Sir: I was really interested to read John Cryderman’s letter in The Chatham Voice, Jan. 12 issue. He has had a much longer acquaintance with the famous Chatham crows than I have. I only arrived here in September 2009, about the time Rob Seal and Kyle Dittmer, two waterfowl hunting buddies, had turned their gun sights to Chatham’s huge crow population.
I remember how they claimed killing 100 or more crows in a single day wasn’t uncommon.
Personally, I abhor culling wild animals so I have never taken much interest in killing crows. Although I know people who hunt wildlife, even a visit to a slaughterhouse sickens me.
As a 78-year old man, I may be regarded as a softie, but I do love all God’s creations, even if they do sometimes make a nuisance of themselves. As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter once said, “Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.”
But I am really fond of all live birds, including crows. I figure crows are one of the cleverest birds there is. They are very social and, unlike many humans, have tight-knit families.
Crows mate for life. They roost in huge numbers (in the thousands) to protect themselves from enemies like mankind, red-tailed hawks, horned-owls, and raccoons.
Crows also use at least 250 different calls, but unfortunately I am unable to identify many of them. However, there was a broadcaster in England in the 1950s, Percy Edwards, who could mimic many of them. The crow’s distress call brings other crows to their aid. Unlike many humans, crows will defend unrelated crows.
Yes, crows do have their enemies. Early historical records reveal the crow has long been synonymous with “despicable predator.” King Henry VII put a public bounty on the crow along with its relative, the rook.
The crow also had a special distinction in the U.S. during the Second World War, he was designated as an enemy of the American public and was subject to a widespread propaganda campaign that stated “black bandits” were robbing the nation’s farms of grain.
I read somewhere that sadistic Americans would hold crow shoots in the 1930s. Dynamite was also used to kill large numbers of crows in their winter roosts. In 1937, over 26,000 crows were killed in one roost in Oklahoma and in 1940 more than 328,000 crows were killed in roosts in Illinois. Trapping and poisoning were also used to limit crow numbers.
When I lived in northern Ontario, I loved the loon. But that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of our Chatham crows, which can attain flight speeds of 30 mph, with short bursts attaining 60 mph.
Their hearing is superb. Crows are very bold and aggressive.
In the wild, crows live six to seven years. In captivity they can live as long as 30 years.
Being omnivorous, their diet consists of almost anything: seeds, fruits, nuts, insects, mollusks, earthworms, eggs, nestlings, frogs, mice, garbage and carrion.
They are attracted to garbage dumps and have a well-known fondness for melons and corn.
I’m glad the municipality now insists on wheeled toter carts for residential garbage containers.
Stephen Beecroft
Chatham
