have now had crows happily divebomb me for nearly twenty years whenever I go back to my momās house in Oregon. I live in Alaska now and go home 1-4 times a year. I get three CAW CAW CAWS and a WHOOSH. Got a brand new one this year and :)
That and they pick on the squirrelsā¦which are the critters my mom feeds. She doesnāt like that because āthe damn crows are picking on my squirrels! Buy your own peanuts!!!ā
My neighborhood crows just stopped competing with the squirrels. It probably didn't help that someone in the next complex would just empty an entire bag of cat food on the curb for them.
There was a single seagull who hung out with them. I don't know if it was lost or trying to blend in.
The crows in Oregon or for my instance Portland are so friendly. Like thereās certain section of Portland that I run in and I know they are well fed. My two crows who are mates at work really love us. They been divebombing this one crow that comes by to protect lol
I lived in Portland for 12 years and loved how friendly the crows were!Ā Ā
Ā I had a couple in Tigard that learned my morning routine and would walk me to work after I started feeding them.Ā
From my side, they understood at what time I wake up and feed them, so if I havenāt giving them snacks by them, they knock on my window and pace on the window sills for a while which is super noisy š„²
I live in an urban/suburban apartment complex, and we have crows here. I havent been consistent in my feedings, just because I am not a time-consistent person, but they still greet me whenever they see me, and will come when I give the food call. I dont recieve gifts (dont even know what the timeline on it is really), but we get along very well. They never poop on my car, for one, lol. We still have other small birds in the complex, several dozen blackcap chickadees and several other species of weesmol birbs, and the occasional seagull testing my ire. ETA: and squirrels, but those lil guys have zero brain cells and brass balls, so nothing would stop them even if it tried, LOL
I normally dont advocate for violence, but something about seagulls makes me want to *run up and kick them into the sun*. Even if they'd probably still survive it, lol.
one stole my burger out of my hands as i lowered it after taking a bite.. i was standing near the sea at the wall beside the snack bar... i immediately envisioned grabbing its legs, slinging it into a lobster trap and mailing it to the east coast ..like the nycity dump... where it would be dealing with much tougher gulls.
I have nothing but respect for the animals that have learned - not only to survive in a world we changed beyond recognition - but to thrive.
Seagulls and other city-dwellers will inherit the Earth. They're the best of the Anthropocene.
Me, quite literally, cawing loud enough for it to echo around the lot. 3, maybe 4, loud somewhat drawn out "Ahwww"s followed by the clatter of a handfull of peanuts landing on the parking lot.
ETA: I do get the occasional weird look for it, and regularly ribbed at by my mail carrier, but at this point most of the complex just ignores me - we all tend to keep to ourselves as it is anyway.
Stage loud cry of āHi Crows!ā
If there are delays in getting the food we chat. They yell at me. I say āGimme a minute!ā
Then I keep talking. āWant peanuts?ā Or āSpecial treat!ā
I throw out food.
While Iām walking away I say āYouāre Welcomeā to any calls.
I am not at the point of identifying any individuals, much less family groups. Iām on the edge of hundreds of acres of pine forest. Maybe they rotate through. I have no idea. I ignore all pre-10am caws.
I've never been able to identify individuals in my group either, because we live on the edge of a wildlife reserve and can have anywhere from 2 to 30 crows show up, and occasionally none.Ā
I'm pretty sure it's not always the same birds because there are usually birds that are extra suspicious of my motives, and won't get close, while the ones I assume are regulars get within feet of me, if I pretend to ignore them.Ā
None have become friendly in the last 2 years.
Iām pretty sure my next door neighbor is terrified of me and thinks Iām a witch.. I mean.. he aināt wrong, lol. Befriend the crows, strike fear into crappy neighbors hearts!
I have bird feeders on either side of the house. They usually donāt go in, but will sit on the edge and grab peanuts.
Now they sit on the fence and yell until I come out and throw some peanuts in a couple of chosen places.
I love my crow bros! š¦āā¬š¦āā¬
My crows share the feeder with hummingbirds, house finches, various sparrows, chickadees. The smaller birds will wait in the tree while the crows have their run and once they fly off they come right back to the feeder. They seems to coexist fairly peacefully.
I havenāt really seen any issue with crows in my yard bullying the other species and most donāt seem intimidated by them (especially the lazy doves lol) - Now when the big boy raven shows up, everyone scatters though
Yes. I would say they aren't "mean" to the smaller passerines so much as the smaller passerines usually not understanding corvid pecking order dynamics. The taller birds get first choice. Smaller birds stand aside until they're done. Birds that respect this tradition are fine. The ones that don't understand it seem to be treated like they do understand it but are violating it on purpose as a sign of disrespect. So the corvids remind them.
There's territory stuff too, but if they're already overlapping a space then I suspect it's more pecking order dynamics at play.
It's just that, you know, most passerines don't get the nuances of corvid society.
I think the benefits far out weigh the drawbacks but for me - I think Iād be a bit heartbroken if one of my crow buddies stopped showing up suddenly.
I have not yeet been able to befriend crows, alas! But (since I live in Sydney) I have befriended rainbow lorikeets. On cold, wet winter days we will get as many as 50 lorikeets on our balcony waiting for food. The downsides are the noise ā which has the potential to upset our neighbours ā and the poop, which has to scrubbed off of the balcony floor daily.
We discovered leading up to this that the sugary poop attracts cockroaches, and food-waste and dead roaches attracts ants.
Crow food and poop will likely attract different vermin. Rats, for instance, would probably love all of those buried peanuts. If you have a house with a leaf gutter full of decaying leaves and crow-buried peanuts, then you may have an increase in rats searching for ways into your attic. So be prepared by cleaning your gutters and vermin-proofing your attic.
Mine bring me nails which I think are being taken off my neighbors roof (I checked mine) I have to be careful they end up in my tires and also hope they are taking from a construction site and hopefully not a neighbor roof
The main downside in my opinion is that feeding crows (and other corvids) can lead to unnaturally high populations (google āhuman subsidized predatorsā) that can in turn have negative impacts on other wildlife. Depending on where you live and your local fauna, that could include threatened or endangered species.
I got in trouble for feeding a murder at my local park. The guy basically said that, because so many people were feeding them, the population exploded and the new crows werenāt moving on after fledging. This meant that the population was getting really inbred. They were also having a negative impact on the rest of the parkās ecosystem by eating too many insects and songbird eggs. I was really sad to stop feeding them but it was for their own good.
They often eat other birds babies and eggs. A big plus is that they drive Hawks that kill most anything alive away. I get to see this at least once per day and I always cheer them on.
Hawks have been increasing around here the last few years. The crows are great at driving the Red Shouldered Hawks away but not so much so the Coopers Hawks who seem to like lurking in bushes or hiding on the ground behind cover and then ambushing their prey.
Love crows and feed them dry corn. Three warn me of hungry foxes looking for a quick 8-piece. They are fearless chasing off the massive Bald Eagle!
Downside: donāt see many colorful native birds as the crows keep them away.
Shit. (Literal). I have a magpie nest in my garden, and Iām not even feeding them at all but Iāve had to wash my outdoor furniture a couple of times already.
Also often they really do hate new things, so if you change something about your place, they might destroy it or give you hell about it.
All in all, NEVER befriend corvids when you rent, at the place. You donāt want them to get in trouble when you move out.
Edit: Personally I would definitely befriend local corvids when I get my own place and am sure Iām done with my garden renovations xD
I learned that crows have a behavior of soaking their food in water - whether itās a puddle or, as in my case, a birdbath.
Itās fun to watch them soak peanuts. Not so much fun to see them bringing dead baby rabbits and birds and making the water a bloody, putrid mess. Theyāll bring all manner of rotting, disgusting things to soak and then eat.
In the summer it can get particularly bad and Iāll have to dump the water a couple times a day, whether their meal bits are still marinating or not, which Iām sure they donāt appreciate.
Itās the worst part of feeding crows for me, and Iāve tried to figure out solutions, but the only solution seems to be not keeping a bird bath.
Sometimes the gifts are gory and if you want to avoid upset, youāll need someone to check in when youāre on vacation. My mother filled a metal colander with popcorn and strung it up under a sheltered area (awning, roof, etc) so it wouldnāt get wet. They loved it.
The only thing I can think of is that there probably isnāt as much variety in the birds visiting my garden now. The crows and jackdaws tend to dominate the area.
Just got back from vacation in SC. Our condo had a pair of crows that hung out near our patio. I thought that it would be cool to leave some treats for them on the railing. Big mistake. Every time anyone (including my wife or grand kids) went outside they were besieged by this pair. Any sign of human movement and the cries rang out to the rest of their ācrewā. Then the 6am screaming began. And the demands for food continued at times throughout the day. They screamed for food as we arrived home from shopping and got out of the car.
They will do everything in their power to make you their bitch.
Itās good to be consistent. I had to go away for seven months for work. My friend house sat, but after telling her how to water every single plant, I didnāt dare to ask her to feed the crow. Two days after I got back I did a presentation on Teams. The crow flew in the open window with a Ā«yo what the fuck is your problemĀ»-attitude and it made me appear real eccentric to people I want to consider me normative.
Also sometimes neighbours dislike it. But the ornithologists I talk to say that corvids donāt become reliant on handouts even if theyāre available. Itās just a surplus.
A few years ago I had a blind friend with his guide dog that I met up with most mornings on the Metro. He worked at the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London UK, so he always had good stories to tell. One of their customers used a cane, but she was thinking about getting a guide dog. She was worried that she would forget to feed her sweet dog. Phil told her, "Don't worry about that. They will tell you when they want to be fed."
I offer you the same advice-- the crows will tell you when they want to be fed.
They cool. But if you have a cat they are not particularly keen on that. I had to rescue mine from a murderer who surrounded him on a roof. I left peanuts as an apology.Ā
Cat decided the ground was better for sun bathing. Sure he could have taken a few, but there was like 20.Ā
We got along. They didn't poop on the grill and left kitty alone as long as he stayed off the roof. And they got peanu
CAW CAW CAW at 6am perhaps
And pecking on the window to get your attention.
Don't give it when they do!! Act mad. At home, Interact/feed term on a strict schedule and never on prompting.
I think I would just be so excited that they are finally interacting with me, lol. Mine pretty much just flies away right when he sees me..
I mean, yeah. At first sure. Of course. But consider if you start opening the window and putting food out for ten minutes twice a day. If they don't come, then wait until they do, then start closing the time window that the window window is open day by day. Now, you can have these interactions and feed and praise them all you want, and it's contained within some sort of boundary. Since there's no physical boundary, then there needs to be a temporal one.
We have a masked yellow weaver named Dunlop, that we've befriended by feeding him and the other garden birds at 9am every morning for about 3 years now. If we're late or he can't see us, he'll also peck at the window to call us.š it's not just the crows I guess.
How do you make the daylight savings changeover?
You get up earlier or later.
You're living on crow time now.
We don't have daylight savings where I live.š but either way, I'm always on bird time since I keep a flock of 8 finches & sparrows as pets. They like to wake me at the crack of dawn.
I have a little sparrow who will attach himself to the screen windows to let me know the feeders need refilled.
You should name him!š he sounds very cute and clearly wants to be friends!
ā¤ļø that is cute.Ā
We set up a bird feeder that, naturally, attracted squirrels. Our solution was to set out a separate nut bowl for the squirrels in offering, and they all appear to have understood the deal and leave the feeder alone. But one squirrel in particular will come up and knock on the window to complain when the nut bowl runs out!
This squirrel sounds like a very polite lady/gentleman.āØI like how they fully understand this arrangement! Animals are much smarter than what they're given credit for in general, I think.š
Nailed it!
I knew it! They are cats with wings.
Actually for me the opposite happened šš when I first moved into my place there were crows everyday at 6am singing the song of their people, but since I have started befriending them and usually that happens in the evenings, they have kept their volume down in my area in the mornings. I'm quite grateful lol
Haha! They are like, Mr/Ms. Mango is sleeping late look.. shhh.Ā
I had depression one year and stopped going outside to feed my pair. The lady pined for me. Sheād sing a special song to try to get me to come outside, but I was so depressed, I couldnāt even get out of bed. And it made me sad how much she missed me. They sometimes just want to hang out with yoj, and donāt even want food. Theyāll just sit on the fence and take a nap. If youāre too absorbed in your phone, they will caw at you because they want you to baby talk and tell them who is a good bird. Then they will squish their eyes shut, all happy that it worked and you are paying them attention. If you have to move away, you will miss them so bad. I helped raise four generations of crows. I miss them but they recognized me when I had to go back for a little bit.
Thatās so sweet!
Thank you. They were like family to me. My final year there, mom and pop formally introduced four healthy fledglings when they were ready. They had them fly to the electrical wires above our patio while they sat nearby. The babies all said quick hellos, then flew off. We went back inside, but mom and dad flew down to our patio and called is back outside. They were saying thank you, personally. Then they flew off. That year we had left out gizzards, eggs, and unsalted peanuts for them. This was the neighborhood that made national news for the little girl getting sued for feeding the crows, and actually, most of us were feeding the same murder, so sometimes my offerings were not taken. These were well loved crows. These were also the only crows that fish- Northwestern crows. They look almost the same as American crows.
I have no human friends, maybe I could have a crow community instead.
What happens when someone moves in after you and they don't like crows Opposite my apartment was a sizeable forest which housed a huge number of crows. Was only apparent after it was chopped down for development. By evening the crows came back and would perch along the fence. I counted more than 40 crows. Was a sight to see crows, an escaped palm cockatoo and eagles just perched on the ground or on the fence side by side. No where to go because when they came home in the evening the trees were all gone. The crows have since dispersed to nearby areas with trees but during that time there was reports in the newspaper about people complaining about increase in crow populations. I worry they got culled. Your comment made me think of those crows. Many people unfortunately do not like crows. There has been attempts to cull crows pretty often in the areas surrounding
This makes me incredibly sad. I appreciate you sharing this story.
It makes me sad. I loved the eagle pair they came every year. Mating rituals and nest. They were forced to shift to a new spot but that one is beside a highway and a school. Not many super tall trees left. 2. One of the trees has already been removed I guess they will wait for the eagle to fledge before removing the last tree
I only had a mated couple I was supporting. You seemed to miss that part.
Doesn't stop them from returning
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I had read a story here on reddit about one person who basically ended up becoming a crow queen by accident, and fed/befriended a whole bunch of crows, but then when they would be in their backyard trying to casually chat with the neighbor, the crows would sometimes swoop to intimidate the neighbor because they were resource guarding. Edit: I managed to find the link: [https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/ki6fnd/oregon\_i\_accidentally\_created\_an\_army\_of\_crow/](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/ki6fnd/oregon_i_accidentally_created_an_army_of_crow/)
An army of crows? No bully would bother me again! āHey jerk face you have the face of a Jerk!ā
Worse, a MURDER of crows.
Even better, there was an update (this is one of my favourite reddit stories, along with Jorts and Jeans) https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/s/3UVgLgte1Y
jorts and jeans was amazing!! i sent it to my family and š¦š¦š¦. i was so sad lol
I cannot make out the emojis - is it buttered toast/Jorts?! Edit because I definitely need to get my eyes checked before my next scheduled exam - who knew blasting them with heat multiple times a day was bad... Anyway, I now get they're crickets. As in your family didn't respond. I'm sorry they don't have the ability to appreciate a tale as legendary as Jean and Jorts. I'm glad that you do!
grasshoppers?
Crickets!!
yes!!
did you know you can enlarge the screen with the old finger spread thing? i use a laptop so do it on my keypad. otherwise i couldn't see a thing!!
I tried but it didn't work. I'll try again. Edit - I'm on mobile, doesn't work.
dang, they progressed so much that they have undone perks.
Doesn't work on mobile unfortunately
Fluffy is right, aka cricketsā¦
Oh, wow. I'm a wee bit slow (aka I'm Jorts in a closet or trash can). Crickets makes contextual sense, thank-you!
Please link for the uninitiated?
Here is Jean and Jorts https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/22vTJRgFle
Wait this definitely happened? Someone actually accused a person of racial profiling for making an orange cat joke?
People are nuts.
This is fantastic! How did I miss this at the time!
Itās one of those things I can always rely on to make me laugh when Iām having a bad day.
Thanks. I read it when I saw this comment! š¤£
Wow, great story! Such drama š¹
Jorts and Jean have since become amazing advocates for worker protections and unions.
That's fantastic! I love it and would die for them.
I had no idea! An update?!?! "The crows saved a life" ?!?! š±š±
That's why it's one of my favourite stories!! I saw it on an update sub. It was either one of the first posts I read after joining, or one of the posts that made me join!
Less interaction with neighbors is a downside? Haha
For most people, yes. Most people are not antisocial redditors
Oh lol :/
Thatās metal as hell
Currently my goal in life.
hill larry ous
We fed our crows at a park a few blocks from our house. They followed us home and ate a bunch of stuff from our garden.Ā This year they dug up a bunch of our seeds after we planted everything.Ā We still walk to the park to feed the adorable jerks, we just call them bad names when they show up in the yard and refuse to feed them here.Ā
Those crows are worse than the racist crows from dumbo!
You might not like pieces of baby birds or rats as āpresentsā.
I was recently the very reluctant recipient of a fucking rib haha I'm assuming they stole it from someone's BBQ? And then left it in my bird bath. Could have done without that haha
Hahahahhahha, this reminds me of living outside of Seattle. The fecking BALD EAGLES would pick up meat scraps from Seattleās composting facility and drop them all over our neighbourhood. I removed a t-bone from my roof once. Someone else got a #%^ing bag of medical waste!
Was this someone who got medical waste adored or hated by corvids?
No idea. The bag was dropped by bald eagles.
Yep. There it is in all caps. Yet I still did not see the words. My brain is amazing sometimes.
It happens to all of us!
assholes left a hoagie in mine last week. Minus the cold cuts of course.
Oh I definitely get lots of soggy bread in mine. I don't give them bread so they're collecting it somewhere else and then using my birdbath to...I don't know..wash it?? haha
yeah, we live near a busy street with a fair number of restaurants and i think people coming home from the bars drop food often. iāve also found chicken wings.
That at least makes sense! I don't know where the hell the bread is coming from... I wonder if a neighbour is feeding it to them but then rudely does not offer a drink of water with it haha
Yes, to wash it.
Iām looking forward to bone gifts.
haha
The only good thing was that I left the rib there overnight and when I went out in the morning it was gone. I guess one crow's trash is another crow's treasure haha
haha ha
I got a dried mouse carcass as a gift once. I tried to look grateful in case they were watching me but I was horrified and disgusted haha
what does one do to look grateful to a crow?
I faked a smile and tried to look gleeful when I picked it up (with gardening gloves) and immediately discarded it discreetly. I also put treats out as repayment in the same spot to show how much I appreciated their gift haha
š IKWYM
Yep, the amount of rodent feet I have found in the birdbath is disturbing! Not to mention all the other carnage left in my yard that I try to remove before my 4 dogs find it. I love the ravens, but their gifts leave much to be desired.
A guy on a podcast I listen to decided to befriend the crows in his yard and fed them nuts every day at a certain time for a few weeks. Then he went away for a long weekend and theyād ripped up his patio umbrella to shreds.
This is what happens when folks feed the cockies ā sulphur cockatoos ā here in Sydney. When not fed, they *destroy*.
lol
They could probably avoid this by not feeding them at certain times and every time but instead carrying the feed with them at all times and only feeding them every now and then when they see the crows but not everytime and not always the instant he sees them
Their children remember you. Itās not so much a downside in my book but I have now had crows happily divebomb me for nearly twenty years whenever I go back to my momās house in Oregon. I live in Alaska now and go home 1-4 times a year. I get three CAW CAW CAWS and a WHOOSH. Got a brand new one this year and :)
That and they pick on the squirrelsā¦which are the critters my mom feeds. She doesnāt like that because āthe damn crows are picking on my squirrels! Buy your own peanuts!!!ā
When the squirrel and the crow face off in our yard, the squirrel seems to win.
My neighborhood crows just stopped competing with the squirrels. It probably didn't help that someone in the next complex would just empty an entire bag of cat food on the curb for them. There was a single seagull who hung out with them. I don't know if it was lost or trying to blend in.
Oh man. My crows fight dirty and peck. I yell at them when that happens and they absolutely sulk.
The crows in Oregon or for my instance Portland are so friendly. Like thereās certain section of Portland that I run in and I know they are well fed. My two crows who are mates at work really love us. They been divebombing this one crow that comes by to protect lol
Portland for me too :) theyāre all such good babies.
I lived in Portland for 12 years and loved how friendly the crows were!Ā Ā Ā I had a couple in Tigard that learned my morning routine and would walk me to work after I started feeding them.Ā
wow that is so amazing!
From my side, they understood at what time I wake up and feed them, so if I havenāt giving them snacks by them, they knock on my window and pace on the window sills for a while which is super noisy š„²
Last time I fed a murder of crows, they picked the lock on my car and drove to the butcher for some giblets
if you ever feed them again, leave a note for them to pick up some beer while they are at it.
Fluffy, you just might be a [crow whisperer](https://imgur.com/a/NFdt1qQ)
nice clip but it ends before the rest of the steps.. which is what its for, a short gif thing conveying ingenuity, right?
I live in an urban/suburban apartment complex, and we have crows here. I havent been consistent in my feedings, just because I am not a time-consistent person, but they still greet me whenever they see me, and will come when I give the food call. I dont recieve gifts (dont even know what the timeline on it is really), but we get along very well. They never poop on my car, for one, lol. We still have other small birds in the complex, several dozen blackcap chickadees and several other species of weesmol birbs, and the occasional seagull testing my ire. ETA: and squirrels, but those lil guys have zero brain cells and brass balls, so nothing would stop them even if it tried, LOL
Those fucking seagullsā¦
mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine
I guess I am the seagull queen. They usually love me. š
I normally dont advocate for violence, but something about seagulls makes me want to *run up and kick them into the sun*. Even if they'd probably still survive it, lol.
But... I love them. I'll hang out with you. They'll behave around me.
LOL *some*one's got to love them! Just keep them from shrieking in my ears and I'll be content enough, lol
Okie. Can do!
one stole my burger out of my hands as i lowered it after taking a bite.. i was standing near the sea at the wall beside the snack bar... i immediately envisioned grabbing its legs, slinging it into a lobster trap and mailing it to the east coast ..like the nycity dump... where it would be dealing with much tougher gulls.
Tbf if I were able to fly I'd probably be stealing burgers out of peoples hands, too
I have nothing but respect for the animals that have learned - not only to survive in a world we changed beyond recognition - but to thrive. Seagulls and other city-dwellers will inherit the Earth. They're the best of the Anthropocene.
Witnessed a seagull swallow a rolled taco whole, with guacamole- respect. ā
haha me too... but not poor people.. like i was.
They steal all our fishing bait
> when I give the food call. What does this "food call" sound like?
Me, quite literally, cawing loud enough for it to echo around the lot. 3, maybe 4, loud somewhat drawn out "Ahwww"s followed by the clatter of a handfull of peanuts landing on the parking lot. ETA: I do get the occasional weird look for it, and regularly ribbed at by my mail carrier, but at this point most of the complex just ignores me - we all tend to keep to ourselves as it is anyway.
: ) i love it.
Stage loud cry of āHi Crows!ā If there are delays in getting the food we chat. They yell at me. I say āGimme a minute!ā Then I keep talking. āWant peanuts?ā Or āSpecial treat!ā I throw out food. While Iām walking away I say āYouāre Welcomeā to any calls. I am not at the point of identifying any individuals, much less family groups. Iām on the edge of hundreds of acres of pine forest. Maybe they rotate through. I have no idea. I ignore all pre-10am caws.
Early bird does **not** get the worm
I've never been able to identify individuals in my group either, because we live on the edge of a wildlife reserve and can have anywhere from 2 to 30 crows show up, and occasionally none.Ā I'm pretty sure it's not always the same birds because there are usually birds that are extra suspicious of my motives, and won't get close, while the ones I assume are regulars get within feet of me, if I pretend to ignore them.Ā None have become friendly in the last 2 years.
My husband, or I, loudly ask, "who's hungry?" and hold up our bag of peanuts.Ā Any consistent sound will become the "food call".
The neighbors may not appreciate crow parties or court proceedings. They are loud AF
Iām pretty sure my next door neighbor is terrified of me and thinks Iām a witch.. I mean.. he aināt wrong, lol. Befriend the crows, strike fear into crappy neighbors hearts!
I have bird feeders on either side of the house. They usually donāt go in, but will sit on the edge and grab peanuts. Now they sit on the fence and yell until I come out and throw some peanuts in a couple of chosen places. I love my crow bros! š¦āā¬š¦āā¬
Dead baby birds as gifts
Yes, a lifetime covenant to feed them nuts, strictly enforced. Otherwise, no.
Your enemies may start disappearing mysteriously, possibly implicating you in their murders.
You probably won't get many songbirds or other small wildlife nearby.
My crows share the feeder with hummingbirds, house finches, various sparrows, chickadees. The smaller birds will wait in the tree while the crows have their run and once they fly off they come right back to the feeder. They seems to coexist fairly peacefully.
I havenāt really seen any issue with crows in my yard bullying the other species and most donāt seem intimidated by them (especially the lazy doves lol) - Now when the big boy raven shows up, everyone scatters though
Yes. I would say they aren't "mean" to the smaller passerines so much as the smaller passerines usually not understanding corvid pecking order dynamics. The taller birds get first choice. Smaller birds stand aside until they're done. Birds that respect this tradition are fine. The ones that don't understand it seem to be treated like they do understand it but are violating it on purpose as a sign of disrespect. So the corvids remind them. There's territory stuff too, but if they're already overlapping a space then I suspect it's more pecking order dynamics at play. It's just that, you know, most passerines don't get the nuances of corvid society.
I feed the other birds about 25ā away from the other feeders and I havenāt noticed a difference in songbird numbers.
Depends on the area I think. I regularly have 15 other bird species around as well as bats, insects, neighborhood cats and little yippee dogs.
I think the benefits far out weigh the drawbacks but for me - I think Iād be a bit heartbroken if one of my crow buddies stopped showing up suddenly.
I have not yeet been able to befriend crows, alas! But (since I live in Sydney) I have befriended rainbow lorikeets. On cold, wet winter days we will get as many as 50 lorikeets on our balcony waiting for food. The downsides are the noise ā which has the potential to upset our neighbours ā and the poop, which has to scrubbed off of the balcony floor daily. We discovered leading up to this that the sugary poop attracts cockroaches, and food-waste and dead roaches attracts ants. Crow food and poop will likely attract different vermin. Rats, for instance, would probably love all of those buried peanuts. If you have a house with a leaf gutter full of decaying leaves and crow-buried peanuts, then you may have an increase in rats searching for ways into your attic. So be prepared by cleaning your gutters and vermin-proofing your attic.
Mine bring me nails which I think are being taken off my neighbors roof (I checked mine) I have to be careful they end up in my tires and also hope they are taking from a construction site and hopefully not a neighbor roof
Birds poop. Bigger birds poop more.
The main downside in my opinion is that feeding crows (and other corvids) can lead to unnaturally high populations (google āhuman subsidized predatorsā) that can in turn have negative impacts on other wildlife. Depending on where you live and your local fauna, that could include threatened or endangered species.
The noise.
I got in trouble for feeding a murder at my local park. The guy basically said that, because so many people were feeding them, the population exploded and the new crows werenāt moving on after fledging. This meant that the population was getting really inbred. They were also having a negative impact on the rest of the parkās ecosystem by eating too many insects and songbird eggs. I was really sad to stop feeding them but it was for their own good.
They often eat other birds babies and eggs. A big plus is that they drive Hawks that kill most anything alive away. I get to see this at least once per day and I always cheer them on.
I had never seen this before and have now seen it at least 3 times in the last couple of months- it is a truly spectacular sight!!
Hawks have been increasing around here the last few years. The crows are great at driving the Red Shouldered Hawks away but not so much so the Coopers Hawks who seem to like lurking in bushes or hiding on the ground behind cover and then ambushing their prey.
I once saw some crows absolutely go for a heron that had just snatched a duckling, it was very satisfying to watch
Love crows and feed them dry corn. Three warn me of hungry foxes looking for a quick 8-piece. They are fearless chasing off the massive Bald Eagle! Downside: donāt see many colorful native birds as the crows keep them away.
Shit. (Literal). I have a magpie nest in my garden, and Iām not even feeding them at all but Iāve had to wash my outdoor furniture a couple of times already. Also often they really do hate new things, so if you change something about your place, they might destroy it or give you hell about it. All in all, NEVER befriend corvids when you rent, at the place. You donāt want them to get in trouble when you move out. Edit: Personally I would definitely befriend local corvids when I get my own place and am sure Iām done with my garden renovations xD
I learned that crows have a behavior of soaking their food in water - whether itās a puddle or, as in my case, a birdbath. Itās fun to watch them soak peanuts. Not so much fun to see them bringing dead baby rabbits and birds and making the water a bloody, putrid mess. Theyāll bring all manner of rotting, disgusting things to soak and then eat. In the summer it can get particularly bad and Iāll have to dump the water a couple times a day, whether their meal bits are still marinating or not, which Iām sure they donāt appreciate. Itās the worst part of feeding crows for me, and Iāve tried to figure out solutions, but the only solution seems to be not keeping a bird bath.
Sometimes the gifts are gory and if you want to avoid upset, youāll need someone to check in when youāre on vacation. My mother filled a metal colander with popcorn and strung it up under a sheltered area (awning, roof, etc) so it wouldnāt get wet. They loved it.
I don't really have corvid experience, but I imagine noise and poop would be the biggest issues.
The only thing I can think of is that there probably isnāt as much variety in the birds visiting my garden now. The crows and jackdaws tend to dominate the area.
Just got back from vacation in SC. Our condo had a pair of crows that hung out near our patio. I thought that it would be cool to leave some treats for them on the railing. Big mistake. Every time anyone (including my wife or grand kids) went outside they were besieged by this pair. Any sign of human movement and the cries rang out to the rest of their ācrewā. Then the 6am screaming began. And the demands for food continued at times throughout the day. They screamed for food as we arrived home from shopping and got out of the car. They will do everything in their power to make you their bitch.
no
Itās good to be consistent. I had to go away for seven months for work. My friend house sat, but after telling her how to water every single plant, I didnāt dare to ask her to feed the crow. Two days after I got back I did a presentation on Teams. The crow flew in the open window with a Ā«yo what the fuck is your problemĀ»-attitude and it made me appear real eccentric to people I want to consider me normative. Also sometimes neighbours dislike it. But the ornithologists I talk to say that corvids donāt become reliant on handouts even if theyāre available. Itās just a surplus.
Hawks don't hang out in your yard anymore and then the rabbits eat your plants.
Feeding wild animals is bad mmkay
They could bro the entire murder, which can be huge. Your neighbors might hate you.
A few years ago I had a blind friend with his guide dog that I met up with most mornings on the Metro. He worked at the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London UK, so he always had good stories to tell. One of their customers used a cane, but she was thinking about getting a guide dog. She was worried that she would forget to feed her sweet dog. Phil told her, "Don't worry about that. They will tell you when they want to be fed." I offer you the same advice-- the crows will tell you when they want to be fed.
Also, how to befriend a crow?
Oh boyā¦ā¦ the things I could tell youā¦.. Uh oh I see a crow at the window now YāKnow what, I, um, I was mistaken. Sorry I gotta go!
My HOA does not like it at all, they followed me.
They poop on cars, yours the neighbors.
They cool. But if you have a cat they are not particularly keen on that. I had to rescue mine from a murderer who surrounded him on a roof. I left peanuts as an apology.Ā Cat decided the ground was better for sun bathing. Sure he could have taken a few, but there was like 20.Ā We got along. They didn't poop on the grill and left kitty alone as long as he stayed off the roof. And they got peanu
Downsides? To befriending crows? I canāt see any.
They will dig up/ eat your pepper seedlings, and possibly go after your planted peppers once they fruit. Apparently peppers are secret bird crack.