Crows at it again!

[Pigeonpal2002]

Crows, love em or hate them...

Here in Ontario, Canada...specifically here in southern Ontario bird breeding season is in full swing. Grackles, starlings and doves are nesting in huge numbers and here in my area, these birds are VERY common and plentiful.
I just witnessed yet another mobbing, robbing and life and death struggle amoung nature's creatures.

In my front yard there is a tall coniferous tree that is always a favourite nesting "condo" for many grackles and doves. Right now, there is one dove nest (that I know of) and about 2-3 grackle nests. All of a sudden while in my bedroom, I heard the familiar sounds of VERY upset grackles. I looked out my window just in time to see a crow leaving the tree at high speed closely followed by a group of about 8 grackles screaming angrily.

The crow of course had an egg in it's beak and was being persued by the family of grackles and the flock in general. The crow made a quick decision to abandon a long flight and landed in the neighour tree across the street. All the while, the group of grackles were busily chastising it from various branches in that same tree. The crow must have eaten the egg within the few moments resting in the tree then took off again. I watched as the crow left the vacinity with the group of grackles persuing their much larger adversary relentlessly but helplessly to do anything

I LOVE crows, they are highly intelligent, family oriented and very beneficial to the ecosystem. But yet, when I witness these nest raiders at work, I feel so sorry for the other birds that have no way to protect themselves from these very auspicious birds...crows.

[Pigeonpal2002]

And to follow up and wishing for a better outcome...

It would be interesting to see what would happen if/when a crow came upon a pigeons' nest...and more to the point, my runts This scenario would never play out in the wild but it would be interesting to see the outcome.

Crows use their sheer size to intimidate other, smaller songbirds and pigeons, to abandon their nests and use "muscle" to do it. My pigeons are as large and double the weight of a crow. I doubt my own pigeons would give up the fight as easily as a smaller bird. My Henny is a warrior and a very devote MOM. I can't see her being scared off easily if this situation ever presented itself. A few well placed jabs of the beak and another few well aimed wing slaps from her powerful wings, would likely bowl over any would be crow

Just a little wishful thinking and maybe not so much for these underdogs...

[Blksheep]

Hi all... I'm the other half of the newly formed pigeon team in Seattle that now consists of Auntisocial and myself
As far as crows and pigeon nests... I work in architectural metal. Installation and modification puts me pretty much in the front lines of the line between ferals and man and his strucutures. Pigeons, like people, realize that metal is a great construction material, and like the protection it gives (/endsalespitch :P).
What I have seen though, is that crows do this quite often, and it's nasty. Several crows will spot a nest that is somewhat vulnerable. One side is open more than just a pigeon-width, two openings, whatever... and they start to gather their buddies. After a day or two, they will start toi harass the sitting adult... rushing it, taking the wing slaps, taking the bites, and just involving more and more crows until the adult finally stands up and gets fully into the fight. 3 or more crows will have a go at the adult until the pigeon is physically hurt, or just can't fight any longer and leave the nest. The crows then rush in and devour the eggs, or grab the young hatchlings and carry them off.
It happens here in Seattle frequently. I have always noticed pigeon activity while we are working, and have educated my crew on how to spot it, how to avoid disrupting a nest area if we can help it, etc., and crow activity near a nest always draws my attention immediately. If they are obviously attracted to the nest area, and the numbers increase by a bird or two, I know it's coming. I know Nature can seem cruel at times, and it's always in teh eye of the beholder what it is that constitutes "cruel", but this is hard to watch and not get involved.
I got a call the other night from a team member asking what to do with two chicks that his kids found on their back deck. The kids told him that they had seen two pigeons and two crows fighting over two baby chicks on the deck. He had brought the chicks in, knowing that Laura and I had just successfully raised the two that he and I had found on a construction site. He bundled them up, kept them warm, and figured to talk to me in the morning when we got to work. I was not at work that day, and that night he calls me with the story, and saying that now the chicks were listless and needing attention. We went over, and he showed me where the nest had been. It had been pretty much destroyed, and the adults were nowhere to be seen, and hadn't been seen all day.
Here we go again

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Blksheep,

Welcome to you and your other half, Auntisocial I've seen the lovely two pigeons you two have taken under your "wings" and nutured into fine beauties...Well done!

Interesting observations you just shared here about the crows and the pigeons. I myself have never seen a crow harrass or attempt to steal a pigeons' eggs or chicks. I know they do though because they are huge nest raiders of any birds. I'm actually a bit surprised by the tenacity of the feral pigeons you've seen defending their nest against the crows. Crows are significantly larger than a wild pigeon and have quite the powerful beak! I guess the instinct to protect their nests/babies is strong in all pigeons regardless of size. I've observed smaller birds such as robins or grackles will not stay and fight a crow on it's nest. They are immediately spooked off the nest and will only persue the crow once it's in the air. They don't seem to want to risk a potentially harmful jab of the crow's sturdy and formidable beak. Pigeons are a little more hardy than most song birds though, they are much more muscular and heavier for their size so I guess they can take a beating a bit better while defending their nests from crows. In any case, you're right...it's never easy to watch these struggles in nature and it often does seem cruel. If I could intervene in any of these situations I would, but only because I'm one person and part of the natural order in a sense too