[CT Birds] Feeder Crows

[Mntnc...@aol.com]

For as long as I can remember there has been a small flock (murder?) of
Am. Crows in my neighborhood which has fluctuated between 4 and (currently) 5
individuals. I'm sure the members have changed, but the number stays the
same.
This year, I have been surprised to see that they come to my yard
virtually every day, and feed in the area where I spread seed for the typical
ground feeders (90% Juncos). Once in a while one of them even goes to one of my
platform feeders, and sometimes they use my heated birdbath for a drink or
an occasional dip in the pool. I have never seen this before on anything
but an occasional basis.
The food I put in my feeders is from Ocean State and is a typical
high-percentage BOSS mix, but it does have a lot of cracked corn in it, more this
year I think. And some of that seed gets scattered on the ground by some of
the more messy or aggressive feeders. However, the mix I put on the ground
has no corn at all, and consists of mostly milo and millet with a small
amount of BOSS thrown in.
When the flock arrives, typically 1 to 3 of them will land and feed, the
others sitting in the trees as if keeping watch, and occasionally they
rotate.
I am just curious if others see this behavior on a regular basis.

Don Morgan
Coventry
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[Joe Zygala]

When I first started doing Project FeederWatch in 2007, and for a year or two after, I would sometimes get crows coming to feed off the seed on the ground. There were usually just 1 or 2, and they were very wary. At that time I had my feeders on poles in the middle of the yard, about 40' from the house. Because squirrels alway seemed to figure out a way around the baffles, I now hang my feeders from a wire stretched between 2 trees, and they are only 10'-15' from the house. Since doing that, the crows don't come anymore. Every so often, one will land in the middle of the yard, think about coming closer, but then fly off.

Joe Zygala
South Salem, NY (a.k.a., West Ridgefield)

Sent from my iPad

[Dennis Riordan]

I have an American crow family and a fish crow family living in my neighborhood in New Haven (adjacent to Yale athletic fields). The crows generally only visit the front yards along the street and the Yale fields. In the fall there are often large numbers (>200) of mixed crows that feed on acorns in front yards.
This year, however, several times the murders have ventured into my backyard to feed on the cracked corn that I put out for the ground feeders. They’ve been rather comical to watch as the walk around the Yale field and perch in the nearby trees, carefully looking at the yard as if trying to decide if its safe. You can almost hear them thinking, “Hmmm, should I give it a go? That corn looks tasty.” Then as many as 15 have come into the yard and actually gotten within about 5’ of the house. And they are wary! It doesn’t take much to spook them. My slightest movement visible from a window and they’re gone.
As I said, this is the first year that they’ve been feeder crows.

Dennis Riordan
New Haven

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> Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2014 10:59:03 -0500 (EST)
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