FREE PRESS • January 19, 2021
It’s fascinating to watch legions of crows go about their daily business, flying to join large night roosts that can house hundreds or more wintering birds. By mid-afternoons, you may notice steady lines of crows heading toward the roosts. With each new dawn, crows fan out across the midcoast to visit familiar feeding areas. A daily group of seven crows visits my yard around 7 a.m. Crows tend to maintain family or multi-generational relationships that afford them social benefits and collective physical security. While birds can groom their feathers independently, they can’t reach their head or the back of the neck. Grooming those hard-to-reach areas is only possible through wing-rubbing actions or scratching at them with the foot. Birds seem to do better with some degree of mutual assistance. ~ Don Reimer