Sally

I have been divebombed twice while sleeping on the ground (no tent) by owls. Both times I did not know they were close by until I felt the whoosh of air from their wings. I was incredibly fortunate to have moved just as they were going to strike. I have long brown hair and I guess I looked tasty. It was in the evening, during the summer -- one time on top of a mountain and the other in the prairie around Denver.

Hard for me to compare crows to other birds when Iknow  so little about other birds. But it appears that the crows have a good amount of options for breeding which is to their advantage.

Yeah, in the evening they steam south past my house to their special spot down by the water. There is a wetlands by where they hang out in the evening, but there is also a four lane road. Lots of trees. Tall trees. The flock is huge -- a couple of hundred.   Mostly see this in the fall but maybe that is just cause I am outside and notice. Here in the northwest we have snow geese that flock and swans (trumpeter?).

1. I would say that a songbird nest predation study was done in 4 different forests via a video camera so it was easy to determine who was entering the nest. Over half of the predations were from squirrels (includes savage but cute chipmunks) and snakes (mostly in the south). Other predators include racoons, insects, cowbirds, jays, crows and 2 out of the 245 recorded predations were from deer. So not to worry about crows ravaging baby songbirds. Look out for the squirrels. 2. I can see a conifer tree from my bedroom that houses a crows nest. I have watched (and listened to it for years). 3. I live in the NW where we have both ravens and crows. I associate ravens with higher elevations in the mountains and don't know that I have ever seen them in Seattle. I do not know any difference in their behavior....is there any? Living in different ecosystems does not necessarily mean they  have different behaviors. And yes, I think I can tell the difference now. 4. Raptors will prey upon crows so that is OK as they need to end too. If there are any animals that hunt in association with crows (wolves, coyotes) that is a benefit to creatures in the ecosystem.