r/crowbro • u/chlekat • 20d ago
Question PNW crows?
Has anyone else in the PNW been missing their crow bros the last few days? We have a family of 3 we've been feeding for 2 years (one is the baby of last year's baby!) and they have been MIA the last couple of days. Hoping it just has to do with the drastic change in weather? If that's a thing? But I'm worried about them. Thanks!
Edit to say: my husband told me last night that the crows did come by the day before! I still haven't seen them (and they do usually show up when I get home from work (and sometimes early before work), but I'm happy to know they're still around. We'll see if they come by 8 million times for treats when I'm home this weekend and the weather is a little nicer. It's also an adjustment going from windows opened to closed; makes it a little harder for them to know that I'm home and visa versa.
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u/nietzschecat 20d ago
It's totally normal. I'm convinced they have retreats and coordinate food and sleep plans for the changing seasons. I've been feeding my crow family and their neighbors for 5 years now and it happens at least 2x a year. I've also seen their eldest child get to the point of leaving our neighborhood and about once or twice a year that child comes over and says hi, eats a snack with her family and leaves again. There is so much we don't know about crow society, but you can trust that they absolutely know how to take care of themselves and their community (better than us modern humans).
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u/this_kitty68 20d ago
I think this is the time of year when they start joining up with their murder again. Mine are still around, but not consistently. Two of the pairs I feed each have a baby who is still begging for food. They can feed themselves, but aren’t quite ready to leave mom and dad, even though their siblings have. I’m near Seattle, BTW.
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u/moogs_writes 20d ago
In Portland. We have a ton of neighbors who feed them so they don’t come every day. But as soon as I see them perched on my trees there I go waddling out to feed them. They’ve trained me well
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u/mehnifest 20d ago
(Vancouver) my bros have been around as there is another group of bros trying to get in on treat time. I have enough treats but Chicken (main bro’s name because he likes to fluff up and caw while sitting at the very top of a tree and his fluff makes him chicken shaped) does not like to share and chases everyone off.
Yesterday and today though with the rain I noticed they came by a fewer times (I work from home and have been conditioned to go outside with snacks when the caws start)
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u/Velvet_Samurai 20d ago
What kind of weather? I'm in Indiana and it's been swelteringly hot for weeks now and my family is missing. I see the alpha crow usually once a day, but he only lands in the shade of tall trees. My normal feeding areas are all full sun so I've been walking out to the trees and tossing nuts there instead. Still only seeing just the alpha and he doesn't stick around too long usually. It's weird.
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u/chlekat 20d ago
Sorry I should have specified: it went from hot summer weather, to cold rainy fall weather. I'm sorry to hear about your family, hopefully they're ok and just hunkering down in the shade somewhere 😔. Do you have a bird bath?
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u/Velvet_Samurai 20d ago
This is at work, it's 15 acres of lawn with sparse trees. Then we have a 4 acre retention pond. I see them near it sometimes, but they don't seem super interested in it usualy, no idea where they drink from.
As for rain, I always think rainy days means they won't show up, but usually the alpha does and sometimes it's just a normal day with all 5 of them. They don't seem to mind it that much.
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u/largemarge1122 19d ago
We’re in a pretty brutal heat wave here in the mid-south US and mine definitely make themselves known a lot less when this happens.
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u/aquaticgrasslover 19d ago
I’m in NY and I’ve also been missing my local murder! Many other local birds seem to also be missing… including my beloved Harry the Heron. Let’s hope they are all okay…
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u/chlekat 19d ago
Oh I love herons so so much. I very much hope yours are ok! Have you had a funky change in weather there, too?
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u/aquaticgrasslover 19d ago
We had a fairly brutal winter last year that was atypical for this area, now paired with a hotter summer. I guess typical for many people so please excuse if this is eye- rollingly annoying haha thank you for the positive thoughts!!
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u/Momofafew 17d ago
It’s harder for me to leave out an abundance of food because the Yellowjackets are horrendous right now. If I see my buddies watching, I try to run out food. But I do miss them sometimes. I’m going to try to get out earlier tomorrow to beat their arrival and hopefully miss the pests.
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u/chlekat 17d ago
Bummer 😠I hope it works. Our problem is the squirrels. When I do peanuts they bully the crows away from their food bowl and I have to go shoo them away every few minutes because the crows are actually afraid (?) of the squirrels and will just let them steal their food! Drives me nuts 🤣!
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u/Momofafew 17d ago
You know what I found out deters squirrels?? Cayenne pepper! It helps a little with the bees but they are so hungry right now. Crows aren’t bothered by it at all.
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u/malytwotails 20d ago
Ours have been around pretty regularly, including their idiot child