At the end of February, I was doing my usual walk around Riverside Lawn when I suddenly heard, and then saw, a significant number of Crows – around 20 or so – which qualifies for a murder of crows around here. This is certainly more than I have seen together locally for years. They reminded me that I have not been down to see the Lakefront Crows for over a year and my visit was long overdue.
So last Saturday morning I took off for downtown with peanuts and the Crows’ favorite cookies (peanut butter-oatmeal-raisin). It was a beautiful day. Maybe too beautiful. It was all I could do to find a total of 5 individuals.
There were two Crows around Jackson Park who noticed me but did not approach the food I left. I am sure I made an observant squirrel quite happy.
So I crossed DuSable Lake Shore Drive to walk along the lakefront, hoping to see at least a few Crows north of Monroe. On previous visits I perceived that this was a separate territory for a different group of Crows,
In the water, there were only one or maybe two female Red-breasted Mergansers.
But as I rounded the path going north toward the Columbia Yacht Club, I heard and saw a couple Crows. As I approached them, they seemed to perceive myt intent to feed them. But all total, there were only 3 individuals.
I was at least gratified to see that one Crow appreciated the cookies.
Then I made my way to the end of the dock to see if there were any more ducks. No ducks, but plenty of Ring-billed Gulls.
After the Gull Frolic a couple weeks earlier I was not in any mood to pore through the gulls too carefully to see if any other species were present. As I walked back toward the shore, I spotted a very content-looking House Sparrow and took his photograph.
Having nearly failed at my mission, I decided to return home. I took one last parting shot of the skyline before descending into the underground parking garage.
Incidentally, before I left that morning, it was perhaps more interesting in my backyard. I looked out the kitchen window and saw a dead rat. I went out to remove it immediately. Take my word for it as I am not prone to photographing such things: it was a miserable sight. The rat’s mouth was open and covered in blood, indicating severe internal bleeding. I realize this is the objective of rat poison, which I do not use but there are plenty of rat bait boxes in the alley.
Five or ten minutes after I got back in the house and looked out the kitchen window again, an immature Cooper’s Hawk landed in the yard in the same spot where the rat had been. It kept looking around for something. I can only surmise that it had flown over earlier and had seen the rat lying there. I am so glad I saw the rat soon enough to dispose of it or likely this beautiful hawk would have been poisoned.
I was able to get a couple clearer shots through the porch windows when the hawk moved into a tree, before it saw something else and took off.
So go the trials of attempting to provide space and support for wildlife in an urban landscape.
As for the Lakefront Crows, I don’t know what to think. It could be I was just there too late in the season or it was the wrong day. It also crossed my mind that if nobody else was feeding the Crows along the lakefront downtown, perhaps they are congregating somewhere else. I will have to think about when or whether I want to try this again. I can’t go downtown often enough to build up a following anymore. It’s likely unrealistic to think the Crows are going to be looking out for me forever. I do miss their company.
One last photo of a Ring-billed Gull flying overhead.
The unseasonably warm weather last week provided for some interesting and unusual sights last week more locally, and I will try to be back soon with them. For now, I dread setting the clocks ahead an hour Saturday night before getting up early the next morning to sing.
So glad you removed the poisoned rat in time!! We had a similar experience a few weeks ago with a sadder outcome. Portland has had an “outbreak” of rats on the waterfront after a combination of recent construction and a clearance of a large homeless encampment. I am sure the city hired a pest control company to set poison out.
We live less than 3 miles from the area in question. One evening as we were having a pre- dinner snack and watching the marsh, I saw a crow fall out of a neighbors tree onto the ground. Of course I went to rescue it (I’m a huge fan of crows) but it was in extremis – so I moved it to a warm room in our basement. It died sometime that night. I’m sure it had been poisoned by the rat control campaign.
I wish more people were aware of the serial deaths (and suffering) that warfarin poison causes.
Thanks so much for your comment, Ann. How tragic, to have a crow fall out of a tree like that and die in spite of your care for it. I have been thinking all week about whether any of our small attempts to mitigate the damage we humans have caused by destroying habitat with lawns, lighting and roads, to name a few, may be futile exercises to make us feel better.
So Illinois Audubon certified my postage-stamp-sized property as a bird and butterfly sanctuary last year. While I have no intention of restoring it to its lawn-covered, treeless existence when I bought it, and I keep throwing away the flyers from landscape maintenance outfits, I have to wonder how much good my little plot creates when contrasted with all the “normal” lots around it. The return of the bees and other pollinators this spring will undoubtedly renew my faith that I am at least offering a little haven from their extinction. And more people are becoming aware of the importance of planting natives, etc. I used to say to people as they were walking through the yard on tours that if only the whole block tore up their lawns and planted natives, I wouldn’t have to put up bird feeders…
Meanwhile, at least the goldfinches have been thanking me every morning. They will disappear soon and I will be cutting back on the amount of food I put out for everyone else as the native plants return.
I also think that climate change is confusing wildlife, which may have more to do with the absence of crows on the lakefront downtown. They may be busy nesting already…
I have been managing to keep rats out of the yard with peppermint spray – at least I’m making it less comfortable for them. But I don’t know how to make it a friendly place for wildlife except “No Trespassing For Rats.” The burrows are another story altogether. But poisons of any kind are bad for everyone, including us.
Sorry to hear about your low crow count experience along the lake front. As I saw and read about how you tease the crows with your eatable treats it made me think of how you seemed rather concerned about the man who kept putting bird seed in a number of spots along the trail at Portage. But all of those treats are better than seeing even a rat die of poison and the consequences that can have on other animals. City life and humans needs often clash. I have no answers. You at least got to see more gulls and maybe can spend some time going through all the pictures to see if any interesting gulls show up. I was at Wheeler NWR yesterday looking for Whoopers, no luck. I think they are all heading up north. The Sandhills were flying over Portage by the hundreds earlier this week.
Thanks, Bob. You raise a valid point. What is my justification for feeding crows on the lakefront? It’s simply how we got to know each other, and they are far smarter than I am. What I like about feeding the crows, in addition to their intelligence, is that they tend to cache and stash the food quickly, leaving no mess behind. I can only hope the first two crows eventually checked out the first offering I put out for them, but I did not go back to check.
I am thinking that perhaps the warmer weather has confused the crows as much as the rest of us and altered their schedule.
The Portage is different from the lakefront parks downtown in that it is set aside for wildlife and it’s not the place to feed critters. I am glad the man who used to put out food for the deer moved away. Unfortunately, the deer still seem to be rather too tame for it. But there again, the Portage is basically just a smidgen of habitat in the middle of roads and buildings and train tracks and, well…the return of the birds every spring to raise families there makes us feel better. And the crews have been out in force lately burning, attempting to make it even better.
I had several flocks of about 900 Sandhills on Monday in Riverside. I haven’t seen any Whoopers either but there were plenty of Sandhills every day the winds were blowing from the south.