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Re: winter Fish Crows




Observers should describe the call (literally on paper). Simply saying
"I heard the call; I'm familiar with the call" is not suitable. Describe
on paper what calls were heard. [This goes for any bird that is heard
calling -- literally describe the call heard.] Also, it is very
important to mention the habitat. Fish Crows are seldom found at any
time in the Piedmont around agricultural areas -- fields, croplands,
etc. They are often around garbage dumps, cities, residential areas, and
of course water such as lakes. But, surprisingly, more Fish Crows in
Raleigh hang around downtown and other areas where there is garbage than
around lakes such as Falls, Jordan, Wheeler, etc.

The Fish Crows in Wake County hang around until late Nov and early Dec
and return in February, sometimes in late Jan. They have been downtown
where I work for several weeks now. Raleigh has had them on several
CBCs.

Flock size, size of the bird, etc., is tricky. Yes, a flock of 50 or
more birds is often a flock of Fish Crows. But, calls must be heard for
a positive ID, at least on a CBC in the Piedmont. Any quick, abrupt "ah,
ah" call is a Fish Crow. The longer, drawn out "ahhh" call is generally
Fish Crow, and this is the call made by young Am. Crows. But, that call
heard in winter should be a Fish Crow.

Harry LeGrand
CBC Editor

Norman Budnitz wrote:
> 
> At 06:10 PM 2/21/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >A few Fish Crows sometimes winter in Raleigh at the dumps, but elsewhere
> >in the Triangle they're normally absent.  They've never been on a Chapel
> >Hill, Durham, or Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count!
> 
> One party tentatively reported Fish Crows on the Jordan Lake (NC) 1999
> Christmas Count.  I dismissed this report rather quickly, knowing that this
> would have been a first count record and that none had ever been reported
> on the other local counts (Durham and Chapel Hill).  Perhaps I was too
> quick in my judgement.
> 
> However, if we are going to accept Xmas Fish Crows in the future, we will
> need to have some pretty thorough evidence.  This will not be easy.
> 
> Does anybody out there have advice for what observers should look
> for?  Size alone is certainly NOT a good enough field mark.  Fish Crows
> tend to hang out in small to large flocks, but so do American Crows in
> winter.  And if there are Fish Crows in the Piedmont, there may just be one
> or two.  The "car car" or "aw aw" calls are better, particularly if
> repeated over some period of time, not just once or twice.  But is that
> sufficient information for a winter ID?
> 
> Norm
> ***********************************************
> Norman Budnitz         919-684-3592 (day)
> nbudnitz@duke.edu      919-383-0553 (eve)
>                         919-660-7293 (fax)
> 
> (work)  Department of Biology, Duke University
>         Box 90338, Durham NC 27708-0338
> (home)  4115 Garrett Drive, Durham NC 27705-8005
> 
> PROGRESS: the victory of laughter over dogma.
> (Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas)

-- 
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net