skygal3 0 #1 March 12, 2003 So anyway like I was saying... This morning was the typical morning here where I live..I woke up, showered, grabbed my coffee and opened my curtains that look out onto the bay. There, just like every morning, were the very well fed (fat!) robins that feed off of the fallen berries on the snow. (and I have to give those birds a good golf clap on their hibernation tactics. Goodness they are fat!) I go into my kitchen, feed my cats, and as I walk back through my living room, the robins had vanished. And there is a commotion on the bay. At first I thought it was an otter pup because we have otters here (beavers too)..but as I walked closer to the door I saw that it was actually 3 crows. And lying in front of them on the ice was a plump robin, and it's wings were flapping so helplessly. The crows nipped at the bird with their beaks and took turns beating it against the ice. The poor little birds wings were flapping but it could not move. And then one picked it up with it'e beak, and flew away with my robin. So then I went to my gym. I was pretty angry with this, I have never seen nature gone wild so up close and personal before, and the owner tells me it is crow season. As in crow hunting season. Why, I never even knew there was such a thing, but ok. He said they are fair game, one can shoot as many crow as they want to. So now I sit here in my bedroom and type this as I see over my balcony a whole gaggle of crow just kinda stalking the berry tree, waiting for my critters to return. Crow, anyone? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schroeder 0 #2 March 12, 2003 Yeah, that's real-life for you. And it's a Murder of crows for a reason . But seriously, alot of animals eat animals, and that's just the way it is. They don't wait for old age to take care of them, they don't have the thumbs to make a gun to shoot the robin with a single shot, so they use what they've got and peck him to death. I mean, it's fair. And I think I'd just call it Nature rather than nature gone wild. Sorry you had to see it though. And killing a bunch of crows for doing what they do seems silly, and it ain't gonna bring back your robin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #3 March 12, 2003 lol. sure, point taken, but come on there is enough road kill around here, those damn mean things will never go hungry. I think they are just mean spirited. They are the "osamas" of birds..I think they enjoyed torturing the robin. I think I even heard a few laughing. Pick on the red squirrels. The rodent equivilent of a raven..leave my robins alone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #4 March 12, 2003 "Without death there is no life..." Heard this on the Discovery channel the other night. Crows, Ravens, & Blue Jays are all birds with nasty dispositions. Just plain meanies. But maybe the Robin was calling the Crows names? Who knows... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #5 March 12, 2003 maybe it was a racial slur. The robins around here have been known to be quite biggoted at times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooked 0 #6 March 12, 2003 Be careful if you are mean to a crow. The reason I say this is, I once read a report on crows and their memory. It seems they remember and take revenge sometimes. I wish I could remember more of the details, but it has been a while.J -------------------------------------- Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #7 March 12, 2003 Oh, well that solves it. The robin must've beat up the crow when he was smaller and taken his lunch money, so the crow grew up and took revenge at the berry tree. Personally, I just don't like bully's in my neighborhood. I have no desire to harm the crows. Heck, I didn't bother the snapping turtle last year when he picked off the ducklings one by one either. It's all nature, but I have to admit, I have never witnessed it first hand so closely before this morning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schroeder 0 #8 March 12, 2003 I love crows, ravens etc. They're so damn smart, I mean, they show such intelligence, compared to other birds, like making and using tools, etc, I mean, the deserve some respect for that I figure. I always thought it'd be cool to keep a raven from birth, but it's illegal here in N.america. Canada at least. Oh well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #9 March 12, 2003 Well it is true. I mean, beating the bird against the ice..pretty unique I thought. Heck, they could have dropped it from 50 ft up or something like an owl would. It actually reminded me of what my cat does when she has to "kill" her food. (she doesn't know the piece of chicken isn't already dead..shh.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schroeder 0 #10 March 12, 2003 Even more surprising is when nature comes after humans! After all, we're different right ?I was on a kayaking trip where a friend of mine was attacked by a wolf while he slept and the wolf would have had him too, if the rest of us weren't there. But he got him good, tore off about 75% of his scalp, and ripped up his arms, he lost alot of blood and was a mess. It's nature though, they could care less about whether it's human, martian, or seafood, if it looks edible, they'll give it a shot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #11 March 12, 2003 Good point actually... Hmmm... Ok but, some of those birds have pretty annoying bird calls. More like screaching. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #12 March 12, 2003 QuoteHeck, they could have dropped it from 50 ft up or something Don't know if that would work. Wouldn't it...ummm...just fly away? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooked 0 #13 March 12, 2003 QuoteIt actually reminded me of what my cat does when she has to "kill" her food. (she doesn't know the piece of chicken isn't already dead..shh.) LOL! Too funny! J -------------------------------------- Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #14 March 12, 2003 not after they pecked it. It was pretty defenseless lying there. It's wings were fluttering but I don't think that would do the trick at that point. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooked 0 #15 March 12, 2003 Quote not after they pecked it. It was pretty defenseless lying there. It's wings were fluttering but I don't think that would do the trick at that point. I meant the cat story! I would not want to witness the crows killing their catch, I would have 'shooed' them awayJ -------------------------------------- Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #16 March 12, 2003 A blue jays call is horrible! And there is something around here that sounds like a little girl screaming..it scares the life out of me every morning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #17 March 12, 2003 I feel that there has been an explosion in the populations of crows and magpies where I live....with the result they crowd out other birds. Blow away as many as you can and give the robins and other birds a bit more of a chance. That's my opinion.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zilla 0 #18 March 12, 2003 I can remember watching blue jays take after our family cat when I was little. It was hysterical....you'd see the cat high-tailing it across the back yard with the blue jay(s) in hot pursuit. When you'd pet the cat's head you could feel the peck marks from when the blue jays actually hit their mark. Don't get me wrong....I love cats - it's just that as a child it provided hours of entertainment. Kind of an ironic turn of the tables in the cat and bird relationship. Zilla Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cliffharris 0 #19 March 12, 2003 get yourself a nice red ryder lever action air rifle and go to town on those varmints. but for god's sake, DON'T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #20 March 12, 2003 I used to keep a garden where I used to live, and I kept a gigantic birdfeeder in the middle so the birds and the chipmunks would come over and play. Anyway, I had also planted catnip. So this meant that the neighborhood cats would come over and play as well. Well the bluejays loved the birdfeeder, and this one cat would sleep in the catnip. The bluejay would see the cat and incessently swoop the poor thing and scream at it until it left. It was pretty funny, I thought. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schroeder 0 #21 March 12, 2003 I remember watching 2 stellar jays tricking my german shepard out of his food, one would to to one side of the deck and distract him while the other would come down and steal his food, then they'd fly away for a while, switch and do it again. Smart birdies. Let nature have it's way, don't kill them, and perhaps the robin will evolve to defend it self against crows and other predators. Perhaps, even, grow a thumb... oooh the chaos that would ensue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygal3 0 #22 March 12, 2003 Some birds are just plain dumb. Or bored. Like the birds that will actually fly crosswind low to the road while you are driving..and they actually get hit too! Come on, there is just no excuse for that..I want to shout at them "you have wings!! Get your little tail off of the ground and out of the road!" Geez... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #23 March 12, 2003 Quote ...killing a bunch of crows for doing what they do seems silly, and it ain't gonna bring back your robin. Um, it might encourage other robins to come back into the yard. In that sense it would bring her robins back.With a good shotgun, you might be able to get two with one shot. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schroeder 0 #24 March 12, 2003 Yes, please, re-enter the yard-of-death! Come one come all!EDIT: except for crows. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
