sandra

1#. I have not seen evidence of crows eating baby birds ..if fact quite the reverse..The crows  and ravens seem off put and back away from smaller birds flocks on the ground and in the air .. Crows and Ravens are scavengers ..I watched  yesterday  a Raven pecking out a used yoghurt container ..it was comical .. Turned this container every which way,  stood on it flew up on a shelf with it, realized  opps a mistake..could not hold and peck  at the same time , so followed the container down again on the ground 2#. Not spied a crows nest yet.. I live in the foothills with loads of trees.. crows  and ravens love  to stay out of the heat ,,  they stay together in the same sheltered area.. hiding themselves until the heat subsides and dinner is on the menu around 3-5 pm .. certainly birds of habit 3#.. can distinguish them.  , although they do flock together when theres food for the offering .Notice thay fly and roost together but more with their mate ..coupling up.. 4# Have seen evidence that Red Hawks  watch crows and ravens .. Only I hawk  will round  up and frighten a murder of crows .. .This.Hawk was very  fast swooping down  on these crows, .. the sun was out it was their dinner time when they congregate for food .. the hawk was not interested in the crows food,  it was the crows  themselves?  Or territorial ?  .. .. and it felt like murder in the sky to me.. .swoosh swoosh blacking  out the sun for a second back and forwards,  a frentic pace and fear  in the air.. I watched for 2-3 minutes .  Eventually the crows( not ravens) settled in a very tall tree together  and stayed there for at least 40 minutes, only watching quietly .. There was no play no movement no noise.. They then quietly flew away.. Territorial from the Red  Tailed Hawk? Other birds tend to stay away from crows.. but will come in 'after'  the crows have pecked  their way  looking for nibbles.. ..Im thinking the crows  long becks unearth other morsels for the smaller birds.. They peck away at gravel daily ..   there must be something they find in this gravel.. I see them pick it up then off to another spot.. and certain  little birds ..a smaller black variety I have not determined 'what' yet kind of mingle with the crows  at a safe place

I live in Nevada County in the foothills of  Sierra Nevadas ..Nothern California  .I have feed  Blue Jays and Shrub Jays for years,  peanuts .. ..Love how they mimic my calls..(another story)  then watched at close range,  10 feet away  a crow I caught eating out of the trash can.. .. we eyed  each other.. at that point I was hooked, we noth were..  ..At that point they were not common, just a few so decided to try and feed them..  I live in a HOA  so found a  tree quiet corner  that no one used and started calling them.. figuring out they were as talented  as the Jays!  Then started feeding them a little daily .. Within  a short period of time they would call me , land on my deck railing looking for a morsel..  I underwent knee surgery so was bedbound home bound for weeks and Covid  .. at that point could not distinguish individuals except for their calls ..but there was 2 that would land right in front on the only window I could see out,   a small window  where I lay.. Incredible that these 2 knew which window in my 2 storied condo ..  Eventually I healed.. then was able to go outside.. ..the main 2 ..they pair up for  life I believe would wait until I was at the kitchen window  high up in a Birch tree (they love the tallest tree) and call to me ..  sometimes 5-6 of them in one tree..  .. out I would go and feed them.. .They are very cautious because of their size.. .. I called them they would chatter and circle.. long story.. I eventually had about 60 a day in a few short weeks and a family of ravens .. .. I believe they dont rely on one food source but  scope more than several daily .Im not home all the time too but a few days return .. there they are on my deck again .. . they have their 'routes' and the crow that calls me  (and mate) is what I call a spotter  '.. This got to be a problem in the HOA ,so had to relocate to a safer place away from homes , as many people see them  as pests..  I watched about 25 of them being corraled by a red hawke one night..  They stayed  in that tree above my home for nearly an hour it was nearly dark when they flew away, which was unusuall as they bed down  early evening   .. never seen then stay quiet for  that long all huddled close  ..    The spotter and mate know my car , so will follow me occasionally down to the bank find a tree above my car and call me  when I exit the bank..it makes me laugh..   If I had guests parking in my driveway, they responded  like' who are you' .. and would warn me.. interesting as I told no one , but the guests would ask me 'whats with those birds in the tree  above your home'    I eventually told my neighbour .. she laughed.. What! ..she did not believe me ..A few days later this same neighbour drove me down to fill my car with gas ( I wasnt  driving yet )  At a  'very busy noisy  AMPM'  she gets out to fill up and there right behind my rear where two large crows ..just landed..within 2 feet from my trunk  .. It was sad when I had to relocate them..   very very sad.. they called and called.. but the HOA was not pleased ..    They eventually left after a few weeks and then I found a new quiet corner an empty large lot with  trees  down the road about a mile away .. So when Im home I visit  go down there ..call them and in they come circling the trees calling to me .. The Ravens barely move when I drive in and call them..  The spotter and mate are never far away .. interesting how they seem to eat something in the gravel drive ..is it a mineral?   And just  love to watch them 'kinda jump up quickly' when they eat.. have not figured that one out yet.. do any other birds do this? Ive watched them around small flocks of  birds ,  these wonderful creatures  stay away from the  ducking diving swooping of smaller birds . Its as if they are cautious of them because of their  large size and not so nimble.. I have about 40-50 Crows and Ravens about 15.. although dont see them all together  feeding as I did before So happy to join this groupand read your stories