How to Befriend Crows
fediscience.org
How to Befriend Crows
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Re: How to Befriend Crows
#2Crow Tech Slaps
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#3[flagged]
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#4i kind of love the fact that posting fediverse links on hacker news is coming to be almost as common as posting twitter links. and i already read this, because one of the mastodon accounts i follow boosted this into my timeline.
all hail decentralized social media!
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#5I can vouch for this approach. I lived in the territory of a couple of ravens (close relatives of crows; just as smart and twice as large) and it took me maybe 18 months to build a close relationship.
I started out just talking to them and throwing whole peanuts (roasted, unsalted) on the ground while I was doing it. They looked at me warily and did not come close. Later on, the peanuts would disappear, but I was never sure why. This period lasted months.
Eventually they would come down when I threw a peanut and approach it warily. If it was closer than 15 or 20 feet to me, I'd have to back away to give them enough room. Then I could throw another peanut near (but not at!) them and they'd walk over to get it.
After many more months of this (six, I'd guess) they were somewhat less wary of me and would hang out on our back fence sometimes. So we worked out a ritual. I would place a piece of food on the fence rail and back away; they'd hop over and get it. As he suggested, I would talk with them as I did it. I'm sure the words didn't matter, but I suspect the tone did, and it helped me focus on being soothing with voice, body language, and behavior.
Toward the end of my time there we got so that one of them would take high-value food, like a chicken bone with bits of meat left on it, straight out of my hand. That one, who we called George, would happily sit pretty close to me after eating. Out of arm's reach, of course; they were still a bit wary. But it would settle down and chill out. Truly a magical experience to just hang out with a big, smart bird like that. You looking at one another, both trying to figure out exactly what the other's deal is. And me, at least, knowing, that I'd never fully know.
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#6[flagged]
[flagged]
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#7When I tried to befriend the neighborhood crows, my wife took pity on me and got me a cat as a gift.
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#8I've been trying to befriend crows, but it's a slow process. When I go for a walk I usually take a rich tea biscuit with me. I put it on a post where a crow sometimes rests.
At first, it was more-or-less luck as to who and when a crow found it. But they began to catch on, and I'm pretty sure at least one was waiting for me. They were either on the post, or nearby. They fly off when you approach, of course. But they get the idea, and I know they're watching. I try to step back, but they need quite a large distance before they'll try to take the biscuit. Crows seem to know that humans are always up to something. The probably know that it's always plans within plans when it comes to those damn hairless apes. Is he really being generous, or is he running some inscrutable psyop?
The problem is that I haven't been consistent the last few days, so the crows lose interest.
A few days ago, mind, there was a crow sitting on the fence a few feet from the house. He flew off as I left the house, but he didn't seem particularly alarmed. He flew up to the top of a conifer quite a few yards away. But I knew he was watching. So I put a biscuit on a post and went for a walk. When I came back the biscuit was gone.
I guess what I like about crows is that they're really smart, so you're always left wondering as to how much they've cottoned on to and how much of it is just blind coincidence.
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#9With other wildlife, changing silhouette can make a big difference in approach bubbles. Being in a kayak or on a horse allows much closer approach before flight.
Does anyone know if the same goes for corvids?
Re: How to Befriend Crows
#10My wife set up a bird feeder on our floor to ceiling glass windows in our living room -- it is a plexiglass module with suction cups. It was nice seeing the birds, but it was really entertaining watching the squirrels trying to get the food.
At first she tried to thwart the them, but in no time started recognizing the squirrels as individuals and noticing their personality and behavioral differences, and gave them names. After that, she stopped buying birdseed and began stocking the feeder with various nuts, and setting up some ramps and jumping obstacles, but not to any crazy level, just something to watch.
They recognized her as the person that fills the feeder with nuts. Once she tried hand feeding them it took only a couple weeks for the first brave one, then other squirrels didn't want to be left out and came up to her too. When the feeder goes empty, they'll stand on it and peer into the living room to see if she is around. Once they make eye contact, they hop down and run to the door to get fed.
My wife has some chronic health issues that mostly keep her housebound, except for doctor appointments. The squirrels have been a godsend -- even on her worst days, the squirrels make her smile and bring her joy at random times throughout the day.