Crow problem-has anyone experienced this?

[Guest]

I'm still waiting for my early returns here in Wichita, but I use my spare time to plink the occasional HOSP off one of the houses.

Sunday, after shooting a sparrow off a perch, I went to the back door to go down to the yard to police up the little guy, when a crow shot out of the sky and picked him up , took him across the pond, and proceeded to have dinner. I thought well, ok save me the trouble.

This morning before heading off to work, I saw another sparrow. I went to the window and shot him-unbelievably a crow shoots out of nowhere and grabs him just as he hit the ground-boom! He was after him in mid-fall.

I see an occasional crow at my feeders, and I just usually go out on the deck and off they go for the day. It's not like they're thick around here. But I'm troubled I may be teaching them that beneath the houses is fertile feeding.

Invariably I have one or two little PM's that jump the gun by a day or two-I find them beneath the houses and put them back where they belong. But if this crow sticks around they won't have a chance. Has anyone ever seen this behavior?

[Louise Chambers]

Your experience is a good reminder - be careful what you might be 'training' other birds to do. A NY landlord had been leaving house sparrows and starlings he shot out on the grass, and a crow quickly caught on to the idea of free meals. Unfortunately, later that spring cold weather shut down insect availability for several days. The landlord was working on feeding the martins after noticing one or more martins were so weak they were sitting on the ground. The crow didn't know the difference between a weak martin and the other free meals he had picked up in the yard much to the landlord's dismay.

You're right to think about whether letting the crows feed on the S&S might create problems later on. They'd certainly take a nestling that was grounded, as would grackles, Blue Jays, and other birds. A friend in NW PA saw a robin pick up a tiny martin nestling from the grass and fly off with it - a new kind of 'worm'! Of course these latter scenarios aren't something you can prevent anyway. Some nestlings will die or be weak enough that the parents eject them, or sometimes subadult males will raid nests and throw out nestlings. That's normal martin behavior, sad as it might seem.

Louise

[RC Moser]

I find crows families as a good evil, they run off any hawks or Owls that may be in the area. I have never witness a crow going after my PM's,but I consider myself a rookie landlord with alot to learn. IMO crows are an opportuntity smart bird that really take some bad rapes just trying to survive. If you ever had one as a pet you would see them in a different light.

[DAKdude]

When I lived in New York I lived near a building that had migratory birds hit the glass, especially on foggy nights or mornings. There was a pair of Blue Jays that would just sit near by and grab a stunned warbler as soon as it hit the glass. We finally got the building to do something about the window so the Jays free meals came to an end. But it does show how quickly birds figure things out and take advantage of the situation.
James

[loco for purple]

One day I was eating lunch at a park when when a male coopers hawk
caught a robin near a fence line.Out of now where came a crow and attacked the hawk which was on the ground with the robin.This caused
the hawk to release the robin and fly off with out it's meal.The robin which I presume was in shock ,sat motionless for about three minutes before
it flew off.The crow just ignored it.That robin owed that crow it's life.I agree with R.C. I like their presence around my yard just because they
could deter hawk predation.I understand there also could be crow predation ,but I feel I could control the crows.I can't control the hawks.

[Guest]

I'm glad to learn that crows deter hawks and owls. I'd rather have them around than the latter. However, we seem to have plenty of all.

Even though I've never seen a crow go after a martin, I've seen the martins mobbing them. I have seen a crow sitting on a grackle nest taking the baby grackles, and I didn't know that grackles would eat a bird.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I heard a loud crow noises about a week ago, and 4 crows were chasing an owl. In desperation, the owl flew into the thick limbs and leaves on our live oak tree so the crows couldn't fly around it, and the crows would have killed it if it had not found shelter..this was at 3 PM, and owls usually don't fly at that time of the day, but I suppose that the crows found it and started attacking it. I heard that the owls and crows are real enemies..

The crows have never bothered the martins

[eyeamtheman]

Like Emil said, around here, crows haven't bothered the martins, and they always seem to find more than enough food elsewhere, on the roads, or further into town. And besides, if one DID attempt to harrass the martins, he would only do it once before dying.......

[RC Moser]

Yea, the prey on crows and there babies at night as the hawks do in the day time, that's why the give chase for hours. If crows kill an owl (which is highly unlikely) you don't see me crying about it, beings they are mortal enemies for hundred thousand years and there problem twice as smart as proven by there numbers IMO. IMO you illimate the crows and you hawk and Owl problems will probably fourfold.

[Guss P O'Brien]

Like Emil said, around here, crows haven't bothered the martins, and they always seem to find more than enough food elsewhere, on the roads, or further into town. And besides, if one DID attempt to harrass the martins, he would only do it once before dying.......

Why do you want to threaten to kill a crow? Is that any different than shooting a hawk or an owl?

[Guest]

In most areas it is legal to hunt crows. They are extremely intelligent birds and can be ruthless predators. They have been known to peck out the eyes of a young fawn in so that it would die eventually and they would have a fresh meal.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Stan, thanks for your patience in explaining things. It seems some of these people have no idea what happens when predators get hungry, when grackles become overabundant, etc...There is a real world out there where our wildlife, birds, etc suffer from predation, but some people must think its wrong to kill mosquitoes.

[Guest]

Why the disgusting needle beak avatar Guss? The thread has gotten a little off topic, but since we are here now-I'm assuming you are trying to ruffle feathers with it. Am I wrong?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

J Gragg, I think you got the reason right...

[Guest]

Crows eat all kinds of snakes also.

[Clayton Schuler ~ La]

I have seen a crow attack my martin house and leave with a baby martin. Sometimes the martins cannot prevent the crow attack. Once the martins eggs hatch and the martins are a few days old I put wire mesh 2" X 4" around the house. This does not bother the martins. But wait until the martins have babies before putting the wire up. Once they have babies they will not let the wire mesh stop them from getting to their young. I watched a crow try to land on the house with wire installed. He seemed confused with the wire and it slowed him down long enough for the martins to zero in on him and run he off.

[Guest]

It is rare to see a crow flying in the spring without small birds swooping down on it - when the crow leaves their territory more birds take over. I don't think they are doing it for fun. They must know something Guss is not aware of.

[Matt F.]

There was a forum member last year, a lady from Florida if memory serves me right, who had a fish crow problem.
One of these crows actually killed an adult martin right before her eyes.

I tried to find the thread, but no dice.