In Defence of Crows

[old man emu]

I hate three-cornered Jacks. They are a thousand times worse that bindii.

[facthunter]

Caltrop is the worst thing I've come across. It embeds in any tyres and next thing you know it's all over your block. Echuca aerodrome got it and it will puncture your  aircraft tyres. Nev

[Marty_d]

Saw a fantastic sight yesterday.

 

My wife and I were having a cup of coffee after doing some chainsawing.  We were looking down towards the creek and all of a sudden two birds went tearing by - a little one in front and a bigger one hard on its ar*se.

The little one flew straight through some pretty dense fallen wattle branches (bloody good airmanship - or air-bird-ship!) which made the following bird hit the brakes and give up pursuit.  The big one settled on the other end of the log we were sitting on, and if birds could show facial expression, I reckon he was mortified that someone had spotted him losing his meal.  Looked like a falcon of some sort to us.

 

For all the world it was a mini version of the scene from "Avatar", where the human and his na'avi girlfriend ride their dragons between the vines to avoid the big red bugger!

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, Marty_d said:

My wife and I were having a cup of coffee after doing some chainsawing.

My wife and I used to have a cigarette after doing some "chainsawing".

[nomadpete]

Oh, OME

 

Not out in public, I hope.

[facthunter]

Q Do you smoke after sex? 

A Not sure . I've never looked.

 

 

 

 

 

Nev

[old man emu]

It takes on a whole new meaning nowadays when a young bloke says that he's going out to burn rubber.

[willedoo]

21 hours ago, Marty_d said:

Saw a fantastic sight yesterday.

 

My wife and I were having a cup of coffee after doing some chainsawing.  We were looking down towards the creek and all of a sudden two birds went tearing by - a little one in front and a bigger one hard on its ar*se.

The little one flew straight through some pretty dense fallen wattle branches (bloody good airmanship - or air-bird-ship!) which made the following bird hit the brakes and give up pursuit.  The big one settled on the other end of the log we were sitting on, and if birds could show facial expression, I reckon he was mortified that someone had spotted him losing his meal.  Looked like a falcon of some sort to us.

 

For all the world it was a mini version of the scene from "Avatar", where the human and his na'avi girlfriend ride their dragons between the vines to avoid the big red bugger!

That's the tactics the Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes used to get away from the Messerschmitts, ie: get down among the trees. I think the stall speed of the Messer was higher than the top speed of the Po-2. Maybe they learnt from the birds.

Edited April 19, 2021 by willedoo

[Marty_d]

15 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Oh, OME

 

Not out in public, I hope.

Bloke goes to confession.  Priest says "what do you have to confess, my son?"

 

"Oh, Father, I just couldn't help it.  She was bending over the freezer and she just looked so good - I had to have her there and then!

I ripped off my pants, flipped up her dress and we made wild passionate love!"

 

Priest says "err... who was this, my son?"

 

"My wife, of course!"

 

Priest is very confused.  "My son... there's absolutely nothing wrong with having sex with your wife!"

 

Man says "That's what I said too... but the staff at Coles seemed to disagree!"

 

[willedoo]

This is a photo of my resident breeding pair of crows taken this afternoon. They are the Australian Raven species. They get a bit of together time now that last year's brood of two are more grown up and not so demanding. It's good to see that after all those years of married life, Mr. Crow is still fascinated with Mrs. Crow's chest.

 

[onetrack]

The Ravens seem to be very loyal mates, I've noticed it's common to see pairs foraging together. They really "work" the territory and anything they find, with one checking out rubbish such as chip bags and fast food containers for food titbits, while the other keeps watch. 

They are appearing in greater numbers in the city, and I believe increased clearing for urban development is probably driving them into the city, where there are mature trees that are not going to get removed. Strangely enough, I've never seen a crows nest in the city, but I've seen them in the country. They like the higher trees and seem to nest at least 20M above the ground.

 

The other birds hate them and drive them away constantly, mostly because they know they're egg thieves and they kill fledglings. I reckon the Ravens have got several Peaceful Dove fledglings from nests around our house. I drive them away, too - I know they have a part to play in cleaning up carrion, but I prefer them to stay away from my local little birds nests.

We have a huge variety of birds around here, New Holland honeyeaters, Red Wattle birds, Mudlarks, Grey Cuckoo Shrikes, Magpies, Willy-Wagtails (wrens), Kookaburras, and a range of parrots from Pink and Grey Galahs through to Black Cockatoos, and even a few Rainbow Lorikeets.

 

The Western Raven (Corvus perplexus) we have here in the SW of W.A. is actually a different species to the Eastern States Raven (Corvus coronoides). It is slightly smaller, has a different call and keeps closer to the ground than the Eastern States Raven.

However, I believe we also have the Eastern States Raven as well, because I often see Ravens that match the Eastern States Raven, rather than the Western Raven.

 

http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=671

 

https://www.waystonature.com.au/a-conundrum-of-corvids/

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by onetrack

[willedoo]

On 02/04/2022 at 3:12 PM, onetrack said:

The Ravens seem to be very loyal mates, I've noticed it's common to see pairs foraging together. They really "work" the territory and anything they find, with one checking out rubbish such as chip bags and fast food containers for food titbits, while the other keeps watch. 

I've noticed the male at my place always puts his family before himself. If they have chicks in the nest and the old girl is tied up with them, I sometimes put some food out. The male will fly up, cram his mouth full, then take off back to the nest to feed the family. He might do 2 or 3 runs to do that before he has a feed. He'll never eat before he feeds them. It looks comical the way he stuffs as much as he can fit in his mouth.

Edited April 4, 2022 by willedoo

[onetrack]

Well, they haven't got any hands or pockets, so I suppose they have to do the best with what they've got! I'm always amused at how birds work out how to get stuff, with only a beak to do it with.

 

I'm also surprised at how much crows and ravens keep near to water. We've got a bird bath in the back yard, and one in the front yard. The ravens started flying in, and perching on the bird baths.

I thought they were always thirsty - but then I figured out what they were doing.

 

They always had a piece of something in their beak - carrion, or dried-out lumps of food scraps - and they were dunking the carrion or food scraps in the water to soften them up, so they could scoff them more easily.

I chased them away regularly from the front bath (because they were scaring off the little birds), so they went around to the back bath. Then when I chased them away from the back bath, they went back to the front bath.

 

I fixed that by draining the front bath for a couple of days, and then constantly chasing them away from the back bath. They quickly got the message that I don't want them around the house, and they haven't been back since.

 

I reckon they sit up on the power poles talking, and warning all their mates about the bastard in the red-roof house, who chases you away all the time.   

They used to scoff my mangoes on the tree, too, by standing on the ground and reaching up to peck the ripe ones hanging down. That was until I caught two pecking them early one morning, and I squawked and ran at them, and they absolutely crapped themselves and flew off. They sat up on the poles then, too, talking about that bastard that wouldn't let them near the mangoes!   

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by onetrack

[red750]

 

[kgwilson]

Hence the saying "Clever as a Crow". There are plenty of humans who would not have worked that out. Absolutely incredible.

[Bruce Tuncks]

I have only ever seen crows doing the dunking thing. And the saying "as the crow flies" also indicates they are smart.

Once, I heard on the radio about a crow which walked around a chained dog to wind it up. When the dog could no longer defend its food bowl, the crow stole as much as it could. If that story is true, then that is really a smart bird.

 

[willedoo]

On 04/04/2022 at 8:06 PM, onetrack said:

They always had a piece of something in their beak - carrion, or dried-out lumps of food scraps - and they were dunking the carrion or food scraps in the water to soften them up, so they could scoff them more easily.

onetrack, maybe they've been watching you dunk your biscuits in a cup of tea.

[onetrack]

There's only one thing wrong with your theory Willie - I haven't dunked a biscuit in my tea for at least 40 years! So the ravens must be watching someone else!

 

Here's another interesting view on why ravens and crows dunk their food scraps - and apparently it is a common habit of theirs.

 

https://archive.knoxnews.com/entertainment/columnists/marcia-davis/crows-may-use-your-bird-bath-as-sink-for-food-preparation-360a1450-ec3d-2288-e053-0100007f0e2f-384884201.html

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by onetrack

[Old Koreelah]

Crickey, that might explain why i regularly have to hose seeds and berries out of my birdbath!

[Old Koreelah]

On 5/4/2022 at 9:32 PM, red750 said:

 

Love to see how Trump supporters would perform on this test. 

[red750]

9 minutes ago, Old Koreelah said:

Love to see how Trump supporters would perform on this test. 

One of my late wife's Facebook friends is one of those nutters. He claims just about everyone since Noah as a 'cousin', including Irene and "our greatest ever president, Donald Trump". Melania is also a second cousin, as is Rock Hudson, Gregory Peck, and just about everyone else, including Lee Harvey Oswald. Even referred to one of his 23 times great grandfathers, one of the 16th century kings of England. Of course, that makes the Queen also a 'cousin'. Being American, he attends all the Make America Great rallies.

[red750]

Here is a typical post re actress Uma Thurman.

 

[pmccarthy]

Seems a harmless nutter. Others obsess about things like closing down their local airfield, much more damaging.

[facthunter]

Airfields are good. Airheads are BAD. Nev

[pmccarthy]

As a beemer airhead rider, I resemble that remark.