How do I re-establish peaceful relations with a family of crows?
13d 22h ago by lemmy.ca/u/reef in nostupidquestions
A family of corvids built their nest right by my door. I've enjoyed seeing their nest grow, and I think the babies are now full fledglings.
Up until now, we've each been going out separate ways. Aside from leaving them some sticks to use, I haven't interacted with them directly.
Today I either closed the door too hard, or they got spooked by the garbage truck passing by. A crow dive bombed me twice, hitting me the first time and whooshing by me the second time. It didn't hurt, but I'm offended that they don't remember me.
I know crows can hold a vendetta and remember faces. Any tips on how to get back in their good graces?
edit: I looked into giving them food, but it's against the bylaws in my city
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bird-feeding-vancouver-bylaw
A Vancouver resident who admittedly loves feeding the crows in his neighbourhood is now facing a major fine.
According to Reddit user DubUbasswitmyheadman, they’ve been feeding birds while walking their dog.
However, they claim that feeding the wildlife irritated enough people to prompt one neighbour to contact their landlord to collect their email and phone number.
DubUbasswitmyheadman now claims they are facing a $4,000 fine for feeding wildlife.
Gift them something shiny.
If I were a young parent I wouldn’t want something shiny, I’d want diapers.
I’d put out an array of snacks and see which one they pick first, then add more of that the next day.
If someone feeds my babies reliably and conveniently I’ll forgive them pretty quick.
They say it takes ten seconds to break trust but ten years to rebuild it, so OP is gonna have to play the long game.
Yeah, but... You're not a crow.
I like to imagine crows as lazy.
You would think that... But they are very NOT lazy!
Source?
I don't want them to become too dependent on me, in case it hurts their ability to find food on their own.
How much food would be reasonable but not excessive?
I wish I was a crow biologist so I could help you. But I know crows like peanuts, so maybe a peanut, an almond, and a pecan and go from there.
Interspecies communication has to start slowly.
I can confirm with firsthand experience that crows fucking love unsalted cashews. I don’t know if it’s the flavor, distinctive shape, or the texture, but there was a family of crows at my old house that used to go bugfuck wild when I gave them cashews.
I used to buy them in bulk as a snack, so I always had a lot on hand. I’d usually put them in a little plastic cup if I was going outside. One time I spilled some on the patio and didn’t bother cleaning them up. The next time I was outside and had a cup of them, that family of crows was extremely interested. I left a few on the patio as an experiment and went back inside. As soon as I was inside, they were on those cashews like flies on shit.
From then on, whenever I happened to take that plastic cup outside, I’d have a family of crows waiting for the traditional offering of cashews.
You can give them a lot. Birds are like humans they aren’t going to eat too much of the same thing. Even feeding birds in your backyard will only make up about 25% of their consumption. The rest they get from live bugs, berries, etc.
If you limit it to like a few seeds a day, I don't think you'll become their primary food source
Disclaimer : I'm not a biologist. But I remember reading somewhere that birds need to eat almost as much if not more than their body weight per day.
Fact
Wait until the younglings are gone and then try to offer food on the reg. You need to be present. And be prepared for stubborn refusal.
They are smart birds to a point. If you leave some sticks out and then later they incorporate them into their nest, they won't think oh this kind human did this for me. They needed sticks and took them. If you stay out of their feathers they're not thinking oh this human is so respectful of my boundaries. They're thinking this terrain is mine! So you're operating on the assumption that you have some sort of getting along with the creatures credit that only exists in your mind. As far as the birds are concerned you were at best a dormant threat they could live with until something made you an active one and you got attacked. And now that's all you are. And it'll take time and effort to change that.
I don't have a solution but I wanna bump this question, I am invested now.
How could ya not be
Just as an amateur naturist, based on what I've read, I'm thinking it would probably be useful for you to be proactive here and make friends with these intelligent animals, not just get along with them.
So I'd recommend doing a little research and following up, which I'm thinking might involve leaving them out some kind of preferred food on a regular basis, that kind of thing.
Just as an amateur naturist…
I’m not an expert in corvid behaviour either, but I doubt showing your naughty bits to crows is the best course of action.
They usually get a chuckle or two, so it's all good.
Life in 2026 getting so bad the crows are extorting us now
It's kind of like sharing a living space with someone-- good to put in a little effort to get along and be flexible rather than get off on the wrong foot and potentially antagonise them.
Naturism is a lifestyle and philosophical movement advocating for non-sexual social nudity. How is that related to crows?
It isn't, of course. I'm pretty sure I was aiming for "naturalist" there, but yon ol' brain fog kicked in.
Haha, no worries. Naturalist makes much more sense.
Give them a few unsalted peanuts. Don't tell anybody
this is like crack to those birds. you don't need to feed them daily or even that regularly for them to associate you
if this will make them less protective of their nest you'll find out. please report back in one of the corvids communities.
it's always good to have crow friends
This is going to sound witchy, but have first hand experience it works lol.
Get a stone bowl, with a crow effigy on top in center. Ideally put it near the nest too.
Fill it with a few berries and chopped cashews, along with shiny pennies, a colorful feather, and 2 small crystals (the cheap tumbled kind like tiger's eye, crackle quartz, and goldstone).
Below it have a sparkly shallow dish filled with water, and under it a narrowish glass filled with water (one is for bathing and the other for drinking).
Everyday, at the exact same time, refill the bowl with food and a single new crystal, colorful feather, or shiny penny, but do so while holding the offering above your head. Then refill the waters if needed.
You'll be extremely close friends real fast.
I once had a crow friend who would knock on my window if I was late coming out to give them their seeds. It was just the one crow that was bold enough to do this. Sometimes he'd do it way earlier than usual, and I am 100% confident that he wasn't mistaken, just being a cheeky asshole and trying his luck. I miss that asshole bird.
You were late by crow time.
Get a stone bowl, with a crow effigy on top in center.
I would be willing to bet that it works just fine without the crow effigy
It's to help repel the other birds that aren't crows a bit more, while the crows quickly figure out it's not alive and a symbol for them.
Or so I'm told. Maybe I should start a Kickstarter to help fund a double blind experiment and see what crows prefer:
Effigy, No effigy, Effigy of a different bird
And then set up many of these little crow shrines around and see how they do
I know crows are can be smart, but aside from an exceptional one here and there, I sincerely doubt a bird is going to see an effigy of a bird, and recognize it as a picture of them.
But maybe a bird scientist will come in and prove me wrong, who knows
I'm no bird scientist either, but I do know Crows pass the mirror test, so it makes sense to me they could probably recognize other Crows
I'm certain they can recognize other crows. As in living birds.
Instructions unclear, angry murder
As the others said, food. Specifically unsalted cashews. I called our (Dutch) bird rescue center and they said that's the healthiest "human" food to give them.
I have three crow friends (and sometimes their buddies) who light on my balcony railing and wait for me to come out. One will eat it there while I'm watching; the other two fly it across the street to their stashes. All three will just sit on the railing and watch me work sometimes.
Sometimes the magpies show up, but they are super, ultra cautious around The Human. I can tell they know me though when they fly through the street. They make the happy magpie sound they make to their mates when one of them steals a cashew intended for the crows instead of being silent.
I get that this is illegal, but you do not have to give them a lot or make it obvious . One or two a day. You may not see them, but they will see and remember you as Cashew Guy/Gal/Nonbinary Pal.
Also alas, Unidan, where did you go?
Also alas, Unidan, where did you go?
Got banned for vote fraud. Less active after his fall from grace.
TIL there's a Wikipedia article for Unidan
Not only are cashews healthy for them, they also go nuts for them (pun not intended, but I am delighted to have made an accidental pun). I forgot to mention "unsalted" in my comment, so I'm glad you mentioned it
You might not be allowed to feed them directly, but I bet you can eat a messy sandwich or souvlaki that drops a bunch of meat and cheese.
But now you might just be feeding them without them seeing it as a friendly action and get no benefits.
They'll know. Do it a few times. Whistle, click or clap a bit before hand so they're paying attention. It's more about having an excuse to claim you weren't feeding them if someone complains. "What !? I like eating my souvlaki in the park, it's a messy meal."
If you go outside with a sandwich and accidentally drop that sandwich, then loundly proclaim your disappointment in your clumsiness, then go back inside, and the crows come down for the remains of your sandwich ... and if this becomes a reguar occurrence ... you can't be fined for being clumsy. Can you?
It depends on the judge
It'd probably still count as littering, which would be fineable, I imagine
I was watering the garden and sheepishly decided to spray a crow (not my finest moment). It started dive bombing me regularly. So I gave it some banana and we were chill after that. It only took one offering. You could try giving it some soft material for it's nest.
I mean, ya gotta make amends. Give healthy food on a schedule so they know you're committed. Perhaps leave a kindly note with a shiny bead.
Mealworms, for chickens, get a 10lb bag if you can, few other animals will go for them and crows love them. Unsalted peanuts in the shell because they like to break them open, but other animals will go after them too.
Crows will eat cat or dog food (my local crows love the cat food we feed them!). If there aren’t laws against feeding stray cats, you could put a bowl on your porch with cat food and if you’re questioned, play innocent.
As an aside, if you want to identify the fledglings, look at their mouth. Baby crows have red/pink mouths while the adults have black mouths!
As an aside, if you want to identify the fledglings, look at their mouth. Baby crows have red/pink mouths while the adults have black mouths!
The one(s) in the nest have orange around their beaks, so that must be the fledglings. The one(s) that attacked me do indeed have black beaks!
I've heard that crows seem to recognize offerings made to them and respond well. Try going outside and, while in their sight (not too close, though), present some food to them where they can see it, carefully place it on the ground, and slowly back away out of sight once more. You may have to do this for multiple days or maybe even weeks, not sure. Otherwise, you can take solace in the fact that nesting season will probably be over shortly as crows usually only raise 1 brood a year. They also don't usually reuse nests, but have been known to build on top of prior successful nests.
You should post an update somewhere in a week or two because this is pretty interesting!
Yeah I want to do that out here in the country, but they usually stay about 100 feet away. When I go outside they fly away and out of sight. =(
Maybe the trick is to leave some food (like diced and crushed fruit, unsalted peanuts in the shell, or mealworms) where they hang out when you see them? Them being out of your sight doesn't necessarily mean you're out of their sight. They could be watching nearby. If they're in the area often, they'll probably find it. If you always see them at a certain time of day, try leaving it out there a bit before they show up. Maybe if you put up some feeders that have crow-friendly foods closer to the house, they'll warm up to it and you, You could also try leaving some food out for them a ways away and just hanging out for awhile reading or something, then gradually over time, leave the food closer. I'd imagine it could take some time and persistence to get the crows to warm up to you.
And so the war began between the squirrels and the crows
Crows would 100% win that war. They would gladly feast on squirrel meat.
Shiney things, soft bits of fabric maybe? Also don't see why you couldn't forget some diced cheese or something gut friendly across species that you were enjoying on the step when you have to duck inside to make a phone call?
Huh I had no idea we're not allowed to feed crows.
I got dive bombed years ago one summer, after which I started bribing the crows with peanuts from my balcony. I started by just putting them on my railing, backing away and letting them see me as they grabbed them. Now they're used to me and let me get pretty close, or come hang out when I'm out there.
They've got babies out front of my building this week and show no interest in me or my dog, but I see them bombing other people regularly.
Seconding the crow effigy idea (well, I didn't do it with an effigy, I just left them a couple of shiny stuff).
For me, what I did was sit on my doorstep for a while, to get them used to the sight of me. And then I made sure they saw me leaving the shiny thing. I wasn't forbidden from feeding them, so I also let them see me putting out some seeds.
Although feeding them is prohibited, the crow effigy idea person said to have a few cashews or similar in the little nesty thing, and I agree that this would be likely be necessary to draw them over at first.
If you're okay with bending the rules a tad, if the sitting outside thing works and you're able to not scare them away, then leaving behind just a cashew or two in your wake (if the crows are nearby) could help them to begin to associate you with good stuff.
Though if they're dive bombing you, it might be challenging to come back from that
A crow dive bombed me twice, hitting me the first time and whooshing by me the second time. It didn’t hurt, but I’m offended that they don’t remember me
Dude, if they have a youngling and they attacked you/divebombed once, they were teaching the youngling to fly and wanted you to go away just in case.
If it continues, you can try to bribe them, if that doesn't help you will have to chase them away. Preferably after the fledglings can fly.
Instructions unclear. Gave crow a loonie and dive bombs continue.
Oops, you left your PBJ on the porch!
Calling @CorvusCornix@piefed.social who so definitely a person and not a crow in disguise
Hmmm... seeing as food is the number one way to our- er, I mean, a Crow's heart... you might be in trouble! But worry not, I'll put in a good word with my brothers... I mean my local neighborhood Crows because I am definitely a human living in a house around other humans!
Fuck the bylaws!
Apart from food, look at what crows themselves give as gifts, e.g.
Just don't get caught feeding them lol, should be easy enough if you could do it from your backyard, and don't overdo it because if all the crows in a 50 miles radius start nesting on your roof, people might start to notice.
No clue how exactly, but maybe you could also give them "toys" or things that are fun for them. Or shiny things that jingle or something lol. Or maybe build them a raised stand where they can land and look with a roof against rain. Or maybe even a birdbath?
Peace offering. Try giving them bread (good one from bakery) but I’m no specialist
bread bloats the bird's stomach, other food would be better
This is about making peace, not long term care. Bread is absolutely fine
Edit for clarification: bread is bad for birds because it fills them up with empty calories. Should you go to the park every Sunday with breadcrumbs to give to the ducks? No. Can you safely bribe a bird with an occasional yeasty treat? Absolutely.
It isn’t. Don’t give birds bread. Berries, seeds, nuts, bugs are what they eat. They don’t eat bread.
Have you ever seen a bird in an urban environment? They absolutely eat bread
Edit for clarification: bread is bad for birds because it fills them up with empty calories. Should you go to the park every Sunday with breadcrumbs to give to the ducks? No. Can you safely bribe a bird with an occasional yeasty treat? Absolutely.
They absolutely eat bread
By "they don't" the person you're replying to means "they shouldn't".
Search for "bread" and "birds" to find thousands of web pages explaining why bread is bad for birds and you should not feed it to them.
See my edit.
What kind of bread does a crow consider to be good? I know birds can't taste spiciness, but that's about it
The ones in my neighborhood prefer unsalted peanuts.
As for the city codes—while they could probably get you for it if they wanted, I think those laws are intended more for the folks who throw out whole cups of birdseed to attract flocks of pigeons. It’s better for crows if you throw out one or two nuts at a time, discreetly so other birds don’t see.
Bread is bad for birds, don't give them bread. Not only is it not nutritious for them, it expands and fills their stomach in a bad way. Better to do a search for "what to feed crows", and check several sites since there is so much slop out there now, rather than ask random people here.
Spoiler: unsalted nuts and fruit
There was an account on Mastodon who tried a lot of things with crow. Sadly I didn’t found it.
From memory: « his » crow liked the one with crushed nuts
Bread
Buy them french fries daily. Get the ones in the red carton, you know the ones. The red carton will help build visual memory. Every day, toss them some french fries. Make sure they see you.
Salt is bad for them
Give them some grapes. Probably cheese would work too :)
Here’s the thing: you said it’s a crow, no one’s arguing that. But are we sure they aren’t jackdaws? They’re in the same family. Let's get grackles and blackbirds in there, then, too.
As someone who is a scientist who studies crows, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls jackdaws crows. If you want to be "specific" like you said, then you shouldn't either. They're not the same thing.
It's okay to just admit you're wrong, you know?
Not now, Unidan.
[for anyone who doesn't get it this is the most famous comment from Unidan who was a scientist but, alas, drunk a bit too much of his own koolaid. Other than that, he was a very cool commenter.]
I read that if you make friends with crows you become their bitch, they don't take "no" for an answer after that. Your only option in the future may be to move.
Give them fries
(Idk this might be bad advice, I’m not a biologist)
You don't. Crows are the evil masterminds of the bird world, as any expert in bird law will tell you.
Do you happen to enjoy boiling denim, foraging naked in the sewers, and playing nightcrawlers?
Caw! Cawk! Cock!
they do like food, try different foods maybe. we have some ravens near us too.
Explosives