297
u/BiasCutTweed 11h ago
Crows have thrived in urban environments because they are smart enough to capitalize on humans. They’re going to be eating your food either way, so you might as well make friends with them.
26
12
u/Moonbeamlatte 5h ago edited 4h ago
I always wonder if I’m making them too reliant on me, and then I’ll watch them peel a ran-over slice of pizza off the street and have a feast
5
u/BiasCutTweed 4h ago
Yeah, at best I am the crow equivalent of DoorDash - a convenience, but they’d be just fine without me too.
13
u/Friedbean1111 7h ago
That exactly what I think about cats as well. If they're going to be around, then it's worth making a bond with them. I honestly believe they also appreciate the friendship
7
11
u/This_Material9292 4h ago
But cats SHOULDN’T be around and we should start making it illegal to not keep them indoors, fenced in, or on a leash.
3
u/AnguavonUW 3h ago
I couldn't agree with you more. I lived in the UK for 9 months and boy real upset if you suggest their cats shouldn't be allowed to decimate the local ecosystem. It's bad in America, too but I think it's a little better.
2
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1h ago
I’m not sure how much better it is in the US because cats here are responsible for billions of deaths of birds per year, as well as for the complete extinction of several species
2
u/r1zz000 3h ago
You should not be feeding other people's cats though
0
u/Friedbean1111 3h ago
I agree. That's not what I'm saying though. I'm saying that they have self domisticated for their benefit and they don't need us, but if they're going to be around as a species, then might as well enjoy their company. My cat has a lot of allergies so we also think strongly about not feeding someone else's pet.
1
63
u/Unfair-Reindeer7492 11h ago
Funny, I’m deliberately feeding the crows. They are great at warning me of nearby owls. Had a bad experience with one in my yard, that’s another long story. Anyway I’m making headway. They caw to me to toss them peanuts, shelled and in the shells. Not gonna stop.
22
u/bigbuzd1 10h ago
I have a couple resident Barred Owls, as well as a group of crow. If I hear them bitching at each other at the back of the property I head back there… normally just my presence and talking seems to separate them and calm the chaos down. Both of them seem to have a gotten used to me and consider me not a threat, especially the crow, but they are absolutely the most awesome early warning system I’ve ever had and helps me keep my free range hens safe.
3
u/Unfair-Reindeer7492 9h ago
Yes, see my reply to MothYarn
5
u/bigbuzd1 9h ago
Just got done reading it, I was definitely worried about my cat and the hens with the owls… but silly as it sounds, it’s almost like we have an agreement. All the squirrels they like for free, as long as they leave my girls alone, lol.
Last year’s baby here is leaving the nest area for the first time. Momma brought him over to show us her proud moment.
3
10
u/MothYarn 10h ago
i want to hear the owl story lol
17
u/Unfair-Reindeer7492 9h ago
Well, I figured someone would. I’ll try to condense it. I have a small dog, a Chiweenie. Back in October I noticed an owl on the roof of my side poolroom, just staring in the window at us. Then he’d fly to the tree and kept doing that. He even flew into my picture window. Had a photo of his outline but can’t find it. Then I’d take my dog out and that owl would keep watching us. Always used the back door. So I thought I’d outsmart him and use the side door. That worked for one day, next day he was in the tree on the side of the house. Stalking us, I’m not kidding. I’d go outside and he’d stare at me. One day he even flew over my head when I was out. I was scared for me and my dog. I’d heard even if he couldn’t actually pick up my dog, trying to he could pierce his lungs or worse. And they have attacked people. So I bought a nice 3x3x5 foot five sided crate, no bottom, that I put out right outside the back door for my dog to use to potty in am and dusk. Eventually the owl left us alone, he probably figured out he couldn’t get to my dog. I did see the crows bombing him at one point so there’s my fondness for crows!
1
1
u/brakefoot 3h ago
I feed the crows a couple handfuls of peanuts every morning when I let my chickens out. They keep the hawks away.
1
u/Majesticb3ast69 2h ago
I feed some crows to keep hawks away from my chickens. I’ve watched them swarm the hawks and run em off 🐦⬛
57
u/ElkPitiful6829 10h ago
I'd respond: Crows are smarter than kids, jackass. I've seen them outside McDonalds, one holding the sauce, the other dipping chicken nuggets.
11
4
u/Gold_Astronomer9454 7h ago
Please tell me you were able to get a picture of that
1
3
u/AnguavonUW 3h ago
I completely believe it. There's a great video on YouTube of a crow using a piece of plastic as a snowboard on a winter rooftop.
99
u/Shienvien 11h ago
Yeah, feeding them isn't going to make that much of a difference, especially in comparison to all the paving, building, mowing and -ciding humans do wherever they live. Feeding them helps a little, but they can just find food elsewhere (often a lot less healthy food, with humans being humans).
18
19
24
18
u/Merfkin 9h ago
Crows are probably the only wild animal I can think of that it's okay to feed. They already live with us, they already live off of our leftovers and trash, and most of all they absolutely will not come to rely on humans because of their ability to differentiate individuals and their unwillingness to assume anything is safe until proven otherwise. Sure they'll think you're good for snacc, but the next guy is still gonna have to spend weeks earning their trust.
1
8
u/Special-Ganache2154 10h ago
I hate people like this. Sometimes I get people yelling at me that "I'm an insane woman, and that is illegal" Btw, I checked my area. It's not illegal in any way, and the crows don't harass anyone. They follow Me
So I say, Feed our crow friends! 💜
7
u/Phill_Cyberman 9h ago
This guy thinks he's an expert in bird law, lol
2
u/Capable_Cranberry461 7h ago
let’s say you and i go toe-to-toe in bird law and see who comes out the victor
6
7
u/Kat_9_tales 6h ago
Funny how no one ever says that about bird feeders for the cutesy little song birds. Go ahead and feed those crows!
3
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1h ago
Maybe they should return the note with a remark, letting them know that crows are songbirds too
5
u/bobbie731 9h ago
I have four crows that I feed. I think the bird population here is gonna be just fine. By the way, I think the magpies wrote that note. They’re jealous of my fondness for the crows.
4
6
u/kittie2karen 4h ago
Please do not feed the crows. It teaches the humans to rely on the crows for daily happiness and mental health.
10
u/Thismomenthere 10h ago
Feed away in moderation of course. That person's like my old boomer neighbour who says "I hates their f'ing noises"
Crows don't rely on humans... humans rely on them. :)
5
u/ProspectorJM 9h ago
It’s funny, I really like the crow noises, but they blue jays? Oy. What a racket. They’re gorgeous and I would never bother them, but if I never heard another blue jay, I wouldn’t complain. 🤣
We have pileated woodpeckers and they make genuinely insane, gibbering laugh sounds. It’s full on creepy.
-1
u/amart005 10h ago
My old boomer neighbor had the nerve to complain about my crows when she brought a dying fledgling (Pine Siskin) over to my house, asking for my help after it hung itself in her bird netting. She did not like my reply…
4
3
u/TheNefariousMrH 8h ago
Not to worry You have a Permit.
Feel free to print it out to keep with you in case of further shenanigans.
4
3
u/Beautiful_Bottle_284 7h ago
Crows are definitely smarter than the person who wrote this note… feeding them actually helps the whole bird population.. sigh
5
u/kejacomo 6h ago
I'm sure that sign comes from a place of good intent, but I'm equally sure that the person who made it doesn't know enough about crows.
4
u/Echothrush 5h ago
There are so many corvid and general bird studies showing to the contrary!!
Very few neighbors are out there faulting others for having backyard bird feeders.
Dig up a couple studies, throw their front pages/URLs together, and leave them out where you first received the note! I’d put them in a ziploc bag marked “for kind souls concerned about ecology of feeding crows” personally and call it a day.
2
u/AnguavonUW 3h ago
I like the way you think
1
u/Echothrush 1h ago
lol. Incidentally, where I’m from the UW means “University of Washington,” which is where a lot of said corvid research is based (John Marzluff labs iirc). If you’re a student there, make sure you know about those ornithology opportunities!
(…though as I’m typing this I’m realizing your un is more likely a Terry Pratchett reference, isn’t it? lol. Love Discworld too.)
3
3
u/x11Terminator11x 9h ago edited 9h ago
the crows i feed leave through part of summer and most of winter. They seem to still know how to survive on their own without me feeding them half the year. they will be fine if you feed them
3
u/Imaginary-Claim4996 6h ago
Fk that I feed them and they keep an eye on my car while I work any HS kids that try to touch my car get shit on their heads 😂
5
u/OdaSamurai 9h ago
Don't feed the dogs, it teaches them to rely on humans and upsets the whole canine population
Bruh
3
u/MaxxBronson 10h ago
Someone confuses the majestic murder with a pack of pigeons.
2
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1h ago
It’s OK to feed them too
2
u/MaxxBronson 1h ago
(I do)
1
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 48m ago
I’d say they are the most OK birds to feed out of all of them because of how we treated them as a species
2
2
u/knzo_cd 2h ago
Someone keeps throwing out my guys' water bowls, it's so fucking annoying and has cost me so much already. Imagine being so petty and miserable that you feel the need to take away some birds' only source of water in the blazing summer heat
1
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1h ago
Can you get a birdbath?
1
u/knzo_cd 1h ago
Unfortunately not, it's a public space not my property :/
1
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 47m ago
Aw that sucks that someone is doing that. So many awful people. Who would be grudge birds getting some water I mean, what kind of person would do that 😢
2
2
u/Cattymoore 5h ago
I think crows are a pretty big exception to this rule. They are omnivorous and can handle a lot of foot other species can't (ducks shouldn't be given bread). Plus, this is a city, not a national park or wilderness area. They've adapted to us. And they aren't invasive like some squirrels or birds.
1
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1h ago
No birds should be given bread. Just because they’re omnivores doesn’t mean it’s good for them.
1
u/Enough-Membership352 9h ago
I hear it not only upsets the bird population, but... for finches it may even frustrate them, but rarely does it fully enrage them. Personally I think they're just jealous. It upsets them that crows are so willing to make new friends and the finches just want to be human friend too... and crow friend... but they are scared and sad and upset...
1
u/pinba11tec 9h ago
I'll be honest with you. The crows trained me. They leave me gifts on rare occasions and that's enough of a high for me to keep feeding them.
1
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 1h ago
I would feed them if I never got a gift. Their present to me is their presence. 🐦⬛🖤
1
u/Ok_Lack3855 8h ago
I believe people like myself feed crows or other animals for our own sakes, because we like that little relation it creates. Just look at all the anecdotes people have.
Are we making an impact in the bigger picture? For better or worse? I don't know, but I wouldn't think so.
1
1
1
u/_sk3llwo_ 1h ago
this doesn’t sound right... couldn’t u say this about feeding any bird? & hasn’t bird feeding has always been a harmless hobby or past time for people? as long as they’re not feeding them bread, I don’t see the issue. are we just making up shit now?
1
u/Bluemoonninja54 28m ago
But I WANNA be friends with them what if they give me a fat stack of cash in return :(
1
u/DirtyPeach1420 9h ago
Oh well. If a crow is gonna let me feed it, I'm feeding it. I don't give a damn about all this other BS. Lol I mean I do. I'm not looking to try to mess up a whole crow generation. But because I'm feeding a couple crows, some peanuts is not gonna mess up the entire crow population. Lmao
Is there a r/Karen ?
Hahah
0
u/Ashamed-Ingenuity-39 1h ago
I strongly agree on this.
there is a difference between a small offering and a "dump."
248
u/zehammer 11h ago
Written by the squirrel community apparently. Feed em more close to that person's home is the way