Daphne
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DaphneParticipantThis past spring, there was a crow on my back lawn sitting, chest to ground. When he got up to fly away, I saw his right leg was dangling useless. I watched to see if I should try and catch him and take him to the vet college, but he flew off, no problem with his wings at least. Over the next number of days, I saw him on the front lawn (where I have feeders and a bird bath) being fed by an adult. I think he was a juvenile. To my relief, he gradually started to use the bad leg, and in the end he seemed to completely regain its use. (Although he wasn't banded, I had been watching him mostly as crippled and learned to differentiate him from the others as he gradually regained use of the leg.) The day came when he could balance well enough on the bird bath and drink (wobbling a bit), but I didn't see how he got water before then as, with only one leg in the earlier days, he couldn't balance on the bird bath. A happy ending to what might have been a tragedy (if a predator had happened along when he was resting on the ground). I had another experience once, when I drove home up my driveway and saw a group of agitated crows hopping around one on the ground. I got out and approached with a blanket. The others moved away and I picked up the injured crow (I think he may have flown into the power line above him, no other signs of injury) and put him into "convalescent care," i.e., a cat cage placed in a dark, quiet place, to let him recuperate (or not). A while later, I checked on him and he was perky, so I released him and he flew off with a loud "caw," which I chose to interpret as "thank you" (:>). It was so interesting to see the other crows sort of wringing their hands (or wings), not sure what to do about him on the ground but standing watch until help (moi!) came along. Bird watching is so rewarding.in reply to: A Real Murder of Crows #844399
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DaphneParticipantI have occasionally seen very large flocks of crows foraging in fields. As I'm on our provincial e-list for reporting bird sightings, it's not uncommon (in our rural province) to read other reports of large gatherings. Also, in our capital city (pop. 36,000), its biggest park is famous for the annual evening mass roosting of crows.in reply to: Life in a Flock #843958
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DaphneParticipantI live in Atlantic Canada, and we have both crows and ravens, although the ravens are less obvious. Tons of crows in all kinds of habitat: on the seashore, in built-up areas, parks, feeders. We also have squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons -- all "cute" until you learn they are heavy predators of nestlings. I have crows all day long at my feeder area so I love observing their interactions among themselves as well as with me and my small dog. They have figured us out! They pick up bread chunks and fly to my house to dunk in the birdbath that is near my feeders. I've seen a parent bird do that, then feed the soggy bread to a juvenile with an injured leg that could bear no weight. I believe that was extra feeding she wouldn't have had to do if it was healthy, but its leg healed in the end and it could forage for itself. The two most important things I learned from this first lesson is how to differentiate between crows and ravens, and that crows are by far the least responsible for nest predation.in reply to: What is a Crow? #843248
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