Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 08:04:30 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Jim Felley Subject: Where are the crows - West Nile Virus MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Just a couple of thoughts on where crows might be. 1) Apparently, corvids are very susceptible to WNV, as is mentioned in the CDC page on WNV vertebrate ecology http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/birds&mammals.htm Corvid vulnerability is also attested to be wildlife rehabilitators, including one near me (Second Chance, run by Chris Montouri, http://www.scwc.org/). It seems that while many birds may contract the virus, it is especially virulent among crows and jays. Raptors and owls also seem to be vulnerable, at least according to wildlife rehabilitators (see recent chat on BIRDCHAT). 2) Just because the crows that were breeding locally are now gone does not mean they succumbed to WNV. Many birds have some sort of post-breeding dispersal, leaving their territories for other areas. In my neighborhood, the robins have all left local lawns and headed to nearby woods, where I find them in huge numbers. I plan to watch the Rockville Roost, which will start forming in November, to get an idea of crow numbers. In the past, the roost has been huge, over 200,000 birds being my guess. Last year, the numbers seemed lower to me, but then the White Flint Mall people had been actively trying to move the birds off. I plan to keep an eye out this fall to see if there are fewer birds still. Jim Jim Felley Smithsonian Institution irmss668@sivm.si.edu ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================