Dave Davis & other readers,
I am not aware that West Nile Virus is the predominant reason for crow
population decrease in the Northern Virginia area. It is well-known that
Fairfax County over a 3 year period has performed mass killings at winter crow
roosts inside the beltway. It can be argued that these actions appear to be
having a measureable effect. CBC counts of crows in the northern Virginia area
have shown a marked decrease in crow numbers which seem to be beyond normal
statistical fluctuation. Also, for the first time in nearly 8 years, the Dyke
Marsh breeding bird survey this year did not confirm any crow nests at that
location. Additionally, crow numbers have also been greatly reduced on the BBS
route for Prince William Co Forest Park this year in comparison to previous
years, suggesting that the winter Fairfax Co. killings extend well beyond the
borders of Fairfax County.
It is not my intention to pass judgement on the predatory (or not) habits of
these birds, as I am only trying to convey the idea that the current trends in
the crow population density in this area may be directly tied to the habits of
the human elements that live in that same area.
Oh! - I should add that the crows have no real defense against those elements.
Kurt Gaskill
In a message dated 6/29/2004 9:06:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
Birdconsv@xxxxxxx writes:
Today I witnessed several American Crows killing then eating a juvenileYou are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
robin. With 50-plus years of nature observation, this is the first time I've
seen
crows do this. I know they take eggs and nestlings, but this was a bird that
could fly and was foraging on its own. It and 2 siblings have been around our
house for the last week, often accompanied by their parents. I had read
somewhere that urban crows might be partly to blame for the steep decline in
nighthawks in many American cities, and given their other recent adaptations
to urban
living I wonder if this is the beginning of a new chapter of crow-as-raptor.
I hope not as our native birds already have enough trouble surviving in the
urban environment. If it is, it might not be such a bad thing that WNV is
taking
the crows down a notch or two. Only time will tell. Have others seen crows
killing birds that are not dependent fledglings?
I enjoyed the cuckoo exchange too. I've seen Yellow-bills feeding a cowbird
chick, but not the reverse.
Dave Davis
Arlington
PS. I get these messages in digest mode. Is there some way that I can avoid
getting all of the redundant text that apparently results from people copying
and retransmitting the original message ? Thanks.
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
