Crows!!!

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Alan in Vermont

New Member
Crows have found the garden and have been pulling my Prizewinner pumpkins as they break ground. Corn isn't showing yet so they haven't been able to raid that yet. Last year I put in four batches of corn, staggered planting dates to extend the marketing season. This plot got planted in 1/2lb lots. Crows got about half of the batch of Quickie and over 90% of the Silver Queen. The SQ was so bad that I disced the remainder in as it was too sparse to pollinate.

The next 2-3 weeks are going to be rough. I'll be getting up early so I can be there to supervise the morning flight and try to convince them that they will do well to take the long way around. Since the EPA, in their infinite wisdom, has banned the old crow repellents nobody has seen fit to come up with a new seed coating. I will have to resort to my own organic crow policy. Lead is organic, is it not?
 

Alan in Vermont

New Member
Crows really rankle me, way up there on the pest scale! They are a huge factor in nest and fledgeling loss in songbird and gamebird populations. Now, thanks to some bureacratric genius, they are a protected species under some treaty with Canada and Mexico.

Have to give them credit though, they can pass the word about danger spots to their brethren. I dumped one, out of a group of three, snacking in my tender corn sprouts several years ago. He was obliging enough to thrash around some before he expired, putting out the word to his buddies that "Something evil this way comes!" It was two years before I saw another crow in that patch.

Shooting crows over decoys you can't use the same spot only but once or twice before they ignore a call. In the fall it is hard to get the young from the spring hatch to come in, they will start in but one of the old timers can squawk a couple times and they will turn away. If they just weren't so malicious and sneaky they could be tolerated quite easily, as much as I hate to admit to them being even remotely admirable.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
They are highly intelligent birds and you are right about them communicating with each other. Somehow they did get included in the migratory bird act along with all the duscks, geese, and swans. It's always baffled me too. But when they work on your crops like that, it's open season as they are considered predators.
 

Alan in Vermont

New Member
I managed to instill a little panic in a couple of the black bahstuds yesterday morning.

There are dense woods, dropping down a hill, for 500 yds or so behind the garden. Makes a good people free backstop. Using rounds called CB Longs a .22 rimfire makes about as much noise as a cap pistol and they will hold a 2" group at 50 yds. The tradeoff is that they are low velocity, hence low power.

Two of the feathered friends came in yesterday morning and stayed long enough for me to deal them a nice susprise. Both were able to fly away but it was obvious they were doing the avian equivalent of trailing smoke and fighting to gain altitude when they left.
 

sunflower3

Member
MY brother uses deer netting on his corn, I put pots around the garden and set empty veg trays on top so they can't land and pull out my corn. Boy did they get mad at me. Now my corn is growing but I lost half a row to them, crazy birds.
 

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
That's right Randy! 4 and 20 blackbirds!
Mind is slipping!
Should have said, 'Let them eat crow'!
Wonder what they would taste like!
They are a good size and should have a good amount of meat on them!
 
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Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
They are certainly a large bird. I never tried them and most likely never will, but I did try coot one time. They are often referred to as 'mud hens'. How they came up with that name, I don't know. But they are one of the birds included in the federal migratory bird act and there is a season and limit on them just like ducks. But they don't taste like ducks. I might be tempted to eat one if I was terribly hungry, but not otherwise. That is also how I feel about crows. Figuratively speaking though, I have eaten crow a few times, more than I like to admit. LOL
 


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