Depredation

[Mikej]

We used to have lots of song birds in our area. Three years ago a red-tailed hawk pair nested in a neighbors fir tree. We were both standing under the tree talking about it when small feathers came floating down and landed around us. No song birds since then, but suddenly lots of crows.

I've got a butt load of song birds around, and the crows. Some times up to 20+ turtle doves on the front lawn, where I put millet. From time to time a hawk will nail dove. That's okay, there's a bunch of them. I think crows go after the eggs of song birds. They sure don't seem to affect the population in this neighborhood from the numbers I get at my feeders and on the ground?

 

[Gbirk]

Some rats are smarter then others.

I have started putting out traps, and they work, but I have had squirrels steel them in the morning.
Check out this jerk! That's my trap.




Sorry, I have gone off topic. Back to shooting (or not) crows.

 

[BigDog67]

I shot at a crow this morning and missed. I feel like a loser. That is all.

Then you have nothing to crow about.

 

[Mikej]

I have started putting out traps, and they work, but I have had squirrels steel them in the morning.
Check out this jerk! That's my trap.


View attachment 816798

Sorry, I have gone off topic. Back to shooting (or not) crows.

Now that right there is some vermin! I'll watch one of those vermin bury a nut in my yard. Ill go dig it up, call the crows and feed the walnut to them. I even step on it to crack it first.

 

[thorborg]

Be very stealth when shooting crows near areas you frequent, especially by your home, should they witness you kill or harm one of their own, they are vindictive with sharp long term memory and great recognition skills and have been known to fly at, peck and generally harass people who've done them wrong for years after, whenever they see them in the same area.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! they don't call them a murder of crows for nothing

 

[Mark W.]

In Washington State Crows may be taken at any time if caught in the act of depredation.
Andy

There is a Crow season in Oregon it runs Oct 1 to Jan 31 this year and was most likely the same last year.

 

[mrblond]

In Washington State Crows may be taken at any time if caught in the act of depredation.
Andy

 

[Andy54Hawken]

There is a Crow season in Oregon it runs Oct 1 to Jan 31 this year and was most likely the same last year.

We have a crow season here in Washington as well...
It usually runs from 1 SEPT to 31DEC.
Andy

 

[darkminstrel]

Those crows would come and bubblegum at me anytime they saw me in the yard.

Crows are incredibly smart, for birds. When I caught a bunch of them chasing off my chickens from their food I went out and sent birdshot a couple metres to the side of them. From that moment on all I had to do was walk outside with the shotgun and stand in view of them and they'd all flock off. If I went outside without it, they'd not fly off. We had an "understanding". Worked out pretty well, too.

 

[BigDog67]

We don't have crows here. The ravens drove them out about 35 years ago. We do have magpies though. My dogs hate them.

 

[fredball]

R U sure the Crow Identified as a Crow and not a Hawk or sparrow just saying we don't want to offend and J-birds

 

[cigars]

Just remember that its "depredation" not defecation...
Andy

That would be Portland....

 

[cigars]

Just remember, crows have extremely good memory and can remember faces. Ammo up.

 

[Mistman]

Crows hang out w/my chickens, chase the cats around and generally make a hella racket around my place. I've said for years there's a reason indigenous people revered crows and coyotes, a couple of the most wily creatures I know of.

I can go outside, the crows will fly out of the coop and sit in the trees above it. If I have a gun, forget it, they're gone. I can walk outside 3 times, they won't fly, the 4th time w/a gun in my hand, they fly and don't stop. If I want to take a shot at one I have to sneak, big time, if one see's me they're all gone. Same if I'm in a rig, I can stop and watch them but as soon as a gun barrel comes out they fly.

Early in the summer one morning they were making too much noise. I snuck out w/the 17 and popped one in the chicken yard. Usually the chickens will munch on anything, they wouldn't go near the crow, neither would any other bird as there's usually little song birds and doves in there also. The crows that were with the one I shot harassed me for 3 days. Flying around my place making a ton of noise. They're back, I only have to point a stick at them and they leave and keep flying but they don't make near the racket they used to, they learn.

I have a spot I throw all the scraps, hides and bones from animals we kill. It's 300 yds from the deck in plain view and have a trail cam set-up down there to see what comes around. I had an elk carcass down there a couple years ago, had eagles, hawks, crows and ravens all over it. Interesting to watch the pecking order of those birds, there was a lot of activity. Coyotes only came at night. I came home from work one evening, there were a bunch of crows all around it. I got out my .223, ranged one at 280, adjusted the scope for the yardage, he fell over. For 2 days nothing would come around that carcass. I watched a red-tail hawk land near it, walk over and look at the crow, then fly away like death was chasing him. I had to move the crow so the scavengers would return.

I don't target crows but have a ton of them around, looking at one right now through the front window in the top of a fir. I may shoot one a year, maybe, probably less, they can be annoying as h*ll though I do respect them.

 

[Mikej]

R U sure the Crow Identified as a Crow and not a Hawk or sparrow just saying we don't want to offend and J-birds

Crows don't fall for none of that "PC" bubblegum! They're proud of their species and don't fold to pressure from their detractors.

 

[bbbass]

Black Crows matter.

 

[bbbass]

We don't have crows here. The ravens drove them out about 35 years ago. We do have magpies though. My dogs hate them.

I don't have much in the way of crows here... I see them around town, flying over, or hear them long distance.

But I do have those damn magpies squawking from all the trees, pooping on my deck railings and on the patio. And the MFrs will fly off as soon as I crack the slider. Rarely do I get a shot at one.

We used to have bunches of Mourning Doves and Pigeons hanging around, then the Eurasion Doves showed up and that was the end of the others.

We also have a kind of brown squirrel, and no gray squirrels. They are ok with me, the dog likes to bark at them and chase them, until they started girdling the bark on my Golden Willow. Then the met the Hatsan .22 pellet rifle. Fell to the ground and the dog sniffed but otherwise wasn't interested. The wife thinks they are vermin rodents. But I like their antics.

 

[P7M13]

View attachment 816906

Wasn't racist until you projected it to be.
They're my favorite bird and important in the aves class. In short, they matter.
On an aside, I've only ever seen one crow that was not pure black.
Had a crow feather that I placed on my window sill in the sun. Over years, it never faded.

 

[bbbass]

Wasn't racist until you projected it to be.

'Zactly. Just like all the other PC dopes that do the same seriously. The BLM types say that anything referring to BLM that does not say "Black Lives Matter" is racist. You know that, right? But in this case, it was a joke.

 

[Idaho44]

Corvidae - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

NOTE: crows attack, kill and eat baby bunnies!