Crows

Crows Earl Plato
A nature friend once remarked to me long ago, “You’ve seen one crow you’ve seen them all. Same colour - same call.” I didn’t question him at the time but over the years of writing nature articles for the Review I have received some great crow stories that, I believe, helps to dispel the above comment. Do you believe that crows are not ordinary birds? Gordon MacDonald of Niagara Falls some years ago shared with me some great “crow” stories with me via E-mail. Gordon says, “your article on crows revived many fond memories regarding these fascinating birds.” We share with you some of his report. For space we must edit the letter. “About 30 years ago, our son and daughter, were each given a baby crow by a Hydro linesman, who had to remove the nest from a transformer. ...We weren’t enthusiastic. ... The birds were promptly named Arthur and Prudence. Unlimited time was lavished on them.. Arthur was larger but lacked the enthusiasm and curiosity of the smaller and slightly crippled Prudence. On a diet of dog food and table scraps both grew to impressive sizes. ... the kids always seemed to be walking about or riding their bicycles with a crow perched on their shoulders. Living in the country they had the freedom to come and go as they wished but it wasn’t without dangers. One day Arthur was attacked by a big hawk in the back yard. Prudence, in turn, attacked the hawk and managed to drive it off. Arthur lost an eye and was traumatized. As result of this incident he stayed indoors in his cage. He continued to fail and was dead in a month.”
The annual bird count in the St. Catharines Ontario area a few years ago went from over 100,000 to less than 2m00. Cause? West Nile virus. Have any crow stories? Call me at 905-894-2417 or e-mail me at plato1@vaxxine.com
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This October in Niagara there are wild turkeys wherever you looked. Elaine and I saw forty or so crossing Wilhelm Road last week. The day before we saw at least fifty on Garrison Road west of Rose Hill Road sauntering in the fields. Then amazingly on Michener Road (the day after the Bert Miller Nature Club Meeting) Ron Simonson and I on the way to Marcy Woods saw another large group of wild turkeys on the south side of the road. The Audubon Guide says, “They are swift runners.” Finally Elaine and I saw while on a bus trip to Vermont in late October two pockets of ten turkeys. We watched as the one group moved quickly to meet the other group. Yes, they can move fast when they have to. The trainer at the Morgan Horse farm there said to us Canadian Travelers, “Thanksgiving is coming soon for us. Most of those turkeys you see will end up on a plate.” Wild turkeys have returned to Niagara in larger and larger numbers. Not too many years ago they were hunted to almost extinction. 331 were sighted at the 2007 bird count in Niagara, Ontario. Coming back, eh?