Crows

Hi all,

What do crows like to eat?

We have loads in our neighborhood. I sometimes put a few pumpkin seeds out for them, but not every day. I've just been outside for a smoke and a crow came to the spot where I sometimes put the seeds, but I hadn't this morning.

The poor crow looked so disappointed. It searched the area, to no avail, then eventually flew away. I felt really guilty so I've put some out now.

Trouble is, I don't buy the pumpkin seeds for the birds, because they're quite expensive. I buy them for me, but occasionally spare them a few.

What else can I feed them to appease my sense of guilt?

 

Often see plenty of them around at the motorway service stations where they seem to eat anything folk throw out of their car or vans.

Would think any household scraps would be fine for them or spoil them with expensive seeds and nuts if you want

Just be wary that once one finds food, the rest of the gang soon follows !

 

Yeah there's loads of them. I can't feed them all, but they seem to make good neighbors, as long as you're not a farmer

I like the crows. They cause no bother, except in spring and early summer when they're nesting. I've seen them chase cats away before, which I find amusing (nobody gets hurt).

 

I think crows like a bit of meat, they are often seen eating road kill.

Maybe put some bones out but be careful not to attract rats.

 

I'm reluctant to use kitchen scraps because there are also seagulls in the area, and I must admit, I hate seagulls. Well hate is a strong word, I wouldn't like to see harm come to them, but I don't want to encourage them. So far the crows have been taking the seeds I put out, while the seagulls stand on the church roof next door, watching.

 

We have sea gulls and they tend to visit and then go away unlike pigeons who will hang around all day if they find something they like .

I swear they leave one of the flock behind to act as look out to alert the rest should any new food be put out.

 

It's probably the slowest or dumbest one. He just took a long time to release his mates had flew away.

 

As said, they are opportunist omnivores and will eat anything.

 

I like all corvids and the crows in my pine trees do chase the seagulls off the roof.

 

The crows and seagulls in my street seem to coexist peacefully. The grows hang out in the trees across the road, while the seagulls gather on the church roof next door. I've never seen any interaction between the two groups. Even when there's food on the floor, I've never seen crows and seagulls scavenging together. I think it's a bit like NATO and Russia. Each knows the other exists, buy each realises it would be a terrible idea, down to sheer numbers, to start any aggro.

 

It's quite amusing to see a crow come barrelling in following the slope of the roof up and just over the head of the gull that has been blowing it's own trumpet for the past ten minutes or so.
It's either because the crow has a nest nearby or perhaps just for fun.

 

When I was working from home during lockdown, sat next to the window, I got to see all the action in the street. One time I saw a cat absolutely legging it. I wondered why it was running with such determination, then I spotted a crow rapidly closing in on it. The crow seemed to hit the cat on the head as it shot past, but then it did a sharp airborne U turn and came in for another go. The cat dived for cover in a garden, the crow missed, but wasted no time performing another U turn for another attempt now it had seen where the cat had tried to hide in long grass. The cat clearly realised that it's cover was blown so bolted again, narrowly managing to escape the determined crow.

I'm not sure why the crow was so angry. I believe they usually nest high in trees, way out of cats reach, but I did once read or otherwise learn that crows are super intelligent, can recognise individuals from past encounters, and not only hold grudges, but can communicate their grudges and the subject of their grudge to others in the flock, so perhaps the cat had previously created bother for them.

 

I'm gonna tell u a story.
Where I worked some years ago the workshop had holes in the walls where pipes were brought through and then cut out leaving just the holes, the place was over a hundred years old.

Sparrows used to come into the workshop and nest in the roof trusses, and basically s8it all over the joinery, so we just stuck thin plywood over the holes on the inside.
Then the sparrows started nesting in the recess that left in the walls.
There was a commotion one day and a crow was attacking one of the nests, I never forget seeing the crows beak break right through the plywood as it hacked away at the chicks in the nest, it was brutal.

Crows kill and its the survival of the fittest but not nice to watch.