Crows are brilliant. They plan and connive, but not in the bad sense. They set sentries and mourn their dead. They also can remember and have been known to seek revenge on those who have caused them harm or angst. The cool part is they don't eat on this right away. It can be years before they seek out the offender and wreak havoc upon them.
Awesome encounter. That is impressive of the one crow faking an injury to run a distraction so the other one could grab the pastry!
I've befriended several crows in the local conservation area I hike. Peanuts in the shell seem to be a favourite. The crows have tipped me off to so many wildlfe encounters with Red Foxes, hawks, owls, eagles and other. I always reward with a handful of peanuts.
the important thing is today in front of my very eyes I witnessed quite the serious crow - hawk battle when I was sitting in my front yard on my property. I'll keep it short: The crows won this skirmish. I was happy because I prefer crows, but I don't mind hawks. I like both of em. The basis of my skirmish victory statement is that one hawk literally got clipped twice by a crow. I think it was the same hawk but hard to tell because there were three involved and probably about a six crows give or take 1 (does that constitute a "murder" of crows - I'd say so). One time that thing (the hawk) was right over my head when it happened. That must of hurt.
~~~~
I'm a big fan of crows - I like all birds, but crows and ravens - members of the Corvidae-Corvus family are special in their intelligence no doubt. Nice story from the past about "clever crows".
Love the historical perspective. No that you're noticing, one suspects that your and C's array of crow encounters will only continue and expand. As for the hawks, careful (as you hint), as that raptor is taking your number!
Kent, What amazing crow stories. The only thing I can add is I observed magpies raise cane when an owl moved into the tree. The commotion eventually drove the owl away. D
Well, this was just pure delight - the crows, the story, the fact that the whole thing is created on a manual typewriter ... I'm smitten.
I love wildlife encounters that give us a peek into the lives of our more-than-human roommates on this little, blue-green planet. I find it interesting how often we initially misinterpret interactions, and then get to experience a moment of epiphany when it feels like the veil has been lifted, and we can suddenly see the truth of things.
This happened to me once, when I came across a rabbit and a crow "frolicking" around a fir tree in someone's front yard. My Disney-addled brain initially saw one of those charming inter-species friendships that people are always posting on social media, but it didn't take me long to deduce that what I was actually seeing was a mother rabbit fiercely defending the babies in her nest from a opportunistic crow.
From what I saw, the rabbit successfully held off her corvid rival. This made me happy. I love both rabbits and crows, but I don't like to see any animal - especially any baby animal - harmed. And I knew the crow had plenty of other snacking options.
The incident was a cheeky reminder from the Universe that we shouldn't make assumptions. Things aren't always what they seem.
Just found you on Substack. Such a great piece. Reminds me of my father-in-law, a farmer in California, who told me of how crows would lay waste to his almond trees. To ward them off the farmers set up canons in the orchards that would fire off at irregular intervals. This would initially work but the crows got wise to them and placidly ignored them.
My father-in-law would occasionally walk into the orchards with a rifle, and a sentinel crow would caw a warning and all the crows would fly away. To test their cleverness he tried walking into the orchard with a realistically looking toy rifle. The sentinel crow cawed out…and all the crows remained in the trees, eating the almonds and looking (one can imagine) disdainfully at this wretched attempt to scare them.
It was not a fluke. He went back into the house and got the real rifle and returned to the orchard. Sure enough, the sentinel crow cawed and they all took flight.
Crows: Definitely smart. I've seen crows at the top of North Dome in Yosemite, about 7,500 ft. Elevation. Am curious: What model and year of the typewriter do you use?
I have a bunch and which one I use depends on my mood on any given day. On each of my typed posts on the top of the page, right after the date, I list the year and model of typewriter that I'm using for that day.
Very cool. I did not see that. Two-finger typist or use both hands? Aw you don't have to answer that, you've got better things to do. Get back to work!
I love this as I am known as a Crazy Bird Lady. I have parrots and I would love to pit their intelligence head to head to see what they would come up with. I love intelligent birds.
Concerned Elder Avians is now my band name! (Now I just need a band...)
I love your observational stories. They are my kind of happy. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Crows are brilliant. They plan and connive, but not in the bad sense. They set sentries and mourn their dead. They also can remember and have been known to seek revenge on those who have caused them harm or angst. The cool part is they don't eat on this right away. It can be years before they seek out the offender and wreak havoc upon them.
ha, ha - that is awesome!
Awesome encounter. That is impressive of the one crow faking an injury to run a distraction so the other one could grab the pastry!
I've befriended several crows in the local conservation area I hike. Peanuts in the shell seem to be a favourite. The crows have tipped me off to so many wildlfe encounters with Red Foxes, hawks, owls, eagles and other. I always reward with a handful of peanuts.
As a friend of crows here, I’m feeling this. Smart as hell.
I have a crow story - here it is:
~~~~
the important thing is today in front of my very eyes I witnessed quite the serious crow - hawk battle when I was sitting in my front yard on my property. I'll keep it short: The crows won this skirmish. I was happy because I prefer crows, but I don't mind hawks. I like both of em. The basis of my skirmish victory statement is that one hawk literally got clipped twice by a crow. I think it was the same hawk but hard to tell because there were three involved and probably about a six crows give or take 1 (does that constitute a "murder" of crows - I'd say so). One time that thing (the hawk) was right over my head when it happened. That must of hurt.
~~~~
I'm a big fan of crows - I like all birds, but crows and ravens - members of the Corvidae-Corvus family are special in their intelligence no doubt. Nice story from the past about "clever crows".
Thanks,
BK
Pick your friends wisely especially if they are the wise ones.
Wonderful drama!
I love this and I am surrounded by crows and make friends with them too.
Love the historical perspective. No that you're noticing, one suspects that your and C's array of crow encounters will only continue and expand. As for the hawks, careful (as you hint), as that raptor is taking your number!
* Now that...
Aww. You saved the baby crow. I've seen hawks holding down other birds twice in our yard, the first time I was way too late. They are fierce hunters.
Kent, What amazing crow stories. The only thing I can add is I observed magpies raise cane when an owl moved into the tree. The commotion eventually drove the owl away. D
Well, this was just pure delight - the crows, the story, the fact that the whole thing is created on a manual typewriter ... I'm smitten.
I love wildlife encounters that give us a peek into the lives of our more-than-human roommates on this little, blue-green planet. I find it interesting how often we initially misinterpret interactions, and then get to experience a moment of epiphany when it feels like the veil has been lifted, and we can suddenly see the truth of things.
This happened to me once, when I came across a rabbit and a crow "frolicking" around a fir tree in someone's front yard. My Disney-addled brain initially saw one of those charming inter-species friendships that people are always posting on social media, but it didn't take me long to deduce that what I was actually seeing was a mother rabbit fiercely defending the babies in her nest from a opportunistic crow.
From what I saw, the rabbit successfully held off her corvid rival. This made me happy. I love both rabbits and crows, but I don't like to see any animal - especially any baby animal - harmed. And I knew the crow had plenty of other snacking options.
The incident was a cheeky reminder from the Universe that we shouldn't make assumptions. Things aren't always what they seem.
Wisconsin... not cheezy, but overflowing with the essence of the udder truth simplified by moo-ving fingers on an ancient manual typewriter
Just found you on Substack. Such a great piece. Reminds me of my father-in-law, a farmer in California, who told me of how crows would lay waste to his almond trees. To ward them off the farmers set up canons in the orchards that would fire off at irregular intervals. This would initially work but the crows got wise to them and placidly ignored them.
My father-in-law would occasionally walk into the orchards with a rifle, and a sentinel crow would caw a warning and all the crows would fly away. To test their cleverness he tried walking into the orchard with a realistically looking toy rifle. The sentinel crow cawed out…and all the crows remained in the trees, eating the almonds and looking (one can imagine) disdainfully at this wretched attempt to scare them.
It was not a fluke. He went back into the house and got the real rifle and returned to the orchard. Sure enough, the sentinel crow cawed and they all took flight.
Crows: Definitely smart. I've seen crows at the top of North Dome in Yosemite, about 7,500 ft. Elevation. Am curious: What model and year of the typewriter do you use?
I have a bunch and which one I use depends on my mood on any given day. On each of my typed posts on the top of the page, right after the date, I list the year and model of typewriter that I'm using for that day.
Very cool. I did not see that. Two-finger typist or use both hands? Aw you don't have to answer that, you've got better things to do. Get back to work!
I love this as I am known as a Crazy Bird Lady. I have parrots and I would love to pit their intelligence head to head to see what they would come up with. I love intelligent birds.