Roseann
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I don't know anything about the crows in my area (west coast Canada/BC) having WNV. I have seen crows with avian pox, sometimes badly... some with a broken beak, but no missing legs. I have seen regression between crows which seems worse during nesting season when the crows seem extra-territorial. There are some cases outside of that season as well... crows ganging up on one crow that gets pinned to the ground. I've certainly seen crows harassing other birds (ravens, red-tailed hawks, eagles) in the area. Sometimes a couple of ravens drop in for a visit where I go to feed my crows friend, as expected the crows are not pleased. The ravens mostly ignore the crows and get some food too; one time one crow went directly for a piece of food a raven already had (didn't seem like a smart move), I turned my back for just a second and that raven had that crow flipped on his back and pinned to the ground poking his beak into the crow's underside. At that point a number of crows started fiercely harassing the raven, the raven let the crow go and everyone was okay. I personally don't think the raven would have seriously hurt or killed that crow... maybe just giving him a warning of a kind.
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Yes, the local area crow roost is in a suburb of Vancouver, where thousands roost. I've gone there around dusk and observed the crows arriving; the roost is spread over a few blocks in what I'd describe as a light industrial area. There are trees in the area but there are many buildings of about the six floor height. The birds will fill the trees but also line the rooftops... as you drive around (and sometimes I've walked around), you'll see them; crow, crow, crow, all in a row, then an occasional seagull in the mix for some reason, just bunking in for the night I guess. It's amazing watching all the crows arrive at their roost and they don't just arrive and settle in for the night in one spot right away... they're going back and forth and it seems like there's lots of interaction going on between many of them. The air feels electric, it's an invigorating experience just being there! I understand this suburban Vancouver roost has been in the same location since the early 1970's. There is also a creek nearby although I don't know if that is why they chose this sight. I sometimes get to see crows at pre-roost get togethers as well. There are some popular sites around town for these but it's not always the same spots each day, although some are used more often. Usually these get togethers have hundreds, as opposed to thousands or crows. As if all that wasn't exciting enough, I live on a route commonly used by crows heading to roost around sunset. Sometimes I look out for them going... but again it's not always the same.... every day the pattern changes so it's not completely a pattern. There's always some early-birds, some extended family groupings that seem to like to get a head start... or perhaps they're going to a pre-roost first. Sometimes the line of crows will extend across the sky from the west to the east-side of town.... other times, they split up and go on more southerly, or more northerly angles to arrive at the same spot. The biggest groups seem to be at the end of the summer, mind you in the winter they're already gone to roost by the time I get home from work.
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I observe two separate groups of crows; one very local, so a family that comes to my balcony for food which I put out every other day. Also, a larger group... probably several families or extended families that I see (and feed) once a week at a cemetery about a block from where I live. In both cases things are not very flexible in relation to territories during nesting season. In this case if someone even from across the street from the crow territory I'm in comes over to get some food, they are chased away, or in some cases pinned to the ground and given a good beak poking. No fooling around at this time of year. Once the babies are out and about, everything starts to relax again and territories become flexible. There's much more calling out (that there's food available) to neighbouring crows and a much larger group can show up and are tolerated. Very little in the way of disputes then. Seagulls show up as well for the food I have, but like crows going out of territory, are not tolerated by crows during nesting season. Of course not as many seagulls show up then anyway as they are all at their own nests not in the same area. Any single seagull that dares shows up during nesting season is harassed by crows. During any other time of year the crows tolerate the seagulls and both groups seem to co-exist happily. I would say the crows defer a little to seagulls when it comes to a specific bit of food (because of size difference I assume). Sometimes a raven or two shows up as well (usually not during nesting season). Regardless, the crows are never happy to see them. If a raven lands I try to give him some food too but find they approach in a much more cautious manner, inching their way over, much more careful than any crow or seagull... probably because they are always outnumbered by these other two groups. The ravens sometimes pull the tails of the seagulls when there's a dispute over food, or just poke them with their beak if they think the seagulls are getting too brazen. In general it's mayhem when ravens show up. Both crows and seagulls immediately leave the ground. Crows normally fly into nearby trees and sit and wait and watch, very quietly, with the exception of a couple of crows that have chosen to harass the raven(s). The seagulls don't land in trees of course, so fly around a bit then land again, ravens or not.. then some conflict happens.
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I do see crows regularly (lots of them) and ravens less often, but still somewhat regularly (usually just one or two at a time). The first time I saw a raven in my area he was standing among a group of crows and seagulls that I was feeding (he was hanging back a bit). At first I thought, that's a very large crow, as body-wise he was as large as a seagull... of course it wasn't a large crow, it was a raven. I got up to speed after that in telling the difference between the two. Sometimes it's harder at a distance, unless I hear their call... that's a real give-away.
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