05
Sep

The crows have been watching HGTV!

The crows are redecorating.  I could hardly believe my eyes the other day when I looked out our windows at the small birdbath which you can see on the birdfeeder cam.  There was a crow, sitting on the rim, and moving the stones all around with its beak.  It was actually picking the stones up and moving them from one place to another in addition to putting his beak down into the water and scooting them around.

It began with the bird sitting on the rim of the small birdbath for several minutes – just drinking and looking around.  It actually seemed to be in deep contemplation – if crows do anything like that.  This bird was still and looked quite comfortable even though a crow is a big bird and this is a small birdbath.

The crow then started to dip its beak in and out of the water – it looked like the beak could be touching the bottom.  And then it reached in and actually picked up a stone and moved it to another area of the birdbath. The bird did this several times – always a different stone into a different area.  And there was a pause after each move almost like the crow was contemplating the new look.  The crow did this for several minutes.

I went out and looked at the birdbath after the bird flew off and the stones were all rearranged.  Cleon had them all piled up against one side of the birdbath.  We were trying to create a more inviting bath for smaller birds like nuthatches, titmice and chickadees by giving them more places to sit and also by making the birdbath shallower.  Which by the way, never worked.  These small birds never came – although they are all regular visitors to the feeders that are right there.  The smallest birds who occasionally use the small birdbath are House Finches.  Amazingly, once we put the rocks in, the Blue Jays, Common Grackles, and male Red-winged Blackbirds used it all the time – hardly the small birds we were trying to attract.  And they used it more often than the larger birdbath right next to it.  So you can picture me standing inside our house, looking out the window, yelling, “That birdbath is NOT FOR YOU!!!!”

But back to the rock rearranging…..  The crow was not finished.  I cannot be positive, but I assume it was the same crow who came back yesterday and did the same thing.  Rearranged its rearrangement.  But this time there was more.

The previous time, this was the only crow down in the yard.  Others were cawing but were all up at our treetops.  This time there were 14 crows on the ground all around the feeder area – not all would have been in camera view.  While the crow was sitting on the edge of the small birdbath, sipping, maybe contemplating the meaning of life, and definitely rearranging rocks, a friend came to the adjacent birdbath and took a thorough bath which looked like it felt so good!  And the decorator decided to join in!

Move over – I’m coming in! Seriously, I am guessing these two birds have a relationship. It could be a mated pair, but my guess is this is parent-child. I think the decorator is possibly a juvenile from this year’s nest and the bathing bird is one of its parents. In the world of birds, crow families are exceptionally close. Whenever there is a flock of crows in our yard – like the 14 we had yesterday – I assume that most often, they are all related. Parents, juveniles, siblings, aunts, uncles. A flock of crows is often a big family clan!

We have never had so many crows in our back yard.  We have always had them here, but they live in the woodlands across the lake from us.  They rarely come over to our yard and then most often just 3 or 4 at a time.  But this late summer, it has been different.  If you have been watching and most particularly listening to the birdfeeder cams, you will have seen and heard crows right here – they do make their presence known!  And this is the first time any have ever used our birdbaths.

So no household chores for me either afternoon!  Too busy crow-watching!  Clever, fascinating birds!

All the crows in our backyard are American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos).  For those of you who are interested in crows, the Fish Crow (Corvus oossifragus) – who looks almost exactly like the American Crow, but with a different call – is expanding its range from our southern states.  As its name implies, this is a bird that likes to be around water – most especially big rivers.  The first Fish Crows I ever saw were along the Arkansas River.  Fish Crows are now in southern Illinois where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi – and they should be right at home on the banks of both.  There have been scattered sightings of these birds here in central Illinois, but so far, not here at our small lake.  These are still all American Crows.  But maybe not for long?