Woods Country Cove

Saturday, January 18, 2014

George & Margaret

 

We have had these two Crows here for years , I named them George & Margaret .  George is the one that always sits up in our big old oak tree looks down on us and squawks at Miggs as she barks at him . Margaret keeps her distance mostly and doesn’t have much to do with us . That’s how I know who is who lol . Crows  are highly social and seem to thrive in association with humans and that George does I talk to him and he squawks back and looks at me .

                                                    Did you know ? Crows also recognize humans !

 January 2014 (6 of 6)

                                           They  sometimes come down to peck around under the feeders .

                                                    The Nature Of Things Documentary Of The Crow

 

                                                                 Some Cool Facts About The Crow

  • American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.
  • Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most populations the young help their parents raise young for a few years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.
  • In some areas, the American Crow has a double life. It maintains a territory year round in which the entire extended family lives and forages together. But during much of the year, individual crows leave the home territory to join large flocks at dumps and agricultural fields, and to sleep in large roosts in winter. Family members go together to the flocks, but do not stay together in the crowd. A crow may spend part of the day at home with its family in town and the rest with a flock feeding on waste grain out in the country.
  • Despite its tendency to eat road kill, the American Crow is not specialized to be a scavenger, and carrion is only a very small part of its diet. Though their bills are large, crows can’t break through the skin of even a gray squirrel. They must wait for something else to open a carcass or for the carcass to decompose and become tender enough to eat.
  • Crows are crafty foragers that sometimes follow adult birds to find where their nests are hidden. They sometimes steal food from other animals. A group of crows was seen distracting a river otter to steal its fish, and another group followed Common Mergansers to catch minnows the ducks were chasing into the shallows. They also sometimes follow songbirds as they arrive from a long migration flight and capture the exhausted birds. Crows also catch fish, eat from outdoor dog dishes, and take fruit from trees.
  • Crows sometimes make and use tools. Examples include a captive crow using a cup to carry water over to a bowl of dry mash; shaping a piece of wood and then sticking it into a hole in a fence post in search of food; and breaking off pieces of pine cone to drop on tree climbers near a nest.
  • The oldest recorded wild American Crow was 16 years old. A captive crow that died in New York lived to be 59 years old.

                        

                                                                Nature .. It’s quite amazing isn't it ?

                                                                Until next time .. Have a good day .

                                                                          Country Gal

19 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i do like these intelligent family-oriented birds.

Julie Marie said...

Oooh I LOVE crows Elaine!... and your pair are so beautiful!... loved reading all about them... much of this I already know as I am as fanatic about birding as you are... did you also know that sailors used to take crows with them on long ocean voyages?... therefore the "crows nest" at the top of the mast... if they were disoriented or lost at sea, they would release the crows... crows will find and fly to the closest body of land!... "as the crow flies"!... xoxo Julie Marie

Pieced Pastimes said...

Nature is quite amazing! We have a couple of ravens that fly about our property. They make me nervous with our little dogs, so I tend to keep them close by while outside. Enjoyed your crow facts and photo.
Have a Lovely Day,
Suzanne
Pieced Pastimes

NanaNor's said...

Hi there, I had heard that crows were very smart but had no idea that they could recognize humans. I don't find them attractive but they are God's creatures. Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend Elaine.
Hugs, Noreen

Anonymous said...

We have a pair of crows that come to the trees in the garden. They are quite fascinating to watch. Nature never fails to amaze me.

Pamela Gordon said...

That was such an interesting post Elaine. Thanks for sharing those crow facts. We have a small family around our properties with our neighbours although there are currently two that have been around most of the winter. I don't want any more than that, thank you. They wake us up with their raucous cawing in the mornings and in the summer there might be a dozen of them conversing at 5:30 AM!! I've seen flocks, or 'murders', of crows with about 100 not far from here. I certainly don't want them around either. They like to ingest the sand or gravel in driveways and along the roadsides in the country too. I guess it helps their digestion. The two here have been dining on dropped birdseed on the ground.

Patsy said...

Hi, I messed up my blogger list and lost you ,but back now.
We have a pair of crows that come to the field every day, they never come to our back yard or the feeder.

DeniseinVA said...

I have enjoyed your post on crows, love the names you've given your regulars. I ought to start giving names to ours. A small group has been visiting for some time now. I think they have become regulars too. Crows are smart, I have always enjoyed them. Have a great weekend :)

Jane said...

I enjoyed your post. Though I live now in London, Ontario I plan to live in PEI in a farmhouse I purchased a few years ago when I retire (this JUNE!) When I am at my home in PEI during the summer there are a few crows that populate my ancient spruce trees. They are very LOUD! Now that I know more about them I think I will be more tolerant of their noise! You can find my blog at www.lifebeginsatretirement.blogspot.com Currently my header reads "When Life Hands You Lemons" due to recent events.
Jane

Amy at love made my home said...

Very interesting! I love that you gave them names, so funny! xx

Faye Henry said...

What a time I am having trying to comment on Blogger, Elaine.. I finally figured out to click on jump to comment but can't read any other ones.. The facts about the crows are so neat.. Thanks..xo

Primitive Stars said...

Love crows and thanks for the facts, loved reading them, Francine.

Linda said...

Very cool post....
I saw a show on crows on PBS....very smart birds!
When we were at the Grand Canyon, we saw the biggest crows EVER!
Enjoy your evening....
Cheers!
Linda :o)

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Great post! I love crows. They are very intelligent, and quite entertaining. I've watched some wonderful programs about them, and I'm always in awe of some of the things they can do.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

we have many here, and my little Skeeter dog seems convinced if he could just run a little faster he could catch one!

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

What a good post---I have always had a feeling there was something 'unique' about crows, and your post has taught me what that is, THANKS for that! I'll look at them a bit differently now.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Crows seem a lot smarter than the unwelcome starlings and grackles that are no returning to the backyard feeders. Thanks for the information, Elaine, and I too liked the names.

Kristin_Texas said...

This was amazing to read. Where we just moved there are crows everywhere.

The timing of this post is funny because just today my mother and I have been talking about and watching the crows a lot more closely. They're always noisy, but today they've been even noisier than usual. I LOVE hearing them, especially when the weather is actually cold for a change.

Kristin

William Kendall said...

We see a lot of them here, and somewhat less of their larger cousins, the ravens. They're very smart animals.