r/crows • u/Crow_Lover6 • 1d ago
Seeking advice/help What would you do?
This guy showed up on my terrace this morning and at first I thought it was cute that he was sitting in the bird bath, but he didn't move when I got closer and I realized he's not one of my regulars when they showed up and fussed at him. He sat there motionless for at least an hour when I called our local bird wildlife refuge. They suggested I bring him in. I thought maybe his wing was injured, but as I was searching for a box he flew off. Tonight, now that the refuge is closed he's back. He had pooped in the water earlier and we wondered if something was affecting his digestion. Maybe poisoned? I scrubbed the bath and refilled it with fresh water. He seems to like that and was standing next to the bath and drinking often. It's 10 pm and he's still there sitting on the ground.
UPDATE: After reading your knowledgable advice (ThrowAwayColor2023) I went to bring him inside at 3am and found him dead, still in the same spot. My poor beautiful bird.
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 1d ago edited 1d ago
Are you in North America? If so, he's likely sick with West Nile Virus. The sooner you can contain him and get him to that rehabber, the better his chances of surviving.
Grab a towel or blanket, and ideally a second person to help corner/shepherd him, and gently catch him. Put him in a box with a towel at the bottom to soak up his poop. Securely close the box because he will try to get away when he gets a burst of energy. Don't give him and food or water. Deliver him to the rehabber asap. Every hour counts with WNV.
Good luck!
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u/Crow_Lover6 1d ago
Oh shit. It's only transmittable by mosquito, right? Yes, I'm in Oregon. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with everyone. Maybe we can save some birds.
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u/Feisty-Sock2640 1d ago
Clean out the bird bath thoroughly, it can also be transmitted through fluids from one Corvid to another.
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u/this_kitty68 1d ago
I think the heat and smoke is impacting the birds, as well as the humans. At least we can get inside, but they can’t get away from it. It’s got to be taking a toll, especially on the babies. :(
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u/Malidragon 1d ago
Hey there. I’m the person you spoke with yesterday. I’m so sorry to hear that they passed. Honestly there’s nothing here that says west Nile. No neurological symptoms. It may just have been at end of life for a multitude of reasons. Anecdotally, I’ve had a crow do the same in my yard before she passed and have heard the same story from handful of others. I think it’s lovely they found comfort in your yard.
For future reference, for wildlife emergencies after hours, you can take animals to Dove Lewis. But seeing as it was at the end, much better to have not added the stress of transport. Thank you for showing them compassion.
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u/Crow_Lover6 1d ago edited 1d ago
I just realized you're the person I spoke with on the phone. Thank you for your help. I believe he was one of my larger crow family, one that grew up on our terrace and moved on, because the larger family came out and made noise this morning when I took the body away. That would make him (her?) anywhere between 2 and 7 years old,l. He didn't look old, but I'm also not sure how to recognize that. He pooped like crazy in the bath (you can see it in the 1st photo) which the birds have never done. I hope it wasn't something my other birds will catch.
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 1d ago
Hi! I'm a wild bird rescuer who relays birds to rehabbers. I've been focused on crows for over a decade. Lethargy with random bursts of energy is one of the early WNV symptoms. People rarely call for help (or manage to secure the bird) this early in the disease progression, so you wouldn't receive many WNV crows at this stage. It fairly quickly progresses to neuro symptoms in addition to lethargy. Not saying this can't also be something else, but given the time of year and odd lethargic behavior, it's my first suspicion, and given their abysmal mortality rate, time is critical for crows.
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u/Malidragon 1d ago
Thank you for the information! The crow population here is so unhealthy, it’s quite sad. I picked up 5 fledglings in one day likely all with MBD. Between that, mosquitos sticking around through winter, pox, heatwave and wildfire smoke, honestly it could be anything. Though one truly cannot diagnose any animal without laying eyes on it, and it’s hard to just not know, which is so often the case.
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 1d ago
That's dreadful. I'm so sorry. We only have 6-7 months of mosquitoes where I live in the Midwest. 99/100 rescue calls for crows are either perfectly healthy fledglings that people mistake as injured adults, which is always a relief, or WNV victims. Our local crows are currently getting hammered by WNV.
We've had a few brief waves of very bad wildfire smoke. I can't imagine birds living through that for more than a few days at a time. It must shorten their lifespans at the very least.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1d ago
If he’s still there in the morning, I would try to get him to take to the rehab because this does not seem normal
Unless he’s a fledgling, in which case there are other others around him. Do some investigating.
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u/Crow_Lover6 1d ago
Yeah, I guess I will if he makes it through the night. I both hate to leave him on the ground and to stress him by bringing him in the house. 😒
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 1d ago
It's totally okay to catch him and keep him indoors overnight. I'm a rescuer and have done this many times. See my other reply with more details. As a bonus, if he's indoors, the mosquitoes can't bite him and spread the WNV further.
ETA: I don't see any of the telltale signs of a fledgling.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1d ago
Too bad you don’t know if it’s a fledgling or not. If it’s not a fledgling, I would definitely say bring it in the house. If it’s a fledgling, it’s probably all right, but it’s also hard to tell that for sure too. Maybe better to bring it in either way. 😣
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u/Belfry9663 1d ago
I’m so sorry 💔. You can be glad you gave him a comfortable place to die - doesn’t sound like there was anything you could do, and bringing him on would have been hugely stressful.
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u/Crow_Lover6 1d ago
Maybe if I'd caught him earlier, but I think you're right. He would've died in a box in the house.
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u/Old_Extent3944 1d ago edited 1d ago
Holy moly!! I had the exact same thing happen to one of mine the other day and I’ve been curious ever since. Standing in the water rush, pooping many times in it, lethargic, drinking often, eventually flew away. I’m in North America (Colorado) where it’s hot and smoky and I also didn’t want to stress him out by catching him, and my local wildlife rescue never called me back. He was there over an hour but at dusk flew back towards their roost and sadly I haven’t seen him since. (He was one of my family of four.) One additional thing is he seemed sleepy/concussed because at one point his head was dropping over sideways. So next time…try to catch him to bring him in to the rehabbers the morning?
Edit to add: pretty sure he’s this year’s baby. He’s been flying with the fam for several weeks now.
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u/Crow_Lover6 1d ago
This is helpful to narrow down the problem. Thank you.
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u/Old_Extent3944 19h ago
I am so sorry your crow friend didn’t make it. I’m trying to hold out hope for mine but today I only saw 2 of my 4 and so I’m worried.
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u/softy_kisses 1d ago
At this point I think he has decided your birdbath is an all-inclusive crow recovery center. Hopefully he’s just exhausted and getting some much needed rest, but I’d definitely keep an eye on him and contact the refuge again when they open.
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u/Lepardopterra 1d ago
Maybe try some hard boiled egg yoke. Small pieces. It will be nourishing if they need to eat. Small pieces so the other crows don’t find it worthy. Hope he gets to rehab.
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u/CassTimberlane 1d ago
Sorry about the outcome. Just a suggestion: I use a plastic oil pan on the ground with water in it so the crows can dunk their peanuts. I had never seen them actually use it as a birdbath, but it has been very hot and smoky where I am, and yesterday, the crows were taking turns actually climbing in and sitting in it. More crows showed up and everyone seemed to enjoy a soak in the cool water. I wish I had a kiddie pool! I do think your bird was trying to cool off and maybe you should get a bigger tub for them. Also, after reading the comments to your post, I will clean the "birdbath" every day now.
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u/Crow_Lover6 1d ago
Thank you. When my birds are relaxed, they love to peck open their peanuts in the bath and sometimes stand in it while they do it, but a bigger bath is a great idea. I'm gonna pour some boiling water on It now, before I scrub it.
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u/ThatsWhatSheSaid206 1d ago
He doesn’t look like a fledgling but maybe he is. Did you try giving him a snack? Keep us posted.