Clever Crows
They're black, they're some of our least popular birds, and they're very, VERY smart. The various members of the crow family are, in fact, amongst the smartest creatures on Earth - at least as clever as dolphins, gorillas and chimpanzees, and in the view of some scientists even smarter.
Yet these are also the birds we love to hate - especially carrion crows, ravens and magpies. For centuries these species have been associated with evildoing - as the companions of witches - or simply derided as thieves. Yet their mischievous behaviour is the sign of very high intelligence.
So as Simon says on Monday night's show, we're now asking YOU to look out for clever crows in your neighbourhood. Whether it's magpies or jays, rooks or ravens, carrion crows or jackdaws - or in Scotland and Ireland, hooded crows - we'd love to hear from you. Post your replies on this blog, or send us your videos or photos elsewhere on this website. We'll tell the best stories, and show any great footage or stills, on the programme later this week!
Thanks again for your great response so far!
Stephen
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
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Clever crows; I live in Beaumaris on Anglesey and have been seeing carrion crows dropping shells onto rocks, to break the shells open, for years. I've seen this behaviour locally, at low tide, and at other places around the Anglesey coast.
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I've noted that you used some stock footage of the new forest last week. the section showing shrikes and harriers. isn't all the footage shown supposed to be taken now?
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Hi. I walk each day along Baitor with my dog in the morning. Just over from Brownsea. Over a very short time the "crows, rooks, raven"- how do you tell which are which, would appear to know who I am. Some are more cautious whilst others are big and bold. It feels as if i am in a hitchcock film. Noticed that many fight for the food, fly off but i think give to their young -could they be the young. A few have worked out that if they move along to further down the line get less competitors for food. At times there can suddenly be around 30/40 birds if not more and then suddenly just go. Where dothey go. They are rather fab if somewhat up for a fight - some are not completely black, have grey areas. Its probably just me but i feel i recognise some of them. One I call Big Head, whilst protecting the bread and bird seed I leave, misses out but is quite fab at showing off. Miss them if they are not there. Fab show by the way. I am so fortunate to live in a special area.
SJM
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Some fifteen years ago I was living near Caerphilly Castle in South Wales which is surrounded by a large moat and lake. I spotted a gull pecking at a large dead fish at the top of the bank of the lake which was on a steep slope. Each time the gull pecked the fish it slowly but surely moved down the bank. A crow spotted the meal, settled near the gull and walked towards the fish. The gull struck out at the crow, squarked loudly and the crow jumped away. The crow tried the tactic a second time with the same result. It then walked round to the back of the gull, tugged sharply at the gull's tail feathers which squarked very loudly and flew off. The crow then walked up to the fish, pulled it up the bank to flat ground and then enjoyed his meal. Sadly, no camera with me but a moment I've never forgotten.
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I watched the programme about bird observatories and it took me back to going as a child with my Father to the Copeland Islands Bird Observatory. Many bids were ringed including Manx Sheerwater and as a child it was a magical place to go. There was the excitement of the boat trip over and staying in very primative accommodation- v. little washing required! plus the freedom to explore a whole island which seemed enormous then. Once we had a cameraman come over and make a film about the observatory- I think he was from ITV- but I dont know what happened to the film. Another time the weather was so bad we thought we were going to be stuck on the island.-No school -Great! However, we were rescued by a trawler.
Great memories- If anyone knows about the film I would be interested to hear.
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I live in a small market town in North Buckinghamshire called Olney, as I am a postman I get up really early & during the summer months often witness Rooks in all the bins on the Market Square throwing all the rubbish out of the bins, Chip papers all over the place. Lovely Birds though, they are nesting in a group of high trees just off of the high street.
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Not sure about clever, we have a family of crows which frequent our car park at work. I have seen them pick up mussels and drop them on hard surfaces to try to break them - but that's not so clever - even the stupid herring gulls do that.
They do however seem to have a sense of fun.
One rainy day, my wife watched them fly onto the roof of a parked car, and then slide on their bellies down the wet windscreen onto the bonnet - this process was repeated time and time again!
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at my mums house in wymington northants/beds we see loads of crows picking up walnuts from a tree in another garden and flying off with them, also we have rooks. but no ravens.
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Clever Crows:
Here in Hertford, we have a permanent pair of Crows who live here. In the Spring we saw the pair on the ground, he offered her a feather with his beak, (a Wood pigeon feather I think,) he laid it on the ground in front of her as a courtship offering. She accepted it, they both lay out their wings flat & shook them, & shook their tail feathers (like the 60's soul song; shake a tail feather,) he then mated with her.
Incidentally, a Magpie was watching this, from a nearby bush, and the Crow chased him off with a loud 'caw'.
Then she took the feather up onto a rooftop as a special momento of his 'troth.' They have been partners since, but with no offspring that year, unfortunately.
The male is older than the female, & the male has some white feathers so we can identify him.
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I live in Oxfordshire and the crows (or maybe they are rooks) collect Walnuts from an avenue of walnut trees about half a mile away and they are burying them in the recently ploughed fields near their roosting spot. They don't appear to be trying to break them open, they just fly down and bury them straightaway. Are they storing them for a later date or does burying them in the ground for a while make them easier to open?
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Sometimes Rooks come into my garden and try and steal the seed from my bird feeder so, one day, I put it in a place just to see how easy it was for them to get it. I watched as the next morning, two Rooks landed and stood in the garden looking at the tree with the feeder in it. It was like they were calculating and weighing up their options on how to get to it. One landed on a branch about a foot away from the feeder and tried stretching to reach it but that didn't work. The other bird was underneath the feeder and flying up to try and dislodge it while the first looked on. After about 5 minutes or so, the second bird managed to grab the bottom of the feeder and hung onto it in midair, and the first, flapping in excitement, was trying to spill the seed from the openings. At that moment, the branch holding the feeder snapped (probably from the weight of the bird) and everything fell to the ground. Well they managed to get a meal again. The feeder is now on another tree, on another branch, far from their reach (hopefully).
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Saw the programme about Crows dropping mussels etc to crack them open. I am lucky enough to live by the Gare Loch, Argyll and Bute and seeing Crows picking up mussels and dropping them onto the beach to get at the contents is a daily occurrence.
I have also been interested to observe members of the Crow family hounding birds of prey and they appear to be working in small teams. The birds of prey are usually Buzzards, although I think I have also seen a Sparrowhawk being treated to the same aggravation. Is this usual behaviour?
There is also a family of swans, parents and six cygnets this year, who for at least two years have shared their family life with a White-fronted Goose. Yesterday, I saw the family led by the goose, sailing along a calm & peaceful loch, looking very beautiful on a sunny autumnal day. Earlier in the year I saw the parent swans tolerating the goose even when the cygnets were newly born.
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I live near Bruges in Belgium and we have many jackdaws living close by our house. This weekend I watched them taking walnuts and dropping them on the pointed part of the pitched roof of our dormer window. The nuts then rolled safely down to the gutter from which they could be collected by the bird. They're clever too, they only do it on the side of the house where the conservatory is so there is no danger of the nuts falling to the ground.
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On the subject of Ravens, and whether or not they kill lambs.
Normally Ravens will scavenge on afterbirth and dead lambs.
They are, however very clever animals, and, in a situation where
food is scarce, and supply less than required for the Raven population
in a given area, a Raven can attack a poorly lamb, which is probably
going to die anyway. It only needs to be successful once, and the method
will spread to the other Ravens in the flock/family.
They do certainly kill lambs, but this method is always used within a
discrete population of Ravens,and, unfortunately, once learnt, is
never forgotten.
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We get the whole lot in our garden, Rooks, Crows, Ravens, Magpies and my favourite Jackdaws come and bathe in my mothers pond daily. They used to be a rare sight but now they are the most frequent visitor to our garden. We have noticed that the starlings and sparrows that used to visit have stopped since the influx of the corvid family! They spend ages pruning in our pond and fight for the best position. One day when cleaning out the pond we noticed a gold fish had gone, we emptied the pond (as we always do when we deep clean it) and it was nowhere to be seen. Is it possible for a crow or raven to catch a fish or to pluck a dead fish out of a pond for a meal?
I have also seen a Crow or Raven and a Buzzard having a mid air fight in one of the fields where I walk my dogs in the New Forest.
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We get the whole lot in our garden, Rooks, Crows, Ravens, Magpies and my favourite Jackdaws come and bathe in my mothers pond daily. They used to be a rare sight but now they are the most frequent visitor to our garden. We have noticed that the starlings and sparrows that used to visit have stopped since the influx of the corvid family! They spend ages pruning in our pond and fight for the best position. One day when cleaning out the pond we noticed a gold fish had gone, we emptied the pond (as we always do when we deep clean it) and it was nowhere to be seen. Is it possible for a crow or raven to catch a fish or to pluck a dead fish out of a pond for a meal? It wasnt a heron by the way as we have never seen one even flying over let alone stopping off and we watch the pond reguarly with interest to see who visits.
I have also seen a Crow or Raven and a Buzzard having a mid air fight in one of the fields where I walk my dogs in the New Forest.
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I started feeding a pair of crows a year ago. They weren't satisfied with that and I would find that the nut feeders had disappeared.I watched them one day and they would fly at speed towards them and dislodge them with their feet! They didn't carry them away though so I started feeding them on the bottom lawn and the feeders remained intact. In the spring they brought two youngsters to be fed and the whole family still waits in my neighbour's pear tree for their breakfast. I have seen them mobbing the buzzards and I have also watched them in the nearby field, as well as a buzzard, digging for worms, it would appear.
There has been no let up on the bird feeders at all throughout the summer. The blue, coal and great tits are permanent visitors as are siskins and goldfinches. The greater spotted woodpecker comes regularly to the nut feeders and in the summer the male brought his male offspring to learn how to peck. We also had a green woodpecker with one youngster, pecking at the numerous ants on the lawn. Other visitors have included jays, redpolls,blackcaps and sparrowhawks as well as the robins,dunnocks,sparrows, thrushes and blackbirds but very few starlings. In the spring we also had a foxcub on the lawn in the early afternoon. It is all very exciting and rewarding to see all this wildlife.
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I have Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies and the occasional Jay in my small Surrey Garden.
Every day without fail 5 or more crows come and sit on my fence and call. I then feed them peanuts - some in shells.
Then its a free for all as the squirrels appear out of the trees, then a couple of magpies.
I've noticed that the crows allow themselves to be intimidated by the squirrels and will hop away if challenged.
Also the Magpies and Jackdaws are very timid - they fly in - pick up a nut and then fly off, whereas the crows will stay on the ground and try and get as many nuts in their mouths as possible
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Thank you so much 'team' for giving Ravens a good press and exposing these wonderful birds to a wider public.
As a lifelong observer and having reared three young Ravens this year-all back to the wild where I hope they will survive - with any luck they will be in Angelsea by now?! I can say with certainty that you could spend two lifetimes attempting to understand these birds and still be confounded.
As for 'killing' - those great beaks cannot even tear the skin of a squirrel so, inspite of reports unconfirmed, drilling into the skulls of sheep would pose a bit of a problem. They will certainly take carrion but being neophobic are inclined to wait until they are sure they are safe which usually means after another species has made the first move and opened the carcass.
If these birds were less wary more people would understand just how 'magical' they are and how deserving they are of our respect and admiration-Thanks Simon! Hope you enjoy being amidst 1,500 of them-wish I could join you!
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I played golf today with my son and a very good friend at Leasowe golf club on the Wirral peninsula. playing the 3rd hole we played 3 balls on to the green. Walking up to putt, the 3 balls were stolen by crows who then took them to a nearby field. I've seen 1 stolen before but not 3!
I presume that they think they are eggs or some other form of food.
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The town where I live is dominated by pairs of Carrion Crows. Magpies have only just begun to settle here and Jays are a rare occurance. Rooks and Jackdaws are largely confined to the neighbouring villages. Ravens have been recorded in the hills nearby but are extremely rare.
I have had a pair of Carrion Crows in my garden for the past 6 years which have nested each year in trees nearby. Over time it has become possible to identify the male and female bird and indeed their offspring through social behaviour, vocalisations (males have a lower pitch and females have higher and often more metallic sounding utterance) and size. To get a closer look, I began feeding them and they have become much friendlier as a result. They vigorously defend their territory from intruders and their neighbouring pairs all year round. Some of the territorial battles can be quite fierce. It becomes clear the territories in the area are very regimented and don't change much over time as the Crows appear to be very long lived thus making it easy to identify individuals which must be a sign of high intelligence.
The most bizzare behaviour I have witnessed was last December where I noticed there was a different adult female in the garden. This caused a lot of anger from the neighbouring pairs who didn't tolerate this new female, constantly flying aggressively towards it. Several 'gatherings' (several of which i have seen in the past in more densely wooded areas particulary outside the breeding season) of the local crow population then appeared on the tops of the trees nearby. It looked like some of sort of vetting ritual with the male crow fighting to defend his territory. The next day the male and the new female had disappeared and territory was annexed by a neighbouring pair. Around 10 days later, I looked out of window in total disbelief as the male had returned with his old mate once again patroling the same territory as before. They went on to successfully raise their offspring this year as in the previous years. Easily the most intelligent bird species to visit my garden.
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The crows in our village mean a lot to everyone who lives there.
Every year we have a "Crow Fair" and we have badges and t-shirts and hats you can buy and me and my parents are on the comittee who runs it.
It is probably the most famous festival in our village.
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I just seen Bill's story on crows and how they used tarmac and concrete surfaces to break open shell fish, I work at RAF Leuchars in Fife and the crows here have been doing this for years, causes the RAF problems with FOD on the airfield but you can find lots of mussel shells all around the airfield.
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Crows in Argyll and Bute have been doing this for years.
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We saw crows dropping mussels at Kilchattan Bay on Bute in August. Since we had previously seen gulls doing this we did not think it very unusual!
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ive seen the same thing happening in germany on the tarmack ion a military camp in germany!!
mat
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Yes....we've seen crows cracking shells at Ardgarten Scotland!!!!!!
Very entertaining birds!
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Clever Crows - In Cork Harbour (in Ireland) the local crows regularly feast on the mussels at low tide on the Mahon amenity walk.
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We live in the Alps but watch all the Spring/Autumnwatch progs.
Have just seen the crows dropping shellfish in Poole Harbour; we watched crows here near Grenoble 2 weeks ago doing exactly the same thing only with green walnuts...dropping them onto the road & then dodging traffic to pick up the kernels.
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I have been seeing hoodie crows dropping mussels on the road along Loch Goil in Argyll for a number of years now. There is one particular spot that has so many broken shells on it that it is like walking along a gravel track rather than a tarred road!
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Just along the coast from Poole is Seaton with the famous Seaton Tramway,and we watch crows daily either dropping shells but mainly crabs. And these are dropped onto the sleepers of the tramway. They I believe copied the gulls who do the same.
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bill ,
you said call re crows dropping shells?
come to col huw beach and watch them!!
(sorry, it's llantwit major, vale of glamorgan )
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We live in Barrowden Rutland and we often observe crows swooping high and dropping conkers at this time of year down onto the tarmac in our close to break them. I have also seen them hiding bread in gutters by covering it in leaves.
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There is a fabulous talk by a guy called Joshua Klein on 'Ted Talks - Ideas Worth Spreading' on the intelligence of crows and how he made a vending machine for them!
follow the link
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html
if you are interested!
Nadene
Australia
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re the crows.
I have been watching them carry out this process all along the south coast from Chichester to Hastings over the last 5 years. I always park up somewhere on the coast during my daily run, mostly alongside the lifeboat station at Shoreham.
regards
Bob Eccleston
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we have seen crows where we live in cambridgeshire sitting on a house roof then flying over the road to drop items probably snails we thought a conker once and what could be walnuts from the tree in the back garden.
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I have seen crows drop shells at Weston Shore near Southampton,best to go at low tide and park in the small car park.There are quite a few wading birds as well
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I was in Paignton, Devon, with my family during May half-term this year and we saw crows dropping mussels onto the concrete promenade next to the beach. It seemed noteworthy at the time because we hadn't seen crows doing this before.
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At Ferndown Golf Club in Dorset I was a guest of one of the members and enjoying a game of golf and as we reached the 10th green I parked my trolly as i went to putt out the hole. I glanced towards my trolly and saw a crow sitting on the handle - it flew down to the lower part of the bag and started pulling at the zip of one of the pockets It was soon successfully opened and the bird foraged inside and found my wrapped biscuit which it then proceeded to tear open and flew of and consumed the lot! Clever thing!! Apparently this has been a common occurance, whether it's the same crow or there are several of them I don't know. One golfer had his car keys removed from a pocket and dropped into the heather (which didn't go down too well) but luckily they were found.. Will this clever sport be passed down to the next generation? Ingrid Chalcraft
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for szmelia
an old rhyme from where I come from
one rooks a crow and lots of crows is rooks
The big b dot dot dot 's are ravens
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I have long wondered why crows pick up pieces of ballast and place them on the top of railway lines for trains to crush them. This is a regular phenomenon. What are they trying to achieve?
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I watched a clever crow pick up peices of bread thrown out in one garden, and bury it in freshly mowed grass clippings on the verge. It the returned to find and eat the bread at leisure! This was in Duffield, Derbyshire.
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I have seen the crows on Worthing Beach drop shells on the footpath. They also tease my Lurcher. There is a sub group of 4 crows(2 pairs?) who sneak behind her and try to pull her tail. I'm trying to get a film of this but Maggie(The lurcher) is getting a bit reluctant to hang around that part of the beach. I rescued an abandoned crow when I was 16. despite everyones' expectations, it survived and became a faithful companion and would follow me everywhere. Inevitably it grew up and became less and less tame and eventually flew. It was never caged, and never had it wings clipped either as I felt this was cruel. Nebuchnezzar was incredibly clever and a terrible teaser of cats.Was also a denizen of the local pub and developed a fondness for beer. I would like to become involved in protecting and studying these fantastic birds.
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Hi all- As I just posted to the message board, I was watching Hoodies dropping thier seafood onto the rocks in Connemara in 1997.
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I often feed the rooks, that live in the trees around my garden, with kitchen scraps. I have seen them drop crusts of bread into the bird bath in order to soften them up before eating them.
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Hi everyone,
Funnily enough my Husband and I were walking along Paignton Promenade by the car park today on the way to the cinema,and there were several crows dropping mussels on the Tarmac to break them open. Id never seen or hear of it before until I saw last nights Autumn watch, and they were doing it right in front of us today, they were fascinating to watch.
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I commanded a Tornado Sqn at RAF Leuchars from 1989 to 1992. We observed Crows dropping molluscs to the hard taxiways, but our view was that this behaviour was learned from observing the Oystercatchers perform the same task. Indeed the Crows were not particularly efficient at first, dropping the mussels from too low a height-they soon got better. This was a real safety issue for us because of the risk of cut tyres on the aircraft wheels and we had to sweep the taxiway very regularly.
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We have clever crows on the Prom between Fisherrow and Musselburgh on the shores of the Forth estuary in East Lothian.
The notices not to eat the mussels doesn't seem to bother them
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I regularly walk the seawall at Teignmouth, Devon, adjacent to the famous Exeter - Newton Abbot coastal railway line and for some 15 years have known the gulls to drop mussel shells to crack them all along this area of promenade call East Cliff and the seawall. Having retired earlier this year I've been able to take more note of the goings on and noticed crows also dropping shells. What has intrigued me is that they are often to be seen eating the contents on the railway lines and I've wondered for some time if they have discovered a way of getting the trains to crack the shells or whether they just do that to avoid the people walking along the seawall like myself - though they could just drop to the beach. I've no evidence of this but it just seems an odd place for them to sit and eat unless the shells have just been opened, maybe?
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We have just been on holiday to the Isle of Skye and we have witnessed several hooded crows doing just that - mainly cracking open mussels on the road by dropping them from a height!
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Hi all
I have just seen the latest autumwatch with an interesting article on clever crows. Bill Oddie showed them breaking oysters and the like, by dropping them onto tarmac. I have also observed this behavior. I live in the seaside town of South Shields in Tyne and Wear and when out walking on my local beach have observed on a number of occasions the crows taking winkles and mussels from the rocks and shoreline to a small tarmac coverd groyn pier, where they repeatedly drop them untill they break. I first saw this happen about autum time last year. So they must be passing this skill on!
Great programme, I try never to miss it.
Carol
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Hoodies and carrion crows have been breaking shells on the roads and carparks around Ardentinny on the shores of Loch Long on the Cowal peninsula for about 30yrs
They also watch the squirrels burying peanuts in my garden, then dig them up Burying pieces of bread seems to be another of the crows favourite pastimes.
Anyone that has watched seagulls and crows following a plough will have observed them fighting over the field mice that are turned up
I'm sure all of the above is normal behaviour for such opportunist feeders
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Crows can be seen dropping shellfish onto the pebbly beach adjoining the carpark which is overlooked by the tower blocks of flats at Weston Store, Southampton, . The shells break and the birds eat the contents. They do this over and over again. I haven't noticed the seagulls doing the same thing, so don't know that they necessarily copied the seagulls as I believe Bill suggested on Autumn Watch.
Been to the New Forest today - the Bolderwood ornamental drive is looking beautiful with the beech trees in glowing autumnal colours. I hope this forest is always preserved for the people in its present form: though I do wish some people would show more care for the animals when driving through the forest.
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Hi, Ten years ago I reared a Carrion Crow. I called him Crowbag. He continues to return home every year, sometimes staying for a few weeks at a time. He always turns up at the end of the breeding season sometimes bringing his new brood along. His territory is some miles away as he takes his food and always flies off in the same direction. One time he had not returned for 18 months, only to turn up on the front door step, my husband opened the door and in he walked, straight into our kitchen jumped up onto the back of the chair and started cawing as if to say, "OK, I'm back, where's my food?" He must be over ten years old now and I wondered if anyone can tell me just how long a Carrion Crow can live for. He returned as usual this summer, he is always very friendly and never forgets me or my dogs. He is fed by hand and often flies straight into the kitchen, through the open doors. I can distinguish between the noise he makes and that of any other crow, I always know when he is around. If I am working on the tractor he will come and find me, or if I am walking the dogs he will appear in the trees and come for a walk/fly with me. A most remarkable bird, capable of showing true affection and loyalty. His memory is quite remarkable, his intelligence amazing ! I would be interested to know if anyone else has had an experience similar to mine. To rear a wild bird , give it its freedom and for that bird to still want a connection with you for years after is just a wonderful and rare experience.
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I too have seen Hooded Crows dropping shell fish to break them open.
This was on Unst outside the island shop.
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We now have Ravens in South Lincolnshire
after about 150 years absence.
There are only a few but they have bred.
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I remember sitting in my car,along with my wife,while parked in the layby under the Orwell bridge,Ipswich,Suffolk, enjoying a picnic,watching Crows opening shell fish in exactly the way discribed on the show some eight (8) years ago.
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I live near a golf course and have seen crows dropping golf balls they have picked up from a great height on to hard surfaces.I have come to the conclusion they think they are eggs and are trying to break them!!The funny thing is I have not seen this happen so much recently,it was more common a few years ago so perhaps they are beginning to learn the difference between a golf ball and an egg-or perhaps the golfers are getting better and not losing so many balls which the crows find and pick up!!
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We have lived in the same house for over 20 years here in Anglesey, but this year for the first time ever our home has been under attack from crows. At sunrise in the very early hours we are awaken by nosy crows banging on the windows relentlessly pecking and flapping. If I had my way all crows (ravens) would be locked up in the tower of London.
I have googled this behaviour and have found that this is quite a common occurrence.
Fingers crossed, we think we may have stopped them. We have recruited my daughter’s soft toy cats which have been strategically placed to pose a threat together with a portrait I painted of my wife (this even scares me!)
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There is the most enormous crow in this area which attacks pet dogs and cats even if humans are about.
It attacks property - greenhouses, sheds, washing lines and all sorts and rather than being clever is the most hated bird in the area.
And it makes so much noise - louder that the average crow.
Perhaps Alfred Hitchcock got it right!!!
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Seagull/Crows dropping shellfish.
Interesting comment from Bill saying he had not seen this behaviour from seagulls and crows before. Living in Exmouth we see seagulls dropping shell fish onto the roads and pavements all the time, if you are really lucky and sit for long enough you can be rewarded by a loud sudden bang as a stray mussel lands on the roof of your car and makes you spill your tea or drop a chip. It takes a while for the young ones to realise that the sand is not as hard as the road
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I work on the railways and on a recent walkout on a section of track to be renewed noticed lots of broken mussel shells on the trackbed. I spent some time looking for the culprit and obseved the local crows picking mussels out of the mud at the side of the river ancholme and dropping them on the track. This was at Brigg in Lincolnshire.
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After watching clever crows last night, I felt I had to comment - we were sitting in the car yesterday eating our lunch after walking on the beach at Wisemans Bridge near Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire. We were watching Crows doing the very same thing. Picking up a shell, they would fly up a short distance and then drop them on the stony part of the beach and then fly back down to retrieve their feast. Very clever birds.
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Perhaps the team should look at the messageboard comments on thsi as there have been many reports of crows doing this for years and surpprise at Bills no knowing so.
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A client of mine has told me that crows visit cars in their town and rip off the rubber from their windscrren wipers to line their nests. He has pictures mof them doing it! Is this a common practice for these remarkable birds?
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We are in gillingham in Dorset and we have crows flying over us with golf balls in there mouth and then they drop them, it is funny watching them, we never thought anything about it until your programe on crows and the sea fishes at poole. They always follow them down to the ground.
One of the golf balls hit our patio windows, yesterday I watched one drop it on a roof of a house at the back of us and it dived after it, the ball bounces down the roof.
I beleive there is a golf pratice near us.
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The current Autumn Watch has been very interesting and entertaining. However I am surprised that no mention or footage has been shown of the return Autumn spectacle of Salmon and Seatrout to our rivers.This is spectacular and should have been shown. I have offered some recent underwater footage taken on Dartmoor which has been ignored.
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If the seagulls taught the crows how to smash seashells, who taught the seagulls
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We have a rookery fairly close by and for the last few mornings at dawn the sky has been black with thousands of rooks. They fly in from all directions and spend about half an hour flying around and calling to each other. Once fully light they all disappear. With Simon talking about crows and the passing on of information at dusk is this similar?
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Clever Carrion Crow:
Hi Bill and Kate,
I live in Holland near Amsterdam. Recently, when I was out jogging, I saw a carrion crow fly up from a ditch with something in its beak. It went straight up then dropped the object which came down on the pavement not far from me. The crow followed it but saw me and flew away. I checked what it had dropped and saw it was a large (smashed) fresh water mussel.
The crow definitely dropped the mussel deliberatley in order to break it open so it could eat it. I've previously seen seagulls doing this on the rocks at the sea shore in Canada so I recognised what the carrion crow was doing.
It does seem to be quite common and a very international activity.
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Some 5years ago a pair of carrion crows nested in an oak at the bottom of our garden.They successfully raised a family.The youngsters were loathe to leave" their "tree and in the next year 2 crows tried to build a nest but gave up.They did however and 3 crows still do chase off other birds landing in "their "tree! I am not sure if they actually nest elsewhere ,but this tree is"home" to them and no one else,except a grey squirrel family, will be allowed to nest here.
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Regarding the clever Crows, several Crows have brought hard and dried pieces of french bread and dropped them into our birdbath, returning a while later to eat them once they have softened.
I don't have to tell you that after their visits the birdbath looks like it is filled with bread soup
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I live in Dundee and at the Stannergate beach, the crows have been dropping shellfish onto the rocks from a hieght for years. there isn't a carpark as such, but i'm they would use it if there was.
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We have a family of clever crows in our garden(Hertfordshire). They will copy Blackbirds and drop things on our conservetory roof! They will also try to win baack food frrom the dog.
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I am in Bournemouth, near the A338 dual carriage way. This is the Wessex Way which is the main road to Bournemouth and Poole.
Across the road to me is the Queens Park Golf Course and lots of golf balls.
The local crows pick up these golf balls and fly away with them over the main road. They probably think they are eggs.
I frequently see these crows in my garden with the golf balls. The crows make a little depression in the lawn and peck away at them furiously.
They also bury the golf balls in the garden.
My husband, a keen golfer, is quite happy with this rather unusual supply of free golf balls.
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I live and work in Maidstone in Kent. At my place of work (a paper mill), we have crows that pick up walnuts that the grey squirrels have buried, and fly up and drop them on the car park tarmac. I have observed them doing this for a number of years now.
Although we are right next to the River Medway, we don't have an awful lot of gulls around, and I've never seen gulls behave this way around here. Guess the clever crows just worked it out for themselves!
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In Lesvos 3 weeks ago my wife and I watched hooded crows for hours dropping walnuts that had fallen from nearby trees on to a concrete raft. The hoodies are everywhere!
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The article on Ravens (Tuesday evening) reminded me of a song I know about The Three Ravens. Lines include: "One of them said to his made, where shall we our breakfast take", and the mate goes on to tell them about a fallen knight nearby. This song was written in the early 17th century and suggests that they knew not only that Raven's talked to each other, but what they talked about and when. So much for scientific research providing new insights?
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To MrsCrowbag - thank you for your wonderful heart warming story of Crowbag and I hope your relationship will last for many more years [they can live for at least 20yrs in captivity-the wild might prove tougher?].
I reared 3 young ravens this year and can say without hesitation that it was the most marvellous experience of my life. Unfortunately raven parents do not share the same family loyalty with carrion crows and the young get driven away from their birthplace so 'my' three were eventually chased by a territorial pair. One kept coming back-the male of the trio-and this was both a torture and a pleasure as I worried about him when he wasn't around then worried about him when he was because he ran foul of the adult male. He was last here on the 20th October and ate a huge amount of food-then went over all his old toys - pulled the dog's tail - sang to me and left - I know he was saying 'goodbye' and my heart is broken which is why your story has moved me so much...perhaps oneday my beautiful Toobee will return as Crowbag has done with you? As you know the feelings are almost indescribable when a wild creature loves and trusts you enough to return and let you know how they are...and with Corvids it is a deep and complex affair-not just for food!Long may you enjoy your special friendship with Crowbag which I sincerely hope will last for quite a few years to come.
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Hiya,
I live next to the river Medway in Kent, and yesterday in the dark of early morning walking my dogs, on the opposite bank of the river, an animal dived into the river, swam about 10 yards, then climbed ut up a metal ladder on a quay.
I think it was a fox, it appeared to be tan coloured as i could see from my side of the river,
was it a fox, and if so why, was it hunting, ducks, perhaps
John
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I was sat at Memsbury services on the M4 near swindon a while ago.
I watched in amazement as two crows, standing opposite each other on top of a waste bin, took it in turns to reach in and grab the side of the black bin liner and pull it up. Once they'd pulled it as far as they could in one go, they'd put their foot on it. Then the other crow would do the same thing untill the contents of the bin liner was pulled to the top of the bin and consequently tipped onto the car park. They jumped down and tucked in to a feast of half eaten burgurs.
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There is an injured crow who lives in a tree outside my bedroom window. It appears to have a broken wing as the wing drags along when the one on the other side is folded. But the corw can still fly a short distance when it wants to. I have been feeding it every day and it is starting to get tamer. It used to fly away as soon as I opened the back door but it will now wait while I throw food up to it (the "bird table" is the flat roof of the shed) and quite happily eat it while I am there. I asked an RSPB fundraiser who came to the door whether there was anything else I could do to help the crow and he said to catch it and take it to the vet. Er hello? It feeds from the roof and it can FLY!
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When I lived in Hay-on-Wye I spent many winter days on top of Pen-y-Fan in the Brecon Beacons. I frequently stood for many a cold but enjoyable hour watching a pair of ravens playing. They would rise up on the thermals rising up from the deem cwm below me an soar to quit a height above me before appearing to join at the fee and tumble in a very ungainly bundle of wings and spreading feathers to the ground below wher they would, seemingly only feet from what would have been instant death, break apart, glide away for ten to twenty yards, turn back and soar again up the face of the cwm to repeat the performance. This was in winter and could only have done for the sheer pleasure of having fun!
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Crows are also viscious. I have seen new born baby lambs attached and killed by crows in Cornwall.
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I think the real reason that a lot of people dont like the birds that make up the Crow family, is because they are so clever, probably more clever than the people than the people that dont like them.
There cleverness is just one of there many qualities that akes me adore them.
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I live in the Scottish Borders. We have a lot of woodland close to our house which contains a resident group of ravens (yes, not hoodies, ravens!). Every Sunday morning when the village is very peaceful they take a walk down our street (their "Sunday stroll" )! It takes them a good 10-15 minutes and they are completely at their leisure. It's very entertaining!
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re Crows . In resent years i have not only seen crows, but also Herring gulls and Oystercatchers around Morecambe, dropping mussles and other shell fish on our prom and slipways, as well as on the rocks.
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I've already commented on carrion crows here in Beaumaris, Anglesey, dropping shells onto rocks, to crack the shells open.
Another group of wonderfully entertaining crows here, are jackdaws. I've been feeding them for some time. The nearest nests are about 100m away, the further over 500m. However, they will come if they hear us in the garden or if I call. They bring their fledglings to feed as soon as the youngsters can fly.
The jackdaws also crack nuts (from trees 50m away) at this time of year on our roof or flat parts of the chimney. We are often woken by the tap-tap-tap! The garden is littered with empty shells.
The only problem is that the crows become extremely territorial at mating, nesting & fledgling time. They dive bomb the jackdaws with great speed and force and can strike and injure them. I suspect the crows also kill and eat baby jackdaws when nests are unguarded. Sad but that's nature...
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I observed a Jackdaw being quite clever at a table outside a cafe in Keswick . It landed on a table which had not been cleared and picked up an unopened tube of sugar , placed a foot on one end , tore open the other end , then put it down and picked it up by the other end , emptied the contents on the table and scoffed all the sugar !
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Can Magpies plan ahead? Could they use imagination? Well maybe.
Back in the 1960s I was at London Zoo. In those dark days they had a set of very unsuitable aviaries dedicated to the British Crows, very cramped and dismal with absolutely no “enrichment”. Things were like that then.
As I approached these aviaries, the first cage contained two magpies, and when I was about 5 M away they both flew down to the front of the cage. One stuck its beak through the netting and picked up a piece of silver paper, which it then ‘offered’ to me. Being a cautious cynical soul, even at that tender age, I just stood back and watched. The magpie dropped the present after a few moments and offered a scrap of coloured sweet wrapper instead, and after another few moments swapped this for a twig. It continued to offer me these enticing presents until I moved away.
Having finished viewing the remaining crows there, I was about to leave when along the path came an elderly couple. The magpies went through the same routine as before. “How sweet” coos our heroine, “Thank you Mr Magpie” says the old gentleman, as he bend down to accept the proffered gift. With impeccable (sorry about that pun) timing the magpie drops the trinket and catches the old gents hand with a vicious peck that certainly drew blood. Magpie 1 Old gent 0
Since it is difficult to see how this could be learned behaviour, I think the two questions above have been answered.
Robmoff
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I suspect that this is not a terribly unusual behaviour but it was the first time I had seen it.
The other morning as I parked the car I noticed a magpie with a crust of bread in it's mouth. It broke it in half and hopped off with one bit to a tussock of grass, carefully placed it in the middle and pushed it down. All the while looking cagey, it gathered a few fallen leaves one at a time and placed them carefully on top of the crust. It then repeated the process with the other half.
The funniest part was when a seagull landed nearby while the magpie was en route to the remaining crust, whereupon it changed course and sauntered about trying to look innocent. I am sure that if it could have whistled nonchalently as well it would have!
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Clever crows;
We've just moved from Poole to Helensburgh on the West coast of Scotland and noticed the crows and jackdaws up here do the same with the shells, smashing them on the road and prom - more often even than the gulls. Havn't noticed any Hooded crows doing it yet but will keep a close eye out.
SophiRose
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We live in Suffolk and have a visitor to the bird table, a Magpie, well it is a member of the crow family, it takes stale bread off the bird table to the water bath dunks it to get it soft and then eats it, it really is quiet something to watch
Peter
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I have several walnut trees. When the walnuts first drop to the ground they have a thick green covering on them which eventually dries out. One intelligent crow picks up the walnut with the green skin on it, flies up onto the roof of the barn & holding the nut down with one foot,procedes to peel off the skin with his bill. Once it is peeled, he takes the nut in his beak, flies over to the driveway and drops it onto the tarmac. He (or she) has been doing this for the past 4 years.
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My son reports regularly seeing carrion crows dropping garden snails onto one of the back roads in Cambridge on his way home from school.
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This spring, I have been driven to distraction by hooded crows landing on my ridge tiles early each morning and loudly hammering, as if with a hammer & chisel, at the cement by which they are affixed. Large lumps of cement fell to the ground, leaving holes through which rainwater could enter the roof space. I had to employ a roofer to re-cement them. This practice has become less frequent since late summer, and is confined more to digging out the moss which grows on the roof tiles. I am dreading next spring - having to drag myself out of bed at dawn to scare them off does nothing for my beauty sleep!
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I was disheartened when Simon King suggested that "we" may be able to work together with crows - crows being the most intelligent of birds (which has been known for some time).
He suggested that these wonderfully evolved creatures may be able to "pick up litter for us"!!!!!
WHY SHOULD THEY???????
Really, Simon, you should have more respect for wildlife. Pick up the debris from filthy homo sapiens?
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I work in an office next to a busy train line, with various sites waiting to be built on nearby and a housing estate close by. For some strange reason, from the beginning of the week there has been quite a large number of crows flying around the area. I wonder if anyone knew why they had suddenly appeared? I love watching them out of the window landing on the building opposite!
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