Quick update on the crow platform. (By quick, I mean the whole thing might not show up in your email…so click through to Substack.)
Going to cut to the chase…there are been ZERO crows lured to the platform for either peanuts or the super cool UV glazed bobbles.
But, something pretty extra cool surfaced in place.
Just a few days after I put up the crow feeding station with the trail cam - I caught a little flash of something. I had to zoom in to see it was…an Eastern Bluebird! And when I looked even closer there was a second one flying over the corn stubble too.
We have Bluebirds here. They stay here year round, which makes me feel special (most of them migrate away for winter). We have two Bluebird houses up, but they are often taken over by house sparrows. (Gross). I’ve never caught a bird on the trail cam in the field before, but mostly because there’s never been any sort of platform for a bird to perch on.
I watched for the next few days and there were a couple of Bluebird visits each day. Time for action. A new grand plan. Let’s do it.
It was a particularly warm weekend so I took down the bird houses and moved one out to the realm of the crow platform and trail cam. I was really excited for the chance to have a successful Bluebird hatch!
I reinstalled the second house on the edge of the new prairie we’re prepping. So far it’s housed two sparrow nest attempts. I think I have to move it further away from the human house.
Less than three hours later, the Bluebirds returned! I was hoping they were excited to find this new real estate. It was so fun to see a pair up close. I also love this little landing pose.
The bird house did not deter the deer, but they did spend a few nights checking out the new installation. Sometimes the deer look so silly on the trail cam.
The darker blue birds are the males. The females are a lighter, softer color. Honestly, I didn’t realize the trail cam picked up such good color.
I spend days and days just watching the camera. I was still watching (and hoping) for crows. But the Bluebirds were pretty mesmerizing - and very regular - so I was happy to welcome them to the neighborhood.
I walked up to the bird house a few times over the next few days. I brought up a little feeder for the Bluebirds since the ground was still pretty frozen and there wasn’t much alive hanging around. All seemed well in the neighborhood.
Sometimes I check the trail cam in the morning for fun nighttime visitors. Mostly just deer, but sometimes I hope for a racoon or a coyote. I’d love to see a coyote!
Then there was this! A weird blurry white image with a little bit of furry looking outline. It was either something very, very scary - or a curious deer who really wanted to get up close and personal with the crow platform.
I mostly thought it was funny because some friends had been joking they were going to dress up in scary costumes and visit the trail cam at night (terrifying) - so I felt quasi-prepared for something weird. But I didn’t think much about it until…
…until I saw the first daytime photos and noticed the frame of the image was off. That the deer must have nudged the whole platform over a bit. This was not surprising because 1) deer are big and strong and 2) the ground was so frozen I couldn’t get the t-post in and had to brace it with a step-in post and lash them together. Read: not very stable.
I didn’t think much of it and didn’t feel any need to fix it. I could still see the birds.
But then the ground thawed a little and the t-post shifted even more. And then it got really windy. Windy enough to blow the platform around. This became apparent…immediately.
Who knew clouds move fast/enough to trigger a trail cam? I know because there were a lot of cloud photos. A nice blue sky isn’t that bad though. But this angle was a little too intense for my bird friends and they didn’t come visit too often.
But they did come sometimes.
Finally went to go set things straight, and figure out how to prevent the spinning! I also really like visiting the camera to see what it picks up.
I did the best I could, but it was windy and there was no real way to secure the platform and prevent it from spinning…so we had a lot of this…the platform (and the camera) spinning to fun new angles.
Finally FINALLY had a chance to get things set up again. After the snow. After the March very low temps. To celebrate the victory, I asked Roux to pose so you could see the full setup.
Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed (or if I want to be distracted) I just check on the cam. My absolute favorite is when a bird is just peering straight at the camera. Goodness cuties! Like a little bird photo bomb.
As of a few days ago, there was still no nest material in the house. In theory, they start nesting in mid-late March. But when I came out one day this week there were at least four Bluebirds that scattered from around the house and crow feeder when I walked up. Bluebirds are super territorial. Aggressively so. If I can’t have this house, NOBODY CAN! So I think they just all try to scare each other way - all the time. I hope someone moves in soon. And get left alone!
During the windiest times a few peanuts will blow out of the feeder. They are easy to spot on the ground and put back in the feeder. I just noticed two of the three crow trinkets are no longer in the feeder. What? I am guessing they fell out in the wind…but wouldn’t it be cool if a crow snuck in and stole one without even being caught on camera? (A girl can dream).
Honestly, not sad about the crows when I get to see this…
Also (duh) Roux needed to make a cameo. She was not happy about this.
The ground is warming here. I heard the first peepers on Thursday. I saw my first earthworm on the sidewalk at work last week. And the birds know it’s spring too…with all the fixings to show for it. (Can’t believe this guy was so willing to show this great catch to the camera.)
That’s it! That’s the latest on the crows! The crows are actually Bluebirds! Cool.
I’ll keep you posted on Bluebird nests in the houses. And I’ll keep you posted on crows. If you have any hot tips on how to attract crows, I’d love to know.
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Listening: 3 key moments that led to the U.S.-Iran war, Throughline
Reading: Creating A Perennial Garden in the Midwest, Joan Severa
Watching: We finished Scarpetta, it was okay
Noticing: No ticks since last weekend (that I’ve seen).
Tidbit: Dun Dun
Who needs crows 🤷?
🐦⬛vanessa
I love all of this! Thank you for the update!
As a crow lover and also a realist, I gotta say, you might need to pick one type of bird over the other, and generally speaking (from an ecosystem perspective), those bluebirds thriving and reproducing are going to be better than the crows. Crows don’t eat insects or other pests the way species more beneficial humans do, unfortunately.
If you attract the crows, it will likely deter other smaller birds (crows are known to eat the eggs of other birds). And it would be sad town if those bluebirds got deterred!
I stopped feeding our crows because they were SO demanding! I was feeding them three times a day. Then the ravens showed up and they just hung out all day long, borking for snacks. But the other birds didn’t want to come at all.
I stopped putting out snacks for the big ones and concentrated on filling the water bowl. And now we have so many smaller birds coming! The crows still come by, and so do the ravens, but they get a drink and leave, and the bowl is more open to the goldfinches and the warblers and the thrushes and the towhees and the juncos and the phoebes.
Long story short, YAY BLUEBIRDS!!!!!