Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Feeding Stump - A Murder Of Crows

 With Fall my neighborhood murder of crows are back begging for meals. Surprisingly intelligent creatures I'm positive they recognize me and have become quite bold while demanding I distribute some treats their way.

  Maybe it has something to do with the top of the line food scraps I send their way. Generally I cannot afford grass fed steaks so grain fed cuts is the best it usually gets. As a result I tend to trim excess fat on the store cuts rather than eat it like I do from grass fed animals. Seems a damn shame to garbage it out so out to the feeding stump it goes along with other table scraps. I will also make them peanut butter sandwiches cut up into beak sized bites.They really like them, sometimes more than the meat. I also buy bags of cracked corn to help them through the winter.




  Tonight they got some sirloin steak. I had to go find them with a walk through the neighborhood and after a "caw caw" greeting I got their attention. I threw a sample on the pavement then started walking home and before long I had them in tow. I had the camera pre set and shot some video of my buddies. They are interesting characters with some being bolder than others with different feed strategies. Some will approach the stump on the ground while others will fly in, perform a touch and go then depart with a morsel. Some will take one piece while others will get a beak full before leaving. All the while other members seemingly take up guard duty or vocalize to other family members that supper is served.My understanding is that they will cache food and since there appears to be some kind of order to their feeding I wonder if they also share among themselves?


  http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/2009/murderofcrows/

Some folks consider them a nuisance but I for one do not take that point of view. I like the sound of "caws" in the morning, enjoy their company on my trail runs and generally get a kick out of their antics. Would be pretty boring without the wily crow hanging about and, besides, us omnivores need to stick together....(wink),

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