Spring marks one of my favorite times of year. Cherry blossoms abound, the rain smell sweet and the birds get busy putting their carpentry skills to good use. Starting early March, the silhouettes of crows with bill loads of timber or wads of soft material dot the skies as they shuttle back and forth to their nest tree. Like a townhouse development, these construction projects are over in the blink of an eye and soon, their bill loads of twigs will be replaced by food for their mate and, eventually, their insatiable young. Spotting these nests is both a great way to observe and engage with your local crow family and avoid unpleasant conflicts with protective crow parents. With a little knowledge and a bit of practice, tracking down your resident crow nest will become one of your favorite spring traditions in no time.
Nest construction and site selection
Nest construction begins in early March and will continue (as nests fail) through about June. It takes 1-2 weeks to finish a nest after which the female will lay a clutch of 2-6 eggs. Unlike similarly sized squirrel nests (aka: dreys) which are made of leaves, crow nests are made mostly of pencil-width twigs. A new nest is usually about 1.5 ft across and 8-10 in deep. After the bulk of construction is complete, they’ll line the cup of the nest with soft materials like grass, tree bark, moss, flowers, paper or fur. Once we saw a crow ripping out the hair of an outdoor mannequin, no doubt to use as lining material.
A crow gathers moss off the branches of a big leaf maple to use as lining material.
This bird toyed with this branch for a few minutes before rejecting it and letting it fall to the ground.
A sidewalk littered with twigs is good evidence that the nearby deciduous tree is a favorite among the local crows to pull branches from. I’ve only once seen a crow try and retrieve a branch it dropped, so these are all rejects.
Crows will nest in an astounding array of places, from the eaves of skyscrapers to the crooks of well concealed tree limbs. They can tower in the sky or be almost within reach. Most commonly, I see them built close to the trunk in the top third of Doug fir trees, but this is, of course, specific to the PNW. Both partners participate in nest construction. Helpers will aid to some degree but most of the work is left to the parents.
Differences among corvids
Crow, jay and raven nests are similar in shape and material but differ in overall size in accordance with the size of the bird. The main standout are magpies, which build incredible domed-shaped nests the size of a large beach ball. The nests require so much material, they can take as much as 40 days to build. Japanese jungle crows are another species of note, as they have a (relatively) new and problematic habit of building nests out of wire hangers and causing massive blackouts.
A Jungle crow nest in urban Japan. Photo: Götz
The magpie’s nest is the big clump in the middle of the tree.
Reuse
The life of a typical nest is only about 9 weeks (1-2 weeks of building, 6 days of laying, 20 days of incubating and 4 weeks of nestlings) though they are hardy structures and can remain intact in a tree for years. After the young fledge, the crows will not return to the nest. Crows will only use a nest once, and generally only fledge one brood a year. They will, however, build on top of an old nest particularly in areas where nest trees are especially sparse like downtown Seattle. This also appears to be more common in the Midwest.
Avoiding conflicts
Most breeding related dive bombs occur as the result of a person being too close to a fledgling, but some crows get feisty around their nest too. Crows in areas where they are less persecuted (like cities) tend to be more aggressive than their rural counterparts. If you know where a nest is and can avoid it, do so and save everyone the aggravation. Otherwise carry an umbrella or paint eyes on the back of a hat. Crows rarely attack from the front so having eyes on the back of your head can be an effective deterrent!
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Putting all this together to actually find nests, is one of the most rewarding moments an urban naturalist or crow enthusiast can have. Be warned though: crows are wary of potential predators (including people) spying on them and they have a few tricks for throwing you off, so don’t be surprised if a nest location you were certain of turns out to have been a ruse!
Can you spot the nest?
Have more questions? Let me know in the comments!
corvidresearch.blog 
So interesting! Although I travel around the US in a smallish motor home I’ll be on the lookout. BTW, you write beautifully.
Thank you, Peg! Feel free to share any crow stories you’ve accrued in your travels.
Best wishes,
I feed crows off my deck for amusement. Yesterday I noticed one on the steep roof by the attic vent with a bee harassing it. It was in a very strange position because it couldn’t stand up so it was almost laying down with its leg stretched out trying to reach its beak under the vent. Then something small rolled down the roof and it climbed down and collected it. Then it went back up and continued this behaviour until it came up with a business card sized grey or brown object and flew away. Could it be that the crow robbed a bees nest?
Hi Rj, you know, I really couldn’t say. I’ve never heard of crows doing that but it doesn’t mean they don’t! Wish I could say for sure…
Why do some crows nests suddenly burst into green growth. This is a common site in The UK, during early spring, where there are green nests the size of a basketball in the tree branches before the tree canopy springs to life with growth.
I have no idea Patrick! More of a plant question I suppose. Curious!
Fascinating! Just today, a lovely spring day in the PNW, I was in my backyard observing bird activities…Hawks, blue jays, chickadees, and of course crows, all vocal and active in their own ways. And yes, the crows were busy with their “twigging”, flying from tree to tree with the twigs in their beaks. It really is interesting to watch their activities, and no, I do not see the nest in the picture! ( is that a monkey tree?). Thank you for sharing your observations and insights 🙂
I always just say they’re “breaking branches” but “twigging” has a much nicer ring! I may steal that for myself 🙂 As for the Monkey tree nest…It’s just to the left of dead center. Look for the few out of place twigs nestled among the needles of the tree. Can you see it now?
Very interesting. I’ve watched crows on my honeysuckle bush, how they break off parts of twigs for their nests. Such helpful pruners! 🙂
Great post! I wouldn’t have guessed that crows won’t reuse their nests year after year. Seems like a lot of extra work!
Crows do reuse their nests, if they’ve already made them, but this looks like Canuck’s first-time around. Nest-building depends on the local food supply. When food is scarce, crows form family ‘packs’ like wolves. One pair becomes the breeding alpha-couple. The others don’t breed, but instead help the alpha’s feed their young. Where there’s more food, crows pair off — they mate for life — and divide the territory.
If you look closely at ‘Canuck’ with the dandelion, you’ll notice pink areas at the corners of his beak. That’s a sign of a younger bird. It darkens after about a year or so. Both sexes of crows build the nest, but the resident hen takes the lead. She also does the lion’s share of defending the pair’s territory. In the spring, you’ll see them facing off on the ground, making themselves look big, at the edges of their territory. Without an idea of Canuck’s relative size — the hens are much larger — it’s difficult to be sure of what ‘his’ sex is
Hi Allen, some of what you said is correct but some of it isn’t (assuming you’re talking about western species). Helping behavior, for example, is limited primarily by the supply of territories rather than food. Food is very rarely an issue for urban crows but space is at more of a premium. While helpers don’t generally breed, they do sometimes mate with the breeding female (even when they’re related). A young crow’s gape (the pink mouth corners) disappears after several month post fledging, but the mouth lining will remain pink for a year or more. In ravens this transition is mediate by dominance rather than age. The males does most of the territory defense while she incubates/broods but certainly the female will join. Males are larger than females generally by about 100-200 grams.
Cheers
We have a pair that has built a nest on a ledge outside our 3rd floor office window. There were 7 eggs – only 3 hatched. Don’t know where the other eggs went. They still have one alive. Don’t know where the 3rd disappeared to. One of the nestlings died in the nest. What do Ravens do when this happens?
Most of the time birds will toss dead nestlings out. With some species this may be difficult so the dead nestlings just get smooshed into the bottom of the nest cup. Wouldn’t be an issue for a raven though, they’re more than capable of removing them.
Very interesting reading your blog. I draw very detailed birds’ nests in graphite, but have never tackled a nest as large as a crows’ . Living in Australia, I have always wanted to draw a magpie’s nest. Friends give me nests they find which seem to be mainly those belonging to the wren family. I don’t suppose you have any crow’s nests you no longer need. Would be happy to pay the freight.
Hi Sue, I’m afraid sending a crows nest would be very much illegal under US law. We even need special permits to possess them. Happy to send lots of photos though!
This morning I observed a crow appear to attempt to give a pancake to a squirrel! The crow approached the crow sideways with the cake in its beak. The squirrel rebuffed the offer(it was busy eating bordered).
Hi,There,
I was wondering if you know of any corvid researchers in southern California? I live near Peck Park in San Pedro, California, which is simply a giant crow and ravin haven. It is a large nature reserve which is heavily wooded with trees and everywhere you turn it is full of crow society, crows songs, clucking, etc. You can walk along the trails and you will see crows on every trail. I was just thinking that the area is PERFECT crow study habitat.
Feel free to post this and edit at will.
Thanks, Carole Strunk
On Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 8:35 AM, Corvid Research wrote:
> corvidresearch posted: “Spring marks one of my favorite times of year. > Cherry blossoms abound, the rain smell sweet and the birds get busy putting > their carpentry skills to good use. Starting early March, the silhouettes > of crows with bill loads of timber or wads of soft materi” >
Carol, there’s a number of researchers at UC Davis, but they’re too north of you I imagine. Nothing close I can think of I’m afraid. Looks like you’ll have to conduct some citizen science!
Thank you for your reply. I will be happy to do so.P.S. I just realized I made a typo in spelling “raven” incorrectly. Oh dear of all the words to fumble here. : )
Do crows ever nest in an attic ??
Hi Jacqueline, I’ve never heard of that and I would be surprised if that was the case. In general, the animals you find nesting in your attic are cavity nesters in their natural setting which crows generally aren’t. They’ll definitely nest on the eaves of house though so it kinda of depends on how generous you’re being when you say the nest is actually IN your attic. What makes you think they are?
I actually found this blog today looking for similar information. I have a crows nest in the overhang of my roof on my one-story house in New Orleans. I’m certain they have attic access as I believe I understand the construction of my house, but it appears that they either found or created a hole in the overhang and the nest is on the edge. I first noticed it this past weekend while mowing the front yard. I haven’t seen the adults entering or exiting, but they have been on the roof and foraging on the ground near a lot more lately and less likely to fly off when I’m near. Now I know why, they are protecting the babes. I saw at least one small crow coming in and out of the attic. I don’t what stage of life it would be called. It’s considerably smaller than the adult, but looks like the adult in every other way.
I am actually wondering what to do. I’d like to fix the hole in my house, but obviously would like to let the baby crow get out on his own before I do so.
Suggestions? Any idea how long I’ll be waiting?
Hi Jonathan, that’s quite the problem. Generally, when crows get up out of the nest they don’t come back. This is called fledging. If you’re seeing the baby up and about it’s only a matter of days before it’s on the ground. Once the rest of its siblings (3-4 nestlings is typical) are out too, the nest is permanently vacated. You shouldn’t have to wait too much longer. It’s been 4 days since you posted this, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were already out!
Here in southeastern Illinois I’ve been getting acquainted with a mates pair of crows and finally today the male landed on my side mirror and flew a short distance away to caw at me. I haven’t fed them any unsalted peanuts in over a month and they let me know they were hungry. They are amazing and incredibly smart animals.
Hi! I’m attending college at Alfred State in upstate New York. The campus is home to at least a thousand crows. I’m going to make a hobby of mapping where the crow nests are on the campus, and this was some very helpful information! Crows are so beautiful! I may choose to befriend some of them. A few weeks ago there were a few pecking at a closed food container in the parking lot so I emptied the container on the ground for them then threw the container away.
You never know who might find that kind of information extremely helpful. Good luck!
Hi I live in the UK. I have an albino Carrion Crow who has just started what appears to be attempting to mate but he always does it after it has gone dark outside. Do crows normally mate late in the day
Hi John, I’ve only spotted them doing it during the day but then again, it would be tough for me to notice many mating events after dark so that biases my sample!
Live in Mukilteo, but currently in Florida enjoying the “eastern” crows and their different vocalizations. Lots of nest building activity here!
Hi Kaeli! Love your blog! Our neighborhood crows are doing just what you wrote, not reusing an old nest but building one above it higher in the tree. They seem to be reusing some of the twigs from the old nest. So excited to go to Japan this Spring. Hope to see lots of Jungle crows!
Hi I live in London (England) and work as a tower crane operator, a pair of crows have just finished constructing their nest on the jib (the long arm) of my crane, they seem to have laid their eggs now as one of the crows is constantly sitting on the nest. This is a busy building site and the crane is constantly moving but it doesn’t seem to deter the crows! I have been trying to do some research on dealing with crows nests as the crane will be dismantled soon. I’m hoping that by then the eggs will have hatched and fledged but I’m not sure what to do if they haven’t? I can’t seem to find much information over here.
Although they’ll be really aggressive your best bet might be to move the entire nest to a new location. A wedge in a nearby tree would be your best bet, or in a protected location on a building. This is often what is done if a nest is knocked down by a storm, so I don’t know why it wouldn’t work in this case. Let me know what you end up doing!
Ok so today I found 4 baby crows dead in my front yard and one more making it 5 across lying in the neighbors yard there insides where hanging out looked like there intestines all of them where found with there insides hanging out the backsides and some of the intestines where scattered around the yard the babies were killed but not eaten what could have happened we also found the best in our yard just sitting on the groun though still pretty intact I took pictures please email me back so I can send them to u
Hi Kathryn, has there been inclement weather? We’re the babies nestlings (mostly naked) or fledglings? If the former then it’s possible they died by whatever force was strong enough to knock their nest out of the tree. After that is sounds like scavengers got to them. If it was simply a predator then the nest would be intact. My best guess!
This was a missing plank on the outside of my apartment. I noticed that black birds flew back and forth. I quickly realized there was a nest there. It didn’t bother me until I heard scratching in my vent. Thats when I called maintanence. They filled the hole with some type of filler that hardened and spilled over. I was angry that they didnt check before filling. When the birds returned at the end of they day, they went wild. I feel so bad, knowing now that that was a nestling plave. I have small children here who play closeby. The area is actually above my patio. How long should I be concerned about possible retaliation? #sorrymamacrow.
Ps. The information you provided was very informative. I guess I have to paint eyes on my pit cover and umbrella!
Hi Lisa, you don’t need to worry about retaliation at all since you weren’t involved (from the crow’s perspective) in the threat to their young. They’ll give up soon and try to renest elsewhere. That is awful though, thinking they may have had nestlings that will now slowly starve to death. A good lesson that we can do better when dealing with wildlife conflicts.
We have been watching a crows nest from our office window for the past 3-4 weeks. We cannot actually look down into the nest, but by the birds behavior and the info we found online, we assumed the eggs were on the verge of hatching any day now. Today, we watched the two birds start to shake the twigs from the nest and fly away with two eggs carried away between their beaks. Is this a common occurrence, or has something gone wrong with the incubation?
Hi Tyler. Um no, this is not a thing known to crow science. Would you be willing to email me a more detailed account of what you witnessed? Or at least email me and I’ll tell you the details I would like (should you accept this challenge 🙂 kaelis@uw.edu. Thanks!!!
Later that night, two smaller crows were settled into the nest. We believe these were the original nesting crows, and there were two larger birds (we still think crows) that raided the nests and flew away with two eggs. This morning, the nest appears to be even more torn apart over the last 12 hours, and no crows have been seen at all. Do you think we witnessed a kidnapping? A murder? Or something else?
Under the eves of my garage, on top of last years blue jay nest on the large light was built another nest. Today I saw 2 med to small crows standing & sitting guard. There was a blue jay below on a bush crying loudly. Whose nest is it?
Hi Dana, you’ll need to watch it for a few more days and see who sticks around. If it’s in active now, it’s likely the crows were there in their capacity as predators. If they’re still around, then it’s their nest. Fun opportunity for some natural history!
I am in North Carolina. I noticed a very large pine straw nest in a corner of my eaves under my front porch overhand and I saw 3 large crows hovering around it yesterday. I want to clean it out but don’t know what’s in it because it’s in a dark corner area. When do they usually have their babies and leave the nest in this area?
Hi Bob, it’s variable enough that I can’t wager a guess as to your specific nest. For example, while many crows around here are fledging young, some are just building their nests. Just watch the nest for a few days. If there’s an adult bird consistently sitting in the nest, they have eggs, if the male and female are making frequent trips, they have nestlings, if you can hear lots of loud begging they’re older nestling and fledging will be in the near future. Hope that helps!
I have a crows nest in a dead tree in my yard. The young have hatched and gone. I want to remove this tree as long as they are done. Will they renest in it?.
They might, but not this year. That said, dead trees are invaluable habitat for lots of birds. From primary cavity nesters like woodpeckers to secondary cavity nesters like swallows, chickadees and flying squirrels, if there’s anyway for you to keep the tree I urge you to do so. The right arborist can help figure out how to cut the tree such that its presence is minimally dangerous, but still leave enough to make good habitat. If it’s possible please leave it! Thanks for your question
I would like to know how to make a crow leave/move their nest. It’s troublesome to have them build a nest in a cleavage at my rooftop.
There’s no way to legally remove a nest without going through fish and wildlife first. Once the breeding season is over, you can use netting or spikes to prevent future nesting attempts.
Usually how many of the eggs survive in a nest ?
From the day of hatching, when will the nestling start to fly?
I have been watching a pair of house crows nest of the 4 hatchling and only one survived to date, completed 25-26 days from the day it hatched, Waiting to watch nestling fly soon.
Thanks for your write-up was informative 🙂
Hi Rajasekhar, provided the nest is not depredated, the majority of the eggs and nestlings typical survive to the fledgling stage, as far as I know. I wonder what was responsible for picking off your nestlings. They typically fledge 30-45 days after hatching. They may remain flightless after fledging for up to a week, depending on how early they fledged. Hope that helps!
I’m teaching a k-5 grade class about the difference between squirrel and crow nests. You mentioned a few differences but do you know of more? Do you have any suggested resources. Thank you!
Squirrels prefer to nest in cavities but crows never will. That’s about all that I can think off the top of my head. You can check out this book though, which may offer more. https://www.amazon.com/Squirrels-Animal-Answer-Curious-Naturalist/dp/0801884039/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Y5N3BQVHCGM9VY8780G5
Hi Kaeli, our juniper has fallen down last week 😦 (due to heavy snow fall). The magpies in our garden used to build their nest in that tree every year so this is really a bummer. We want to plant a new tree this spring that the magpies are going to like to build their nest. Surfing the internet I found your blog. Do you have any ideas what might be a good choice? Or where I can find information about this? Many thanks in advance, Cat
Hello, I am interested in raising a crow. Near my house (few meters) are trees with many crow nests. Sometimes I see fallen out birds, also have tried to feed the little ones but with no success. I know that the first week feeding is a must (feeding from parent birds), but really have a “need” to raise at least one of them, – simply I like the crows. Thank you for the answer, regards, Attila from Subotica, Serbia.
Hi Attila, I don’t encourage hand raising of crows. There are crow facebook groups that would be more amendable to answering your questions though.
What A WONDERFUL web site! I live in Ventura, CA on the USA Cost in Southern California. I was fascinated to figure out that a pair of crows had nested in a neighbors tree, highly visible from my second story home office. Mom Crow has been sitting tight for the past 3 days, despite horrible storms and rains. I have a critter friendly water feature and one semi feral cat ( he has plenty of chow so no need to chase birds) so there is always healthy cat food available (after googling a bit found a brand that is ‘crow healthy’) both mom and dad crow seem to know me – I always announce when breakfast is served, and dinner too. I was not blessed with children so this experience is really exciting for me.
I feel like I’m participating but keeping a respectful distance. Although one of the crows tried to ‘break into’ the dryer vent on the side of my house – lol – so I just started leaving the ‘fluff’ outside near the food. And yes I use and organic detergent.
So thankful my crow family is safe after the horrible storm that passed through these past few days March 19 – 22, 2018
I live in rural Michigan, our 5 acres connect to the 40 acres of my father in law, most of it is woodland and we have A LOT of crows. Just today I happened to look out the bedroom window at the exact right time to find a pair building their nest in the tree not 20ft from the house! My husband LOVES crows so we’ve been “feeding” them for the past few years and watching them they gather in the trees to talk at each other for hours on end. We’re super excited about the nest and plan to leave out more food for the nesting pair and keep fresh water in the bird bath that is already set up not far from the nesting tree. 🙂
thank you for your bird habit. I love nature of the birds and hope to make small house to live them. I got some informations from your article.
We have witnessed a crow building a nest in our Hawthorne tree(20′) about two weeks ago. It is now gone! Not a remnant at all. Don’t know what could have happened.
PNW Seattle.
They sometime abandoned certain nest trees. Case specific as to the reason, but that’s not a unusual habit in birds generally
I live in Southern Oregon and was out of town for about a month. Upon my return I found a crow (I think) nest had been built under the center of the large sun umbrella on my patio. There is a brooding crow in it though I have not yet seen her mate. There is also a large Jay keeping an eye out for dining opportunities. I’d like to do anything I can to help the crows and their eventual little ones (despite the mess) and keep the Jay away. Any suggestions?
Crows will hammer the jay nests but it’s not so bad the other way around. I wouldn’t worry too much. Enjoy!
Thank you this is very informative info.
2 young crows are building a nest in my unused capped off chimney pot. In and out daily they go. Im fairly rural and have woods to the back and many crows Deer rabbit’s hedgehogs buzzards red kites all sorts of wonderful wildlife. The crows have been busy now for around 3 weeks building, however when I tell somepeople im leaving them alone Im met with a frowning faces! Also an abundance of negatives.
Have I missed something here? Im enjoying watching them do what they do.
Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge with us.
Best Wishes
Hi Liz, if you go to the “do crows kill songbirds” or the “Portland crow poisoning” post and look through the comments you’ll get an idea of the attitudes we’re often up against. It’s mostly based out of false or inflated perceptions about their damage to other wildlife or property. It’s wonderful to hear you’ve chosen another, more informed path. Enjoy those noisy babies!
A lot of people have this idea that crows are bad, my grandparents hate them, it comes from that generation most I find. They blamed crows for damage to their farm crops etc. when in fact it’s usually deer & other smaller mammals that do they most damage. They’re a very misunderstood creature. My husband drives a waste disposal truck & he helped one that got one of those plastic 6pk can rings stuck over its head & tangled in its wing, the crow then followed him the rest of the day while he did his route, landing on the truck side mirror at each stop. At the end of the day my husband told the crow he had better head back to his home now because he was going home too. The crow made a little caw then headed back in the direction where they met. Whenever he does that route he spots the crow following along the truck to say hi. We also now live in a rural area with a colony of them living in our woods, they’re very intelligent & they protect our property from redtail hawks, they attack the hawks in small groups to prevent them nesting in the area. We have 2 small dogs & an indoor/outdoor cat so keeping the redtails away is a matter of safety for our pets. I feed the crows daily & make sure they always have a clean water source. Treating them kindly goes a long way, you’re right to leave them be, ignore the people who don’t understand them.
There was one nest top of the tree for years, but suddenly few days ago i noticed it dissapeared. How is it possible. The weather was only small rain and sun was getting out, the same day the green leaves also started to grow on tree. I didnt see any nest pieces on the ground :O.
And most suprisingly the new nest was created with 1 day. How is this possible.
I don’t have a good answer for you ray. It’s possible it was dismantled by another animal. The new nest wasn’t completed in a single day (I promise that much) but if it’s late in their breeding season they can complete them with much more urgency than at the start!
thanks for the answer, but i think yes there were another crows also. They flied around that tree that who will get that place. They made had destroyed the nest and created new one.
But i have one more question. Do they build nest first and then start to mate to land eggs into there or its opposite. It doesnt seem to me that eggs are already in the nest at the moment
I work in a school and in the playground we have lots of trees ….. love watching the crows building nests I’ve counted 7 this spring .
Sadly twice found chic on floor … didn’t notice this last year ….why ?
Chicks out of the nest have typically been rejected by the parents. I can’t tell you why you’re noticing it more this year though.
I have a rookery of some 40 nests in sycamore trees and a Scots Pine directly behind my house. Some 100 yards from this a pair of rooks/crows built a nest in an ash tree at the start of of nest-building season. Very recently this nest has disappeared. Would the birds dismantle a nest to build anew??
Certainly some birds do this but I’m afraid I don’t know enough about rooks to give you an answer as to whether they will do that or not. I’ll look into it.
Amazed to see so many stories about crows’ nests. I have one in my bedroom outside window box. I had three cats and the last died on New Year’s Day, and it can’t be possible that they know it’s safe for them now (there were screens on my windows before that, but perhaps the cats sat there a lot; I don’t know) It’s so odd to creep up and try to see the mother crow sitting in the nest, especially at night. I don’t often see other crows with the mother, so I’m a bit confused about when/how safely she’ll have these babies. I’m on the third floor in Vancouver. I’ve tried to take one picture of her, but it’s hard and I don’t want to disturb her, and from the street the nest is hard to spot among the pots on the balcony. But is this odd to nest in plain view of windows and people, as they must know I’m in here?
Hi Marie, it’s less odd than you might think. I’ve seen them put nests on fire escapes, window flower boxes, building ledges, in trees just outside of windows etc. If the glass is reflective enough they may not really notice or care that you’re there.
I saw that I had a crow’s nest in my pine trees early spring. My neighbor was shooting bottle rockets towards the nest. I left for Georgia end of April and when I returned to Minnesota third week of May, the nest was gone. Not any sign of a nest material on thecground except for some clumps of pine needle branches which I thought was normal this time of year. Still signs of crows hanging around but nothing like before. Do they destroy nest after the young are hatched??
I agree that if your neighbor had been shooting at it you’s see evidence of the nest on the ground. But no, they do not destroy the nest after the young hatch.
Hello,
I am in the PNW, in a well-treed urban area with a large crow population. This morning, I saw that a pair were starting to build their nest in my cherry tree. This is a problem, as it is at my front gate. My question: how can I dissuade then from building there?
Crows are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so any intentional efforts to disrupt their nesting activity (once it starts) is a violation of federal law. Which is to say I legally can’t give you the advice you are seeking and warn that if you are reported for your attempts you could be looking at a multi-thousand dollar fine. Maybe instead I can help you figure out how to make their presence less problematic. What are you most concerned about?
Oh! I had thought that discouragement was okay if they are not yet in the nest (i.e., there are currently just a few twigs)?
I am concerned about potential aggression to people and pets– they are at the gate, the yard is small, I have 2 small dogs
If it’s still very early then you can knock it down. If you’re persistent then they will give up and find another spot. It’s really a gamble if aggression will be an issue or not though. I’ve had many homeowners in shock after I point out the nest on their property, they were completely unaware and found the birds to be quite secretive about it. From my perspective I’d be more worried about your dogs killing the young birds once they leave the nest and land in your yard.
Hello,
I am studying biomimicry in grad school and I am looking at the crows nest as one of the birds’ nest we want to study and characterize. Can I use the picture with you in it for my presentation to show the relative size of the nest?
Of course!
I could get you a perfect view of the crows nest near me– its on my window grill! I have a question, and I would appreciate any advice if you have the time. I came to my apartment after a week long holiday to find a nice, smallish dome shaped nest on my window grill. The very next and the day that followed, two baby blue crow eggs were laid. This has forced me to venture into a topic I never thought I’d have to research. This having to live in close proximity to each other has been an inconvenience for myself as well as the expecting couple who have to bear with my presence when I’m in the room. I’ve tried to ease their discomfort by feeding them now and then, so I can eventually get them comfortable enough with me sliding a quarter of the right hand side of my sliding window to let some air in. The nest is on the left. Evertime I open it though, one of the crows caws at me. I’m not sure what to make of it, are they asking for food or asking me to back off?
Does it sound like they’re upset, like if you had to guess?
SO. Somewhat unrelated but, I found your blog through many worried google searches. I was walking to my local coffee shop and got attacked by 3 crows and after much much googling the only explanation is that I walked too close to their nest hidden in a tree! I sprinted away and they followed for about 0.2 miles and then left me alone. I know they remember faces really well and will attack again if they see you. Am I completely doomed? I didn’t hurt them or their young in any way, just walked a little too close 😦 should I bring them treats as a peace offering? Do crows forgive???
No, no, they’ll settle down after the breeding season. You’re not doomed! That said, it never hurts to be extra cautious and throw them some peanuts 😉
I live in small townhouse in white centar west seattle there’s a little tree right in front of may house there’s a new nest. But the crow start following my wife. Screaming
Just being a protective parent. Give it space if you can and trust that it will calm down as the summer winds down
Thank you, love your blog. Do crows nest in palm trees? We live in an apartment complex with very lush landscaping and mature trees including palms. We cannot see where any nests could be built, but all year long there are an abundance of crows everywhere. Every day in summer we see groups of three mostly on the far rooftops flying back and forth from the palm trees. We hear this loud cawing and fighting then a gagging sound. Observing them for a while, it is clear a “mom” is stuffing food in the mouths of babes ??!! Seems to be a ritual where the three dance up and down the gutters fight and bawk then one gets the prize … something shoved down his/her throat. Trying to get a video on my phone.
They sure can!
Has the nesting season for crows ended yet in London
Yes, fledglings will be around but no one will sitting on nests anymore.
Thank you for this most informative information about Crows. I feed them daily and would love to see a Crows nest. We have three crows that frequent our yard daily.
You’ll see them blossom from the trees come October when all the leaves have all fallen. Then in spring watch for that stick carrying behavior and follow them to find active nests!
Hi there!
We saved 3 nestling crows when the wind broke the tree with their nest in neighborhood, the nest was spoiled and we replaced it in cardboard box lined with a cloth.. The parents were near so we left it at our terrace to safeguard it from stray cats. Now one of the crow died while the other two can stand up now…
Why did it die?its too sad! Should I need to replace the cloth(its became dirtied with their excreation) would the other two be in danger? Is the cardboard box is not suitable for them?
PS. The IDK if it’s parents but there r several crows protecting them.
Nestling dies for all kinds of reasons. They’re just incredibly vulnerable. Unless you fed it there’s no reason to think anything you did caused it. Sounds like you followed pretty textbook good practice of wildlife rehab. The parents will deal with the excrement so don’t worry about that. How old would you guess they are? If you have no idea how to gauge that just describe to me how covered in feathers they are…
Do crows live in a rookery like rooks or are their nests more solitary?
Good question! Rooks are the only Corvus species that nest communally. All the other species establish their own territory.
I need to know whether crows make nests in cold areas ? means, kashmir areas and if they will which trees and areas will they prefer ? is it cold areas or warmer areas of kashmir ?
Hi Ali, I’m not sure I fully understand your question so feel free to clarify if I miss the mark. I am also not super familiar with Kashmir outside of the bit of googling I just did so it will be more difficult to answer your question. But the best I can do is to offer that (as a reminder) crows breed during the summer season so areas that are super cold during the winter could still provide nesting habitat during the summer. I guess what I’m saying is when you say “do crows make nests in cold areas” if by cold areas you are talking year-round cold areas, or areas that are seasonally very cold. As I see Kashmir includes part of the Himalayan range I will also offer that crows will not typically nest in cold, high elevation areas. Does that help?
A few days ago, two crows were pushing moss off the branches of a tree with their bills and letting it fall to the ground. Can you explain what was happening? Thanks!
Hi Debbie, I actually just did an instragram post about this. They like to pull moss off of trees in search of the insects living under it. Personally I think it’s a pretty adorable way to find food!
The roof guttering on my home regularly fills with debris, I find clumps of moss on the ground nearby that Magpies & Sparrows have helpfully turfed out while looking for ‘goodies’ 🙂