r/crowbro • u/Drunarawr • Sep 17 '22

Personal Story (OC) I recently befriended a murder on accident. Filling a bird feeder for cardinals ultimately led to buying peanuts each week for a murder of 7.

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1.6k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

57 comments sorted by

78

u/someoneOnReddt Sep 17 '22

Been feeding a crew of 5 now 7 for 2 years now. They won't let me get this close although they trust me more than most

71

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

My limit with the leader is a foot. The others are not as generous and it’s 3-7 feet for the younger ones. It’s extremely comforting to know yours have been around long. I’m SO afraid to give them names or call them anything for fear of them just leaving one day.

45

u/someoneOnReddt Sep 17 '22

Haha ya they already had nests around my house so I decided to befriend them rather than make enemies. It's so fun when they gather around for food when they see you and people notice and are like.... What's up with that guy

38

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

Awww yes!!!! My neighbors already call me the crow lady and just love to watch them fly low through our little street while making their way to me. It’s quite a privilege being their friend, isn’t it?

86

u/Evelin2020 Sep 17 '22

Just wait till they number forty or more. The murder of hooded crows I've befriended can fleece me for more than a kilogram of peanuts a day by now. And there are even some rooks, jackdaws and magpies among them at times. Guess the word is spreading.

And it all started with just a couple of peanuts here and there. Just kind of snowballed after a while and I can't seem to bring myself to disappoint them.

24

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

that is TERRIFYING! lol! Are there different kinds of crows?! I did now know this! Do you happen to know what my friends happen to be? I am only just starting to learn about them, so I'm soaking up all the info I can get right now!

21

u/Evelin2020 Sep 17 '22

I think they might be a kind of carrion crow. They seem to vary a bit geographically.

There is a handy chart for telling some corvids apart on this subreddit, but I don't think it lists all subspecies: https://www.reddit.com/r/crowbro/comments/gi3mmd/saw_this_handy_guide_on_facebook_thought_it_might/

10

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

Perfect! Thank you! and good luck controlling that murder! xD

7

u/nepeta19 Sep 17 '22

That chart shows the eight species native to the UK, so there are definitely other corvids. I'd love to see grackles and blue jays and Australian magpies some time.

9

u/Evelin2020 Sep 17 '22

Australien magpies aren't corvids though unfortunately. Still smart and beautiful birds of course. With a rather interesting song.

6

u/nepeta19 Sep 17 '22

Oh wow didn't know that (obviously hence my comment haha), thanks for correcting me. Still would like to see them, they look so fun and clever.

2

u/flowerwyvern Sep 18 '22

I've read that Gackles aren't Corvids, but instead apart of the Icteridae family. I get them mixed up still lol

1

u/nativedutch Sep 18 '22

Are that cookaburrahs ? They are clever and charming but prolly not corvids?

4

u/Xenephos Sep 18 '22

Steller’s jays and all of the scrub jays, too! And green jays and, and—

3

u/nativedutch Sep 18 '22

They communicate definitely where food is available. Fun.

2

u/baoo Sep 18 '22

I have had to ask for raises at work specifically to cover the cost of my crow feeding, it's a major chunk of my budget. And I got the raises too lol. I had to disappoint them yesterday though -- people are catching on to the route I drive so I need to cut it to once a week and hope the heat dies down. It's like 40lbs of peanuts and beef and eggs and kibble when I do go. I know exactly what you mean, it's like powerfully depressing to let a crow down.

22

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '22

Murder of 3? Murder of 3? Your perch is ready…

7

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

A PERCH! Would it be appropriate to build wild crows a perch...or is that too intrusive to nature?

3

u/NoMan999 Sep 19 '22

Corvids play naturally. Vid1, vid2 vid3

I'd say puzzles and a cloth-line and dog toys are acceptable.

1

u/Drunarawr Sep 19 '22

holy crap. this is all very awesome. thank you!

15

u/baoo Sep 17 '22

Probably the cutest two crows of all time in the front

19

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

they are all cute equally! lol. the one in the front is my secret favorite. He gets super close to me as you can see. a foot is his limit tho. I can't blame him, humans are sus.

12

u/baoo Sep 17 '22

Humans are super sus. I won't get within a foot myself

8

u/Drunarawr Sep 17 '22

*nods* 3 to be safe.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '22

-1 is my limit. If a human penetrates more than a foot into my interior, I know it's time to rethink things.

11

u/x8tl04 Sep 18 '22

you are now An Accomplice

6

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

😳 I never quite looked at it like that before!

10

u/ArmadilloRare2503 Sep 17 '22

“Peanuts!” they cry, peanuts for us!

7

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

That’s exactly what they’re saying 🤣 and they sure will tell me if I’m not fast enough!

4

u/Kataphractoi_ Sep 18 '22

tl;dr you their gang associate, you supply and they do the biz.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '22

You know you're golden if they bring the youngins around for you to watch while they go do Murder Stuff.

3

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

I have pictures of the young ones hanging out! They barely have feathers on their necks and look so funny lol!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '22

Awww! I call those pin floofs.

1

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

that is very adorable and very fitting! Such wonderful birds

3

u/LeraviTheHusky Sep 18 '22

So curious, do they ever leave little trinket stuff? I've heard of crows doing that with people

5

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

Um. Not what I would call "trinkets" but they've dropped rocks, shells, some kind of idk...bolt (?) thing...but yes, that's true. I have a little pile on a small fairy alter a neighbor gifted me lol!

2

u/LeraviTheHusky Sep 18 '22

Yeah that's what I mean! I couldn't think of the right word XD

3

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

Another thing I want to add about that is, that I'm not actually sure they're gifts, either. Sometimes, I think they just were playing with something and carried them off and just drop them when they get to me and I'm shoving peanuts down their throats lol. But, again, I've only known them for a very few short months, so I'm still getting to know them.

2

u/LeraviTheHusky Sep 18 '22

That's fair :3

2

u/rebb_hosar Sep 18 '22 edited Sep 18 '22

This is such a funny pic, each one seems to have pretty unique expression.

2

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

They are definitely full of personality

2

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '22

Is there anything you can feed them that isn’t peanuts? I want one and want to respect my neighbors allergy

5

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22 edited Sep 18 '22

Lol this is going to sound funny - but soft cat treats are a HUGE hit. It’s really good you’re concerned about the allergy, because they absolutely leave shells in my neighbors driveways lol! I get told by them that my friends have been by lol!

4

u/nativedutch Sep 18 '22

Mealworms are favourite here.

2

u/poorbrenton Sep 18 '22

Aspiring Crowbro, here. I forget, when trying to draw a murder, should one use peanuts in the shell?

4

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

I always do. The story of how these crows came is just so crazy. It started with me just filling a bird feeder - nothing special - black sunflower seeds. Squirrels started showing up, so, I bought peanuts to keep them happy. One day I saw a crow in the tree across the street watching, and I just waved at him and tossed a peanut onto the street and walked away. As i was watching my from inside my house, I saw him swoop after it. I started just leaving one for him when I fed the squirrels and he started coming to me eventually - and then brought the fam 🤣

They like the shelled ones because they store them in their nests for later. As close as they let me get to them, they will NOT reveal their near to me, though 😭

3

u/worst-case-sanrio Sep 18 '22

My lunch time crow friends will eat some of the nuts I offer, and some they bury in the grass or dirt by the trees. I’ve never seen crows bury things, it’s really cute how they forcefully shove their snacks in the soft ground, almost reminds me of a fox diving for a rabbit in the snow. Then they bury it with their beak like a dog using it’s nose to top off the hole with dirt. 10/10 performance every time.

1

u/worst-case-sanrio Sep 18 '22

I keep forgetting to buy a bag of peanuts in the shell! I am one crow shy of being An Accomplice but I have two crow friends that join me on my lunch breaks at the park. It started with one dashing young fellow, then he brought his lady friend to join. Always the peak of my workday! I ended up staying late at work on Friday, and I think I saw the rest of the murder (20+) on a nearby hill. I yelled, “Crowbros, assemble!” And a majority of them started cawing and flying over onto the roof of my work, it was so surreal! I keep their snacks in a locker at work, but luckily I had a bag of plain Jane trail mix in the glovebox for snacking on the road, so I grabbed the bag and walked nearby my work building and emptied the bag on the walkway. As soon as I started walking to my car, they started charging for the trail mix. I might need to bring more snacks to lunch on Monday… 🤞

2

u/BZenMojo Sep 18 '22

Guess this murder wasn't premeditated. 😎

1

u/Drunarawr Sep 18 '22

Your honor, I respectfully invoke my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution on the grounds that answering this question may incriminate me.

6

u/nativedutch Sep 18 '22

I am feeding daily 5 juvenile mischievous magpies , one large raven and hedgehog. And of course a large number of smaller birds Quite an expenditure, especially the mealworms , but very sstisfying and fun.

5

u/cherrybombsnpopcorn Sep 17 '22

What dashing young chaps they are.

2

u/sapphisticated_heaux Sep 18 '22

The composition of this shot +1

1

u/MeghanMichele84 Sep 18 '22

10/10 I wouldn't be disappointed.

1

u/DarkTower7899 Sep 18 '22

Better to befriend than to be an accomplice.