• Paulette
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      Snakes and squirrels kill more baby birds or eat the eggs I assume. I have never actually seen a crow's nest but it in my old neighbourhood they loved the highest evergreen trees it seems.I can tell them by their call and when you see a pair of Raven's they are huge around us and rarely appear. Crows are always communicating with each other and I am pretty sure animals and other birds learn their calls generally as danger or hey party, there is lots for everybody here.
    • Wesley
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      1. Akshually crows make up a relatively small percentage of nest preditation, lets go squirrel hunting
    • james
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      First off, this is a wonderful  course. I am so thankful to be able to take it. 1. i would explain that that is a common misconception that i had also believed, but that it was untrue. In fact, crows account for a rather small portion of egg/nestling predation 2 . i have seen american crows almost everywhere in the province of bc.  I dont know if ive seen a crows nest but ive seen and heard many fledglings 3. where i live, there are both crows and ravens. I am confident in distinguishing one from another.    I have found that crows are far more sociable with each other in large groups, and (at least the population at my nearby beach) are more inclined to come closer to humans and investigate them. 4. I think many foraging creatures would benefit from crows around as they seem to hide and stockpile enormous amounts of food! Lots of which im sure is found and consumed by other birds and animals. Crows also provide great security for other birds when hawks, eagles , or owls are around. In my experience, they landmark and swoop/scold the predators usually until the predator opts to fly away. Then the crows tend to follow them for a good distance until satisfied theyre safely away. I just love crows.
      • Paulette
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        I agree, I enjoy crows too and sometimes I scold them when they seem to be complaining or yelling too much. I moved and am in an apartment complex near a McDonald's etc. There were tons of crows but since the storms this past week, they seem to have moved on but the trees were filled with them. My binoculars are not strong enough to differentiate
      • emmy
        Participant
        Chirps: 1
        Hi, neighbor! I too reside in bc and adore watching the crows scavenge for food on the shore. It's fascinating to observe them repeatedly attempting to release clams from above. The crow truly is a beautiful bird.
    • Li
      Participant
      Chirps: 34
      1.In fact,snakes and squirrels kill far more song birds than American crows. 4.Some American crows are also food for other predators.
    • Wendell
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      1. Chipmunks, snakes, and squirrels are greater predators than crows. Crows are a very small percentage of baby bird predation. 2. back yard field looking for grubs and insects. No nests found yet. 3. Yes, northern Vermont. Yes. Ravens are sighted at higher elevations, Green Mountains. 4. Owls; nesting sites. Warnings calls, prey animals.
    • Kimberly
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      3.  Looking at the range map we have more ravens than crows in southern Arizona, although I have seen them here.  I saw two crows in Sedona raiding a dumpster and throwing food and paper plate around.  They were quite hilarious. 1. If I had a neighbor who was complaining a crow was eating the songbird nestlings I would point out the burrowing owls and Harris Hawks who actively raid nests to feed their babies in the spring.
    • Mari
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      3) I live in Apple Valley, the high desert of California. We have both. The main difference is that the Raven is HUGE compared to the Crow. The Ravens live in my neighborhood which is pretty rural, and the Crows seem to like being in the suburbs more. I don't know why they have a preference. The Ravens know that if they squawk at my bedroom window, I will come out and feed them cat food. When I go out running, they sometimes follow me, and I can get dive-bombed, but it is more like play (I hope.) Today I found some silver jewelry by my bedroom window, they must have stolen it from somewhere, but it's mine now. I like when babies are born. They are easier to get to know. Specific Ravens have their tree perch and corner of the Apt  Building that seems to be claimed as theirs. A couple appears to be a lot more fun-loving than the others. It is like they are class clowns. There is one that hides in his tall bush that is taller than the roof of my apartment building, and when I go to get the mail, he will sometimes scare me by popping out and squawking at me and swooping down. He is such a nut. I love ravens and crows. It's a good thing I like to get up early. But I have a pair of great horned owls that live in the tree behind where I live, which can keep me up.
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      Ann Arbor, Michigan has a massive amount of crows that come to roost in the evening of the cooler months.  It's quite a sight to see!  They completely fill the air.  Then, at night walking around, you just look up and see the trees are completely filled with them.  This is why I am taking this course, to learn more about these birds that are so prevalent here.  The local Audubon society, when they do bird counts, have one person to count just the crows. Ravens are not in southern Michigan, but can be easily found farther up north.
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      1. Squirrels and chipmunks take the majority of nestlings in the Northeast. Crows are near the bottom of the list of baby bird predators. 2. The best sighting of American Crows was with a Mass Audubon group on a cold night in February in a hospital parking lot in Springfield, MA. The crows were flying in from staging areas to roost at the edges of the parking lot where the lights gave them protection from owls. There were an estimated 7,000-10,000 crows, and I have never heard or seen anything like it! 3. There are both crows and ravens where I live in Western Massachusetts. The biggest difference I notice is the tendency for ravens to be more solitary. I rarely see them in large flocks like I do the crows. 4. Crows help to keep the insect and rodent population down, provide nests for great horned owls and merlins, are themselves prey for other animals, and help disperse seeds.
    • Barbara
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      1) Chipmunks and squirrels eat more songbird nestlings than do crows, at least here in Georgia. Additionally, if you are concerned about song birds populations, make sure to take into consideration those that we impacting during migration season by leaving our lights on at night. 2) While walking in my neighborhood, I have heard and seen crows in one particular area, going on several years now. 3) Pretty sure I have never seen a raven.  Going forward I will be looking for them when I travel. 4) I do not know specifically how crows can be a benefit to other animals, but considering that the basic biology includes the concept of the "Web of Life", I am sure they must be connected to other animals in their habitat.
    • TF
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      We have been watching neighbor crows for the past 15 or so years.   I'd share that first there are no politicians in nature.   All the earth's creatures have a place in the ecosystem.   Crows are a very very small part of killing songbirds.  Us humans and the way we live are magnitudes larger in the killing of birds are all sorts.
    • Jamie
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      2. I have seen American Crows here in San Diego but haven't seen a nest. Every evening around 6-7pm (depending on daylight savings time), at least one hundred crows gather in the neighboring trees and seem to be catching up on the day's activities or planning the evening's affairs. It's my favorite time of the day to stop what I'm doing, listen to their family squawks and squabbles and imagine what they might be discussing. 3. I've noticed many Common Ravens as well, and now thanks to this course feel more confident in my ability to distinguish between the two species. Like others who've commented here, it seems the ravens are more solitary than the crows. I've also seen them in Joshua Tree which surprised me; I never expected them to be in the desert!
    • 1. When a neighbor or friend state that crows are killing young songbirds, it is important to point out this is a more rare instance than they think.  Snakes, squirrels and chipmunks kill the highest % of songbirds and crows account for less than 5 %. 3. Thanks to the Professor McGowan’s tips on determining the differences between Crows and Ravens, along with the brilliant “snap ID” quizzes, I believe I am now much better at identifying one over the other ! 4. The entire ecosystem where crows live, benefits from their presence ! Crows help to mitigate some of the prey populations, while also serving the community of birds by alerting the community to the presence of predators.
    • Alicia
      Participant
      Chirps: 24
      1. I would share that snakes and squirrels kill far more song birds than American crows. 2. I have seen American Crows in Chicago in neighborhoods and city parks. 3. No. I live in Chicago. Common Ravens are not found here. 4. An entire ecosystem benefits from having crows around. They control their prey populations while at the same time thy provide food for animals in a higher trophic level.
    • Cara
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      1.  Surprisingly, neighbor, crows eat very few nestlings, and squirrels, even chipmunks, are one of the biggest nest predators, along with snakes! 2.  We see crows often in the rural area of Kentucky in which we live.  There's usually a lookout/sentry and four to five more.  I've never seen a crow's nest, but always look for nests when hiking. 3.  Our area has American Crows but we are within 50 miles of raven habitat and have seen them there.  While I am able to distinguish easily between their calls, I now know more of the physical characteristics that distinguish crows and ravens. 4.  Crows alert other birds (and the neighborhood) to the presence of owls and hawks and they help keep the rodent population down.
    • Helen
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      0BB7EED7-3C75-434E-8FBD-3AC035A2F59EI live in the sliver of NC that has both American Crows and Ravens year round and on Facebook wildlife appreciation groups here you can almost always find an ongoing discussion about a rather a picture is of a crow or raven (or beaver and groundhog but alas)… this lesson was extremely helpful to me as I always harbored a little sliver of doubt myself.  If I am applying what I learned correctly, my  yard harbors the American Crow.
    • Stephanie
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      1. The crow will harm songbird nestlings, but your biggest culprit is snakes in the South, and where you don't have many snakes, you need to be more concerned about squirrels and chipmunks. A crow will bother a songbird nest a little more than a deer.
    • Trish
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      We have a pair of crows that live on our street.  I was so upset and yet impressed last summer as one crow taunted a mother bunny far enough away from her nest so that the other could snatch one of her baby bunnies and fly off (traumatic moment as the mother bunny actually screamed and thumped her feet).  The crow's teamwork was impressive.  I was so mad at them at first until later I saw the pair had a young crow of their own; everyone has to eat and we certainly have enough bunnies around here!
      • Paulette
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        Aww, that is some story, it is hard to watch but we do have to understand nature.
    • Rachel
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      1- actually squirrels and snakes eat more bird eggs than crows.
    • Margaret
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      1.  I would show the neighbor the pie chart and share the fact that chipmunks, squirrels and snakes eat more eggs from nests than the crow does. 4.  All birds benefit from the crow due to the fact that they alarm all birds and many animals of predator dangers.
    • Judith
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      Crows are omnivorous, but the major consumers of baby  birds are squirrels, chipmunks and snakes.  Squirrels and chipmunks spend as much time in trees as on the ground and eat whatever they find in the trees, including baby birds, that will provide the nutrients they need to survive and reproduce.  Crows do, on occasion, eat baby birds, but they have a wide variety of food sources. There is a crow's nest high in the pine across the street--and another around the corner in a neighbor's yard.  There is a small group of crows here that congregate on the local water tower, in the tallest trees and on our roofs.  They seem to have places that they go during the day--unless there is something of concern like a hawk or other danger that causes them to rally and sound the alarm that danger is near. I live in northwestern Oregon and have not encountered ravens here.  I love their gutteral calls and am always amazed at their size in comparison to crows. The songbirds at my feeder probably appreciate the crows calling to warn of predators.  Mice, rats, moles and voles in my yard also appreciate an early warning that a predator is near.
    • Elle
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      Crows do eat baby birds occasionally, but they are not the main predators to them. Snakes and squirrels are far more common predators to baby birds, and crows are on par with white-tailed deer, which are usually thought of as herbivores. Predation is a natural part of the ecosystem, and crows should not be demonized for it when they aren’t even main predators to baby birds. Crows also benefit the ecosystem by eating invasive pests such as Japanese beetles. I was very surprised to learn that there are no ravens at all in my state, and the last sighting of one was in 2007. However, I see American crows frequently. I have even seen them at my high school!
    • Lisa
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      1. Songbird baby predation is mostly from snakes and squirrels including chipmunks.  Crows actually account for very few baby bird deaths. 2. I have a band of crows living near our large front yard, however I have not been able to find their nest yet. 3. I live in an area that only has crows, no ravens.  But if I saw them side by side I could distinguish them apart. 4. Crows alert the neighborhood of predators,  they eat nice and insect pest, they distribute seeds.
    • 1. Songbirds have many predators that are far more aggressive in killing songbird nestlings. For example, chipmunks, squirrels and snakes are the most aggressive in raiding songbird nests for baby birds. Crow, do eat baby birds, but there are many predators after chipmunks, etc. to nestlings that are far more destructive including insects and cowbirds. 2. In my part of the country (CT, U.S.), crows are regulars at the shoreline. However, they do sometimes come to my backyard feeder and several times have been seen near the fast food corridor in my town. I have never seen a crow's nest. 3. Only occasionally will I see a raven in the area. They are sometimes seen at the shoreline. I have never seen a raven inland in CT. When travelling to Maine, there is a greater opportunity to see ravens. Ravens always seem much bigger and huskier than crows. They are always a surprise when I see them. One other place I have seen ravens is out west at one of the national parks sitting on a brick barrier/fence post. His behavior was extremely calm and allowed a lot of photos to be taken of him. My guess is that he has had lots of experience with tourists. Crows, when I see them - they are always with other crows. 4. Since they warn others of predators any of the smaller birds and mammals (such as chipmunks and squirrels) are warned in advance. My interest in crows and birds in general came from seeing this behavior in crows. I was watching a ring-necked pheasant in a field when a hawk landed nearby. Within a short time two crows also arrived and started cawing; then attacking/flying close to the hawk to scare him off. I do not know if the hawk was really after the pheasant, but it was a field, it could have been mice or something else. What I do know is that the hawk left because of the crows and did not take anything with him.
    • Carol
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      About crow predation: Yes, I've seen a crow steal and eat a baby robin, with two very distressed parents dive-bombing and watching the event.  It broke my heart, and for a time I was no longer a fan of crows. In my utopian fantasy world, nothing would be eaten by anything else.  But the fact is, that's the food chain that keeps this world alive, gruesome though it may be at times. The flip side is, crows are neighborhood guard dogs, chasing other predators away so that other birds and small animals can survive another day. And they do it with gusto and panache. Besides, now that I've learned that chipmunks and squirrels, whom I also adore, are serious nest predators, how can I hold it against crows?