question for twitchers?

[strollon]

what is it between owls and crows, for the second time in two years i have seen a crow chasing an owl (during )daylight hours making such a noise. The first time during a bumble in a wooded area the crow would just not give up. Today driving home from work on a back road an owl i see regular was being chased by a crow the noise from the crow drowned out steve wright in the afternoon!


strollon

 

[British Red]

The behaviour is called "mobbing". Its often done by corvids (members of the crow family) on owls. Other birds do it too. Essentially they are driving off a predator that would eat thier young (or they fear that they would), I have seen (and photographed) the same behaviour of crows attacking buzzards and other raptors. The most extreme example was watching crows mob and buffet a bald eagle. Not only did they drive it off, they forced it to land. When I saw it flying in later, it was one deeply, deeply unhappy eagle! Theres some pictures around here somewhere of that.

Interestingly in the old days, falconers would often tether an owl so that other birds gathered to mob it. They would then release a falcon or hawk to catch the birds that had gathered to mob the owl.

Hope that helps

Red

 

[pothunter]

Just a side note, a while ago out rabbiting I was working my way along a small river, the Teme as I rounded a bend from a depression rose a buzzard, as I got closer to the point from which the buzzard rose I saw a crow, the crow that got to close, it was still warm and intact. Crows don't get it their own way all of the time.

Pothunter.

 

[JonnyP]

It is a bit strange...I have seen crows having a go at buzzards and herons but they leave seagulls alone...? But I have seen common terns having a go at every seagull that comes anywhere near their nest.. A friend of mine has a great photo of a tern plucking out a tail feather of a herring gull in mid flight, poor old gull looked terrified..
I think the reason crows attack is a territory thing. There are lots of crows around here and I often see one or two having a go at a buzzard, even in the winter when there is no nesting. I think they just don't like any competition on their patch...They will sometimes mob one of their own..
The rooks do love our feeder though..

Same with herons, though I have heard some folk say the reason crows attack herons is to try to get it to drop its catch. Personally I don't believe this as I have not seen a heron flying with a fish etc in its beak, but who knows..

 

[Mike Ameling]

There's an old term that was used to describe a flock of crows - a Murder of Crows.

They just don't like anything that might be seen as competition in their claimed territory, or anything that might be a predator of them.

I've seen them pestering the bald eagles that roost here in my valley, along with the owls and the hawks (before the eagles moved in). And they seem to make a game of chasing some of the squirrels - who also seem to chase right back.

But every once in a while, one of those eagles will suddenly flip around, and a crow will fall to the ground. And I've seen the eagles also chase various crows. If you think they squack loudly when they are pestering an eagle (or owl), you should hear them when they are being chased! Hmmm ... kind of sounds like a lot of street/gutter trash running around in the cities.

Mikey - who loves a good crow shoot out here in the Hinterlands
(in the proper hunting season of course - and no, I don't literally "eat crow" - just figuratively)