Robert
Forum Replies Created
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
-
I read that "Northwest" crows are generally smaller than other American crows in the rest of the US/Canada. Are there any hypotheses as to why that is? Geographic isolation due to the Cascade range or something environmental re: food sources. Has there been any work done in the PNW on the rural and urban differences or any work looking at some of the same parameters in NW crows vs. American crows comparing rural vs. rural for each type or urban vs. urban?
-
Just to add to my response above (after watching the roosting video). We do have a mix of urban, suburban, and rural/agricultural land all within about a 15 mile radius of this site. From the information presented it sounds like this would be an ideal place to share information about food but also because there are lots of potential predators the particular area may provide protection as well.
-
I live in Bothell, WA and the University of Washington has a campus here in town that is near a wetland which is a roosting area. There is a researcher at UW who estimates that the roost has ~10-11,000 crows. We often see them flying over at night around dusk to head back to the roost and large groups of hundreds will often stop at various places along the way before continuing on. During the day I see smaller groups (maybe families) around town but I'm sure others disperse even further. Curious to know if you have done any collaborations with the UW research group over the years? Also, I assume these may be Northwest crows given our location?
-
The fact that they triple tag them, which of course makes sense since they have such a long life expectancy. That they can identify them by their behavior and other characteristics when or if the tags eventually fall off or wear off. That they make their nests high up in the center of tall trees and don't reuse them.
-
It's funny that that you say that because we go camping every summer here in the PNW and one thing that I have (or I guess haven't noticed!) is that fact that at most if not all of the campgrounds we've been too there hasn't been too many mice or other rodents around. Never thought that the crows could play a role.
-
I live in the Pacific NW now but previously lived on the east coast where crows were prevalent but no ravens. Out here it has been interesting to see the differences between the 2 species, particularly that ravens seem more solitary and crows are often together in small groups or large flocks. I live near the University of Washington Bothell campus which is next to a large wetland and there is a flock of ~10,000 crows that gather there in the winter. Before moving out here had never seen anything like it and it's pretty cool at dusk to see the crows gathering from all directions as they make their way to the site....and yes, it can get pretty loud at times! Have also often seen them mobbing hawks and eagles so they are definitely warning other animals and songbirds of their presence.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)