Crows and otters and turkeys, oh my!

I spent a lot of this weekend on the road - traveling to Orono to do some Christmas caroling with friends, then to my father's house to drop off Christmas presents early, and then I enjoyed some quiet time at home yesterday morning.  During all of this activity, I simply wanted to get into the holiday spirit and get all of my holiday cards, wrapping of gifts, etc. done in the process. But, in looking back over the weekend, I had some interesting wildlife "encounters" that I wanted to share with you.

The first occurred on my way to Orono. While driving up the interstate, just passing the first Waterville exit, I was stunned by the number (in the hundreds, if not more) of crows I saw flying over the road and perching in the trees. There must have been 100 crows in one tree alone just off the highway.  As I got further down the road, toward the bridge over the river, I saw a huge line of crows flying across the clear blue sky, all headed toward those same trees that were now behind me.  I talked to my boss, Allison, about this and she said she will explain this phenomenon to me later today - so I will be able to then share that information with all of you.  Have any of you seen these birds?  I have seen crows before, of course, by not in these numbers in such a small area. 

Then on Saturday, when I arrived at my father's house in Sabattus, he said to grab the binoculars and look down into the stream behind his house - it is a small outlet from Sabattus Lake that runs through town and behind my dad's yard.  I was so excited to see three otters - three fairly large otters - frolicking in the water and chasing each other over and around logs that were in the water.  I am not sure I have ever seen an otter in the wild - and it was a great way to spend the afternoon.  What do you see for wildlife in your backyard?

And speaking of wildlife in your/my yard - I woke up Sunday morning and looked out across the yard and counted 32 wild turkeys!  I know wild turkeys aren't much of a rarity to see in Maine anymore, but these birds had been around last winter and I hadn't seen them in months, so I was thrilled to see them again.

While talking about wildlife, I also want to remind folks that the cold weather and even some snow has arrived, so please don't forget about your birds - I bought suet and more birdseed yesterday because I was out, and knew that the birds would be looking for food, especially now in the cold and snow.

Have a wonderful holiday season and let me know what wildlife you see in your yard or your travels during this time of year.

Beth

Comments

[Jonas]

You guys are lucky tohave energy experts, toxics experts, water experts AND BIRD EXPERTS all on your staff!

[Sally]

I have seen this many times and wondered what they were doing. Thanks for the answer, Alison, and for your post about the other wiildlife, Beth. Interesting.

[NRCM Admin]

It is interesting, the number of people who have this kind of “crow encounter.” A friend described one to me just last night! Here’s what’s going on:

In the evening, crows get together to roost. Although many bird species do this, crows tend to be loud, and they're large birds so when they roost near you, you tend to notice! The reason for their roosting is not known for sure but it's thought that it may have to do with "safety in numbers," or that it improves the likelihood that they will find food. There are other possible reasons, too, and much more about crows and their fascinating behaviors, which you our bloggers can read about at my friend/former colleague's website. Dr. Kevin McGowan is one of the world's top experts on crows. He and I were at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology together, before I moved back to Maine. To learn more about crows and their roosting, see his page at: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm#roost

When I was living in Ithaca, a massive crow roost of 50,000 or so birds was discovered in the nearby town of Auburn, NY. There was a lot of controversy around it. I saw recently in the New York Times that this has continued. You can read the article at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DB1238F931A35751C0A9659C8B63 Kevin also has some links at his website, I think. Anyway, have fun learning more about the fascinating phenomenon of crow roosts!

Allison