I was telling Roger and Lynda the other day I had a crow that had acquired a taste for the black oil seeds. Mamaw has fed the crows for years... She says she has to feed them or they get into her garbage bin... She feeds them corn bread and other scraps... She says they even love apple peelings. I ran out of feed a couple months back and my sister picked up a bag of mixed seed for me, until I could pick up my black oil seed... My feed isn't anywhere near where Mamaw feeds the cows, but I saw a crow coming to the mixed seed... I assumed he was coming for the cracked corn... Now, that I have just the black oil seeds out, he/she is still coming... He doesn't bully the other birds... He waits till the little birds leave and then eats... Btw, the seed isn't in a feeder... Is in on a platform and deck railing. Cheryl ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Sweaney To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 12:34 PM Subject: [bcbirdclub] Re: Crow at the feeder I often have crows on the platform feeder that is located in my front yard. They also feed on the ground with smaller birds as well. Last winter one of my suet feeders was getting empty really fast. It was only about two and a half feet off the ground----one of the crows would stand on the ground under it and jump and flap to get high enough to get a good chunk of suet. It's been moved higher. Bob Sweaney Pike County ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bcbirdclub] Re: Crow at the feeder Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:07:01 -0500 David, In the 30+ years I have been feeding birds here on the mountain I have never had a crow on a feeder, though I have had them frequently walking around the yard. Don and Dawn Carrier in Bristol have crows that come in regularly to eat with the birds on the ground near their feeders. Maybe Don can tell us if he has had any actually on his feeders. I had 3 Fox Sparrows feeding on the ground yesterday. I'm hoping that at least one of them shows up today for the count. I also had one female Purple Finch and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It seems strange that you have a Yellow-rump eating suet. I suppose that we just don't think of warblers doing that. Of course at our elevation of a little over 2400 feet we don't have them around our place in winter. Of course it may have nothing to do with elevation, but more with a food source they prefer. Insects are more active at the lower elevations during warmer winter days. By the way, I would appreciate getting a copy of the list of birds counted this week-end from everyone for our growing database. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt ----- Original Message ----- From: David & Susan Raines To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 8:56 AM Subject: [bcbirdclub] Crow at the feeder I had an American Crow gorging on sunflower seeds at one of my platform feeders yesterday. This is a first for this 30 yr veteran bird feeder! Of course some of my recent sightings may be contributed to my 1st winter post retirement from teaching. I've really enjoyed being able to relax with a cup of coffee & checking out the birds coming in most mornings. I also had a Fox Sparrow show up the last 2 days. Hope he comes around today to be counted for the GBBC! I just spotted the Yellow-rump coming to the suet again-Alright! Good luck counters! Dave R-Breaks,VA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power. Play now!