Wed 14 Mar 2007
March 14, 2007 - Tag-Teaming Crows!!!!!
Posted by Zach Glenwright under Backyard Bag Feeder Project, Crows, Edited Feeds (HD)No Comments
Tag-Teaming Crows!!!!
After the few days of the “squirrels-only” project, I wanted to try and attract the crows again. I’ve been getting little pecks of interest here and there with the crows since the big events last week, but nothing really serious - there’s a piece of bread on the ground, a black beak comes in from the side and *yoink* - it’s gone. That’s about all I’ve seen of the crows in the last few days - but at least they’re still there.
So on Monday, I asked around and found (well, my mother found it eventually, actually :)) a page on feeding crows. They suggested apples, cheese and bread, while I suggested many times “this will never work!!” Cut up a small bit of apple, a few small pieces of a white american cheese slice, and left the bread in the bag that’s been in there since I put it out for the squirrels… it was now ready for it’s adoring crow public. Of course, just like I thought - it didn’t work. A few squirrels came here and there, and I had a Black Vulture that flew over the house but didn’t land (wouldn’t that be cool to see on cam!!!!) but no crows… Tuesday came, one crow grabbed a small piece of bread that was laying on the ground again, and that was it… but still, at least they’re still coming back!
But then… on Wednesday, things changed for the better!… (→ continue on with March 14, 2007 - Tag-Teaming Crows!!!!!)
Tag-Teaming Crows!!!!, 3-14-07 [4:25m]: 
All right! A crow is now interested in my project to come back every day! It’s about time! I can finally make a project for the crows to play with! But it was not to be. This was the last day the crow came to the backyard and to my project. I’m not sure why it stopped coming. Maybe it found a better source of food? Maybe it died? Eh - marital issues? (OK, really doubt it…) But this was it. It was back to squirrels only for the rest of the summer…
Amazed that a crow decided to come to my yard twice, I decided to put all of the cameras back out again. Maybe it would come a 3rd time?? I prepared a project filled with bread (I find they like that the most) and sat it out. Within 6 minutes, a squirrel came and destroyed the whole thing! Interesting, because I didn’t think they liked bread - and they (or at least this one) didn’t! I made another project and sat it out, hoping that the crow would again chance at getting “a piece of it” - and it came back again! 3 days in a row!!! It also came back 3 times that day! A first! I also had the shot from 3 different angles this time (and with much better sound!) And finally, I got a true display of what crows will do to get to the bread inside the project itself! Very interesting watch.
On the 8th, after seeing the crow, I took the main camera in but decided to let the secondary one out in it’s place, just in case it decided to come back — it didn’t. But I kept it out anyway. I didn’t really feel like doing a set-up on the 9th, so I just left everything from the previous day sit there, once again hoping that it might take another chance at it. Sure enough, at 9am that morning, the crow came back, punctual and just as interested. The shot isn’t as nice and the sound sucks, but there it is again, trying once again to get food from the project! It pecked at it a few times and even stood on top of it towards the end!
The night of the 7th I had a huge complaint that there were no grackles this year. Every year since I started the project, I could pretty much count on them being there in June. Cut to the next morning, I was just sitting there watching a squirrel finish eating, around 9am. The camera was zoomed in after watching the squirrel feed, and I zoomed out to get a wider view (in case another squirrel wanted to come back) and what should I see? Yes, that’s right - a crow! I have always wanted to see what a crow would do with the project (and if it would be interested at all, for that matter) and this proved likewise! Of course, it didn’t really do anything to the project itself, but just to see a crow in my backyard is cool enough! (Yes, that’s right, I have no life… :))