How do I re-establish peaceful relations with a family of crows?

Submitted ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨reef@lemmy.ca⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

A family of corvids built their nest right by my door. I’ve enjoyed seeing their nest grow, and I think the babies are now full fledglings.

Up until now, we’ve each been going out separate ways. Aside from leaving them some sticks to use, I haven’t interacted with them directly.

Today I either closed the door too hard, or they got spooked by the garbage truck passing by. A crow dive bombed me twice, hitting me the first time and whooshing by me the second time. It didn’t hurt, but I’m offended that they don’t remember me.

I know crows can hold a vendetta and remember faces. Any tips on how to get back in their good graces?

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Kolanaki@pawb.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Gift them something shiny.

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- Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  If I were a young parent I wouldn’t want something shiny, I’d want diapers.
  
  I’d put out an array of snacks and see which one they pick first, then add more of that the next day.
  
  If someone feeds my babies reliably and conveniently I’ll forgive them pretty quick.
  
  They say it takes ten seconds to break trust but ten years to rebuild it, so OP is gonna have to play the long game.
  
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  - Kolanaki@pawb.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yeah, but… You’re not a crow.
    
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  - reef@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I don’t want them to become too dependent on me, in case it hurts their ability to find food on their own.
    
    How much food would be reasonable but not excessive?
    
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- just_another_person@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Fact
  
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hoshikarakitaridia@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I don’t have a solution but I wanna bump this question, I am invested now.

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- cheese_greater@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  How could ya not be
  
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JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Just as an amateur naturist, based on what I’ve read, I’m thinking it would probably be useful for you to be proactive here and make friends with these intelligent animals, not just get along with them.

So I’d recommend doing a little research and following up, which I’m thinking might involve leaving them out some kind of preferred food on a regular basis, that kind of thing.

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- lividweasel@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  Just as an amateur naturist…
  
  I’m not an expert in corvid behaviour either, but I doubt showing your naughty bits to crows is the best course of action.
  
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  - JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    They usually get a chuckle or two, so it’s all good.
    
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- HumanOnEarth@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Life in 2026 getting so bad the crows are extorting us now
  
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  - JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    It’s kind of like sharing a living space with someone– good to put in a little effort to get along and be flexible rather than get off on the wrong foot and potentially antagonise them.
    
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- SystemDisc@feddit.org ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’m confused. Naturism is a lifestyle and philosophical movement advocating for non-sexual social nudity.
  
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  - JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    It isn’t, of course. I’m pretty sure I was aiming for “naturalist” there, but yon ol’ brain fog kicked in.
    
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workerONE@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Give them unsalted peanuts

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- frankenswine@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  this is like crack to those birds. you don’t need to feed them daily or even that regularly for them to associate you
  
  if this will make them less protective of their nest you’ll find out. please report back in one of the corvids communities.
  
  it’s always good to have crow friends
  
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Lumisal@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
This is going to sound witchy, but have first half experience it works lol.

Get a stone bowl, with a crow effigy on top in center. Ideally put it near the nest too.

Fill it with a few berries and chopped cashews, along with shiny pennies, a colorful feather, and 2 small crystals (the cheap tumbled kind like tiger’s eye, crackle quartz, and goldstone).

Below it have a sparkly shallow dish filled with water, and under it a narrowish glass filled with water (one is for bathing and the other for drinking).

Everyday, at the exact same time, refill the bowl with food and a single new crystal, colorful feather, or shiny penny, but do so while holding the offering above your head. Then refill the waters if needed.

You’ll be extremely close friends real fast.

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- AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I once had a crow friend who would knock on my window if I was late coming out to give them their seeds. It was just the one crow that was bold enough to do this. Sometimes he’d do it way earlier than usual, and I am 100% confident that he wasn’t mistaken, just being a cheeky asshole and trying his luck. I miss that asshole bird.
  
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  - bstix@feddit.dk ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    You were late by crow time.
    
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- prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  Get a stone bowl, with a crow effigy on top in center.
  
  I would be willing to bet that it works just fine without this
  
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  - Lumisal@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    It’s to help repel the other birds that aren’t crows a bit more, while the crows quickly figure out it’s not alive and a symbol for them.
    
    Or so I’m told. Maybe I should start a Kickstarter to help fund a double blind experiment and see what crows prefer:
    
    Effigy, No effigy, Effigy of a different bird
    
    And then set up many of these little crow shrines around and see how they do
    
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  - MathiasTCK@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Instructions unclear, angry murder
    
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RecursiveParadox@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
As the others said, food. Specifically unsalted cashews. I called our (Dutch) bird rescue center and they said that’s the healthiest “human” food to give them.

I have three crow friends (and sometimes their buddies) who light on my balcony railing and wait for me to come out. One will eat it there while I’m watching; the other two fly it across the street to their stashes. All three will just sit on the railing and watch me work sometimes.

Sometimes the magpies show up, but they are super, ultra cautious around The Human. I can tell they know me though when they fly through the street. They make the happy magpie sound they make to their mates when one of them steals a cashew intended for the crows instead of being silent.

I get that this is illegal, but you do not have to give them a lot or make it obvious . One or two a day. You may not see them, but they will see and remember you as Cashew Guy/Gal/Nonbinary Pal.

Also alas, Unidan, where did you go?

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- Stern@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  Also alas, Unidan, where did you go?
  
  Got banned for vote fraud.
  
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unidan
  
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  - Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    TIL there’s a Wikipedia article for Unidan
    
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- AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Not only are cashews healthy for them, they also go nuts for them (pun not intended, but I am delighted to have made an accidental pun). I forgot to mention “unsalted” in my comment, so I’m glad you mentioned it
  
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finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
If you go outside with a sandwich and accidentally drop that sandwich, then loundly proclaim your disappointment in your clumsiness, then go back inside, and the crows come down for the remains of your sandwich … and if this becomes a reguar occurrence … you can’t be fined for being clumsy. Can you?

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- quick_snail@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  It depends on the judge
  
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- AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  It’d probably still count as littering, which would be fineable, I imagine
  
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SaneMartigan@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
You might not be allowed to feed them directly, but I bet you can eat a messy sandwich or souvlaki that drops a bunch of meat and cheese.

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- NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  But now you might just be feeding them without them seeing it as a friendly action and get no benefits.
  
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  - SaneMartigan@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    They’ll know. Do it a few times. Whistle, click or clap a bit before hand so they’re paying attention.
    
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CannedYeet@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
ctvnews.ca/…/woman-who-rescued-injured-crow-keeps…

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jif@piefed.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I was watering the garden and decided to cool down a crow. It started dive bombing me regularly. So I gave it some banana and we were chill after that. It only took one offering. You could try giving it some soft material for it’s nest.

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MissesAutumnRains@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I mean, ya gotta make amends. Give healthy food on a schedule so they know you’re committed. Perhaps leave a kindly note with a shiny bead.

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- WeeSheep@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Mealworms, for chickens, get a 10lb bag if you can, few other animals will go for them and crows love them. Unsalted peanuts in the shell because they like to break them open, but other animals will go after them too.
  
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Reyali@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Crows will eat cat or dog food (my local crows love the cat food we feed them!). If there aren’t laws against feeding stray cats, you could put a bowl on your porch with cat food and if you’re questioned, play innocent.

As an aside, if you want to identify the fledglings, look at their mouth. Baby crows have red/pink mouths while the adults have black mouths!

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- reef@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  As an aside, if you want to identify the fledglings, look at their mouth. Baby crows have red/pink mouths while the adults have black mouths!
  
  The one(s) in the nest have orange around their beaks, so that must be the fledglings. The one(s) that attacked me do indeed have black beaks!
  
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AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Seconding the crow effigy idea (well, I didn’t do it with an effigy, I just left them a couple of shiny stuff).

For me, what I did was sit on my doorstep for a while, to get them used to the sight of me. And then I made sure they saw me leaving the shiny thing. I wasn’t forbidden from feeding them, so I also let them see me putting out some seeds.

Although feeding them is prohibited, the crow effigy idea person said to have a few cashews or similar in the little nesty thing, and I agree that this would be likely be necessary to draw them over at first.

If you’re okay with bending the rules a tad, if the sitting outside thing works and you’re able to not scare them away, then leaving behind just a cashew or two in your wake (if the crows are nearby) could help them to begin to associate you with good stuff.

Though if they’re dive bombing you, it might be challenging to come back from that

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Depress_Mode@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I’ve heard that crows seem to recognize offerings made to them and respond well. Try going outside and, while in their sight (not too close, though), present some food to them where they can see it, carefully place it on the ground, and slowly back away out of sight once more. You may have to do this for multiple days or maybe even weeks, not sure. Otherwise, you can take solace in the fact that nesting season will probably be over shortly as crows usually only raise 1 brood a year. They also don’t usually reuse nests, but have been known to build on top of prior successful nests.

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- Talaraine@fedia.io ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yeah I want to do that out here in the country, but they usually stay about 100 feet away. When I go outside they fly away and out of sight. =(
  
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  - Depress_Mode@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Maybe the trick is to leave some food (like diced and crushed fruit, unsalted peanuts in the shell, or mealworms) where they hang out when you see them? Them being out of your sight doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of their sight. They could be watching nearby. If they’re in the area often, they’ll probably find it. Maybe if you put up some feeders that have crow-friendly foods closer to the house, they’ll warm up to it and you, You could also try leaving some food out for them a ways away and just hanging out for awhile reading or something, then gradually over time, leave the food closer.
    
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Shadow@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Huh I had no idea we’re not allowed to feed crows.

I got dive bombed years ago one summer, after which I started bribing the crows with peanuts from my balcony. Now they’re used to me and let me get pretty close, or come hang out when I’m out there.

They’ve got babies out front of my building this week and show no interest in me or my dog, but I see them bombing other people regularly.

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fireweed@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Best foods to give crows

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- quick_snail@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  And so the ear began between the squirrels and the crows
  
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  - scutiger@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Crows would 100% win that war. They would gladly feast on squirrel meat.
    
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X@piefed.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Here’s the thing: you said it’s a crow, no one’s arguing that. But are we sure they aren’t jackdaws? They’re in the same family. Let’s get grackles and blackbirds in there, then, too.

As someone who is a scientist who studies crows, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls jackdaws crows. If you want to be “specific” like you said, then you shouldn’t either. They’re not the same thing.

It’s okay to just admit you’re wrong, you know?

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- deluxe@fedinsfw.app ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Not now, Unidan.
  
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- RecursiveParadox@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  [for anyone who doesn’t get it this is the most famous comment from Unidan who was a scientist but, alas, drunk a bit too much of his own koolaid. Other than that, he was a very cool commenter.]
  
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ThirdConsul@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

A crow dive bombed me twice, hitting me the first time and whooshing by me the second time. It didn’t hurt, but I’m offended that they don’t remember me

Dude, if they have a youngling and they attacked you/divebombed once, they were teaching the youngling to fly and wanted you to go away just in case.

If it continues, you can try to bribe them, if that doesn’t help you will have to chase them away. Preferably after the fledglings can fly.

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- quick_snail@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Instructions unclear. Gave crow a loonie and dibe bombs continue.
  
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Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Oops, you left your PBJ on the porch!

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CannedYeet@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
lemmy.world/c/Crows

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W3dd1e@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Calling @CorvusCornix@piefed.social who so definitely a person and not a crow in disguise

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- CorvusCornix@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Hmmm… seeing as food is the number one way to our- er, I mean, a Crow’s heart… you might be in trouble! But worry not, I’ll put in a good word with my brothers… I mean my local neighborhood Crows because I am definitely a human living in a house around other humans!
  
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TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Buy them french fries daily. Get the ones in the red carton, you know the ones. The red carton will help build visual memory. Every day, toss them some french fries. Make sure they see you.

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- quick_snail@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Salt is bad for them
  
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Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Just don’t get caught feeding them lol, should be easy enough if you could do it from your backyard, and don’t overdo it because if all the crows in a 50 miles radius start nesting on your roof, people might start to notice.

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thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Fuck the bylaws!

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Novocirab@feddit.org ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Apart from food, look at what crows themselves give as gifts, e.g.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWXe7Js6GnI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjNpfz4UzqU
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AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
No clue how exactly, but maybe you could also give them “toys” or things that are fun for them. Or shiny things that jingle or something lol. Or maybe build them a raised stand where they can land and look with a roof against rain. Or maybe even a birdbath?

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LovableSidekick@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
You don’t. Crows are the evil masterminds of the bird world, as any expert in bird law will tell you.

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- neidu3@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Do you happen to enjoy boiling denim, foraging naked in the sewers, and playing nightcrawlers?
  
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DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I read that if you make friends with crows you become their bitch, they don’t take “no” for an answer after that. Your only option in the future may be to move.

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BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Give them fries

(Idk this might be bad advice, I’m not a biologist)

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Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Explosives

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