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Subject:

crow woe but got Ott

From:

Patricia Valdata

Reply-To:

Patricia Valdata

Date:

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:27:38 -0400

I like crows, but this year we have two pairs nesting on either side 
of the street, and I don't know if the extra competition is making 
them more obnoxious or what, but they harassed the nesting red-tails 
earlier this season, and I am now certain they are the culprits in 
destroying the phoebe nest because I saw them harassing the cardinals 
who had nested in one of the azaleas, and when we came back from a 
trip I saw that the nest was empty and tipped over.

I know that crows need to earn a living like any other bird, but I 
worry about the wood thrush and ovenbird and all the other songbirds 
that don't nest in cavities or the next box. Will marauding crows 
prevent any of these birds from having babies this season? Is there 
any way to discourage crows from nesting in the immediate vicinity? 
(I am sure there's no practical way to do this when the trees are 80 
feet tall.)

Wonder if this season is different because our dog is so old she 
doesn't rampage through the yard like she used to.

Doesn't it seem like a difficult year for birds? I have seen very few 
goslings and no ducklings. A hummingbird nest was knocked out of a 
tree a couple of weeks ago--do those little things have the energy to 
make another when that happens?

As if I don't have enough to worry about!

More happily, it was fun seeing Bonnie Ott on Maryland Outdoors last 
night. What a great yard you have, Bonnie!

--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
--Douglas Adams