alice
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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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When i was young at a sleep away camp i used to hear the magical sounds of owls in the woods - so exciting - you can imagine my disappointment some years later when i discovered they were nothing but mourning doves. DUPED! Listening to these sounds - i am convinced I have never EVER heard an owl ever - but i am happy to know some of the noises that i have heard and had no idea what they were are some common back-yard critters in the area i live -always wondered what those noises were. The variety of owl noises is amazing. I am hoping one day to hear one..maybe if i listen more..
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I have never seen an owl in the wild. I live in New York City - and there is/was a Snowy Owl in Central Park this winter (Jan 2021). There was tremendous fuss over it - which is ignored - now i am sort of eager to go see this Snowy Owl now that i realize how special this occasion is.
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I live in a lakeside area that is close to a 4 lane highway with some strip malls - like Ithaca in some ways. The strip mall area i would call suburban crows while closer to the lake are borderline rural (even though there are ample homes) in the more rural area i am speaking of - there are protected areas and woods and lake water and areas where crows may live rather than in a yard next door. If this all makes sense... i hope that it does. Basically there is protected land parcels throughout and some vast areas for crows to live. The crows that i have recently seen at the strip mall area are ones that i always see hanging out near the dumpsters of a near by McDonalds. They dumpster dive quite often and grab whatever garbage they can from either the dumpsters filled with product of business or smaller garbage bins filled with product of consumer consumption. These mall-rat type of crows are loud, talkative and spend most of the day organizing scavenger activities. They make a mess...so i am guessing most people are annoyed by this - just as they are about seagulls who do the same. Currently i believe that the group of people i know - they are not fans of crows because they are ‘loud, bossy - and can make a bigger mess of our mess’. I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL SUMMER to observe these birds again this summer when i move back! I have a friend from Ireland who HATES crows because they are the symbol of death - i never heard that before recently. She likely wont change her knee jerk opinion of them.
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`1. Crows have just recently made a regular appearance to my home - so i am not sure about West Nile Virus impact on the area or perhaps the lacking of crows was a result of that? I do not have a reference point - except that crows are now regular visitors to my home when a few years ago they were not..though i have seen crows over the years on other nearby points on the lake our home is located. 2. The crows i have come to know seem healthy and well, i will be looking out for any aggression - i have never seen infighting.
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1. I’m no biologist - but i have always believed that inbreeding can not only stunt development/evolution of future generations, but perhaps contribute negative issues. Do crows suffer from this same issues with inbreeding? I would imagine that inbreeding may cause possibly some areas where birds may not become disease resistant - or not fully able to genetically consider the impact of global warming through out the entire region? I wonder, as stated, why such birds who travel far distances remain homebodies with regard to mates. Why aren’t there more sub-sets of crows due to evolutionary changes that may occur in different regions? 2. I suppose the more invested adults may enlarge the family network of crows?
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I would like to think that crows have an easier time because they have time and ‘home’ at their disposal.
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Ive never seen - sort of am sad that i havent.
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That is quite amazing occurance! I consider myself a lucky person to see ONE of these birds a season!
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I have noticed this as well! Thank you for bringing that up.
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1. In NW New Jersey there is quite a large group of crows at a nearby strip mall with a large dumpster next to a mcdonalds which also just so happens not to be the best at maintaining the garbage bins there. I have been to this McDonalds (dont judge me please!!!) and have often sat at the parking lot as my kids enjoy their meals... the crows there are purely on a mission. They organize - those up on the light post and those down near the trash sorting for good stuff. All of these times i haven’t seen them competing for food against other birds. Again, they seem so organized. 2. I have seen other larger flocks of birds - mostly mallards, geese and swans and other waterfowl on the lake our summer house is on. In NYC there tend to be the occasional flock of European starlings (if you can call them that - but there are several of them - so maybe you can) which most act like crows in my opinion. Also in Central Park there appear to be seasonal flocks of Robins that seem to forage the newly defrosted fields for insects. Grackles seem to be in large collaborative flocks - both in NY and NJ. My yard seems to have an annual ‘flock’ of sparrows who seem to grow up together - they are quite funny and watching the teenagers find their legs mid-summer is often amusing - but the crows by far are the most organized and collaborative...
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1 &2. After taking this class - this summer when i am in our weekend home (where there are very recent population of crows who regularly use my property as a stomping ground) I will watch and observe more diligently. Since these crows are very new to our home this past summer - i have been struck more by their comings and goings. What I have seen is that crows seem to be - for lack of better words - organized. They move with purpose, they communicate quite often and seem to have a regular and purposeful set of activities which they engage in. Almost a schedule. For instance - there is lawn time for insect eating, there is the large half dead tree time, there is sit on the dock time - I have no idea what they are doing at the crack of dawn but it is quite loud. I think their communication is quite remarkable because even now i pay attention when i hear them making a fuss to see what is happening! I can’t wait for summer to see them in action - with more information under my belt to make meaningful observations. 3. Clearing out and dispersing any areas of standing water is the best mosquito prevention i know of.
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While I’m not surprised that the research team follows as complete a life cycle as possible - i never realized that crows life span was so long! Additionally, i am surprised that baby birds can be taken, tagged and returned to the nest without ill effects. That makes me happy. I am guessing when you can tag these birds - you get to know their personality a bit more - and then the social interaction...perhaps getting ahead of myself on that presumption. I will start looking for a crow’s nest next time in in area i know have many crows...now that i know where to look... i may get lucky..
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That is an amazing story!
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1. I never heard that crows eat baby birds - now i do. So in the future i will be sure to share my knowledge that crows are not the most likely critter who is eating baby birds in our neighborhood. 2. Crows have made a sudden appearance to my Propery home on a lake in NW New Jersey this past summer. They are very loud and they do get up wayyy to early- however, they are great at letting me know when there is trouble in the bird world with regard to other predatory animals... I have no idea where these crows roost - but it must be close by as they are at my property as a place to hang out or pass through several times a day in summer. 3. Unlikely i would see a raven - but the “pointers” you shred will help me identify them in the future. I will take note in their behavior if I should see one going forward. 4. I do know that the crows that visit my home are great at letting the other song birds and ducks know that there is danger in the area. That is certain. They are watch dogs - I have witnessed that myself often - and i have seen them what i believe would be defending the area from some raptors in my area. I suppose their voracious and varied eating habits are helpful to some.
Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)