It was a morning just like this one that grabbed my interest in the crows. I was curious what all the excitement was outside as they were all talking when the family flew in from the roost.

I have learned a few things since then. And one thing I do know is these crows have been making noise in the morning since before any of us were on this earth and this is what crows do. The sound of the birds in the morning does not bother me as much as the sound of people and loud vehicles. Right now, there is a raccoon in one of the trees that the crows have nested in, so the crows are upset about losing their babies to the raccoon. The raccoon will take this nest over now and probably sleep in it for the day and even return to sleep tomorrow. When the raccoon does this, the female crow gets so upset by it she will not stop cawing all day at the raccoon. When crows hold a territory, there is usually one couple that is the mating couple and their young from the last 2 or 3 years, but I have read about crows staying with their parents over 5 years before, even longer. The crows from the years before help with the feeding of the mother during incubation and then the caring for the young when they are hatched. The young have to eat every 15minutes to half hour to survive. Raising a fledgling crow can be a full-time job for the family. 

Crows are quick to remove anything that they see as a threat, and if they can not remove you, they will let you know you are not welcome in their territory. Crows only act in this way when their hormones are high, so it’s only during the nesting season. Crows live by season. Every season is different for them. The Nest building is in the works anytime from early February to late April, and this year even the end of May. The month of May June beginning of July they are caring for the new family members and the parents live in the nest tree for that time and the helpers fly to roost every night but back first thing in the morning. From the middle of July to the end of August, when the newly fledged are strong enough to fly to roost, the crows will start staging at the end of Topaz drive in Chilliwack. This usually takes place starting in the month of June, and goes till October from my observation. November–March, large groups of American Crows can often be found hanging out with the gulls in the mall parking lot or in the fields or at the garbage dump. During the months of January, February and the start of March is when you will see the most crows hanging around. But just because you see them around does not mean they reside here. Crows are very social and like to hang out with their friends and their families, and in the winter months they like to forage in fields all together. On almost any main road you drive on in Chilliwack, you end up at a field that grows corn or is used for some agricultural purpose. The area I live in, Knight Road, is a main road in my community. It is 2.6km long and at both ends there are fields and right in the middle there is another field. I do not ask why or point the finger at anyone because these crows are here, these crows belong here.   

Something that all crows do. Maybe it is instinctive or taught to them by their parents, but I know crows all over the world do this thing called staging. This is when they congregate before they fly to roost. When they are gathering, the crows fly in in large numbers from as far as 50 km away and they gather in the trees and on roofs and they call out to each other and race across the corn in a duo like when you watch professional skaters skating together. But these are crows flying in sync together and they are showing off while they have the attention of all the other crows. The crows gather to socialize and the adults talk together about their day and their newly fledged get to meet other newly fledge crows just flying to roost for the first time as well and probably will make life-long friends while they are staging.

There are so many people who like to dislike crows but do not even know a thing about them or their lives. These people’s complaints should be deemed illegitimate and they should be told to take a look at where they live and be shamed for complaining due to the fact they are being ignorant and what is that saying…

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”.  Martin Luther King Jr.