We have never had crows as regular visitors, so we didn’t know what to expect. Now that we have had a few weeks to observe them, we have learned that they are intelligent, friendly, and learn quickly. Pat’s new friends are very interesting creatures.

Pat came in the other day after feeding the crows and said she had just been the subject of a fly-by. I’ll describe the fly-by later. First, I’ll give you some background information, so you’ll understand what I’m telling you. I’ve read that the small creatures don’t reproduce during a drought. That has led to a shortage of bugs, toads, snakes, lizards, and rabbits. We believe that the visits from hungry crows are due to the severe drought that Southern California is experiencing. Due to scarcity of food, the crows are forced to search the urban areas for opportunities to beg or steal something to eat.

There are normally three crows to consider. The Boss Crow is the guy that comes in first and scopes out the location. He is also the most vocal. When he lands on the driveway, if everything looks good, he gives out the food call, “Caw, caw, caw, caw.” We don’t know for sure, but think literal translation might be, “I’m here. Feed me!” A few times, after the food is all gone, he gives one “Caw” as if saying “Thank you,” and then flies away. We have no identification available for the second crow. All crows are black and shiny, so who knows? This may be the Boss Crow’s mate. The third crow has a mangled foot so you can always tell who he is. He’s always with the other two, so he may be the brother-in-law. A couple of times, there have been five birds. The additional two are smaller than the other guys, so may be offspring.

On a couple of occasions, there have been 40 or 50 birds showing up. We don’t know what caused that unless maybe it was just a poor day for hunting, and they needed breakfast.

The bread that Pat and I prefer is a brown bread with English walnuts baked in. So, when Pat started feeding the crows, she took a couple of slices of the bread outside and tore them up and scattered them on the driveway. After a few weeks, she noticed that the crows sometimes just ate the English walnuts and came back later for the bread. Pat did some research on food values and went and bought a bag of English walnuts. Now, she feeds the crows bread and extra walnuts. If more than three crows show up, she puts out more than just two slices of bread.

Now, I’ll tell you what Pat told me about the fly by. She went out the front door and gave her “come and get it” sounds. “Caw caw caw caw.” The lookout crow in the tree across the street gave a sound and flew back to our side of the street where he joined his two companions who were in the liquid amber tree in the yard of our neighbors to the south. Pat continued to tear the bread into little pieces and scatter it on the driveway. Suddenly, she saw a big shadow coming across the driveway. She looked up and saw that it was one of the crows with its wings outstretched and gliding about 6 to 9 feet above her. As she watched, the three birds soared past her in single file. They continued to glide to the north side of the yard, and then began flapping their wings and flew back to the liquid amber tree. Pat put out the rest of the food, and as soon as she turned her back and headed for the front door, the crows swooped down and began eating.

We don’t know the meaning of this fly-by. Was it a sign of recognition to say hello to someone they knew? It may have been a kind of “thank you” in advance. They may have just been taking a look to see what kind of food she put down.

There have been several fly-bys since. One morning, the two smaller birds joined in, so there were five birds gliding in single file. There were a couple of mornings that Pat’s sciatica bothered her, so she enlisted the aid of Jasmin, a young lady who comes in three times a week to help with household chores. Jasmin said she got the fly-bys also, and she had all five birds joining in.

This is cool behavior, and we wish we understood it better.

Dave Thomas

12/7/2023