The biggest crow just attacked my chimney!

[thunderhead]

I figure because it was shiny and crows like shiny things? Wanted to fight its reflection?

So I'm just sitting here doing my work from home like a good social distancer and then a godawful racket starts coming from the stove/chimney. I think at first a bird has flown in... but I go to investigate and a HUGE crow flies off after presumably clawing and biting at the pipe! I have never seen a crow/raven or whatever it was this big. Not quite the size of an eagle/hawk but still much bigger than I thought they could get. A good 3-4 foot wingspan I'd say... must have weighed 3 or 4 pounds, maybe more. About the same body volume as my cat(though presumably lighter).

Anyway the chimney is still attached, straight, and only has a small dent and a few scrapes in it(unclear if they existed already or the crow put them there). A crow couldnt cause significant damage to the exterior chimney pipe, could it?

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a raven. They sometimes will challenge a mirror reflection as an adversary. If only a minor dent it's probably ok.

 

[Highbeam]

A chicken, all gutted and plucked, is often over 6#. That bird sounds bigger.

 

[peakbagger]

Raven can get quite large and yes they can get aggressive although normally they are quite vocal before actually attacking.

 

[begreen]

A chicken, all gutted and plucked, is often over 6#. That bird sounds bigger.

Had to look that one up. The chicken has been bred for extra meat. A raven is much leaner. The average raven weighs about 2.5 lbs, though they can go up to 4.4 lbs. Their wingspan ranges from 3.3 to 4.9 ft!

 

[Sawset]

We have bluebirds that will attack the SS chimney pipe, for hours - just keeps coming back for more. Aggressive little tweets.

 

[PaulOinMA]

A woodpecker was going at our metal chimney cap a week ago very early morning. Woke us up. Both cats were staring at the fireplace in our bedroom.

 

[Highbeam]

Had to look that one up. The chicken has been bred for extra meat. A raven is much leaner. The average raven weighs about 2.5 lbs, though they can go up to 4.4 lbs. Their wingspan ranges from 3.3 to 4.9 ft!

In WA we are allowed to hunt crows. There's a season. But ravens are off limits. So the game laws make a point of teaching the subtle differences. The tail is round vs. square, the call is more deep cluck vs. caw and of course physical size. I'm sure a lot of ravens have been shot on accident. They don't hang out at mcdonalds eating french fries but you see them way up in the mountains away from people. Much more graceful animal I think.

 

[moresnow]

Two words....

Alfred Hitchcock

 

[peakbagger]

Nevermore

 

[begreen]

In WA we are allowed to hunt crows. There's a season. But ravens are off limits. So the game laws make a point of teaching the subtle differences. The tail is round vs. square, the call is more deep cluck vs. caw and of course physical size. I'm sure a lot of ravens have been shot on accident. They don't hang out at mcdonalds eating french fries but you see them way up in the mountains away from people. Much more graceful animal I think.

I love them. There are several in our neighborhood. I hear them all the time. They don't just caw, they make a variety of sounds. Including one that sounds like a yeti stepping on glass. Occasionally they show up on the trellis next to our bird feeder. They are big!

 

[peakbagger]

There was researcher at University of Maine that studied ravens. They are quite intelligent and recognize specific people and remember specific people who treat them well or badly . The juveniles hang out in groups at certain times of the year and do what juveniles do, hang out and get in trouble. They also can mimic speech like a parrot. I also think they can make and use tools. I have seen them on mountain tops begging for food. One time I had one that was picking up a piece of tin foil and dropping it in front or me then stepping back and repeating the same thing. There was a ridgerunner in the area and he came and shooed the raven away. His explanation for the behavior was it was a busy holiday weekend the prior weekend and tourists were feeding the bird so it associated the tin foil with begging.

 

[thunderhead]

Nevermore

Hah. Hopefully it nevermore attacks my chimney! This specimen was large enough that I was actually a little concerned for the chimney.

 

[begreen]

Flickers regularly like to use our chimney cap as a drum to attract mates in spring. It's noisy as heck and they tend to do it at sunrise. Not my favorite way to wake up.

 

[Highbeam]

Flickers regularly like to use our chimney cap as a drum to attract mates in spring. It's noisy as heck and they tend to do it at sunrise. Not my favorite way to wake up.

Does the flicker rapid fire pecking sound like one of those automatic CWS machine guns on a ship. Kind of a BRRRR. We had that happen last week at sunrise too.

 

[PaulOinMA]

There's a very good and interesting documentary on the Tower of London ravens. Don't know if it's available online. There are lots of shorter videos on the ravens online, though.

 

[stovelark]

The birds are getting nuttier too. We've had 3 calls this spring, woodpeckers pecking on gas insert caps. Had to paint one of them totally black to get the little bugger to go away. The other 2 just the top of the cap. Customers are almost embarrassed to call in for them. One customer recorded the noise, holy moley this little guy was noisy. It was driving their dog nuts too. Everyone getting stir crazy.....

 

[Ashful]

A chicken, all gutted and plucked, is often over 6#. That bird sounds bigger.

Chickens don't fly!

Two words....

Alfred Hitchcock

Been meaning to go back and watch this one. Does it still hold up? Classic.

 

[bholler]

Chickens don't fly!

Been meaning to go back and watch this one. Does it still hold up? Classic.

Chickens do fly. Depending upon the breed some do quite well.

 

[Diabel]

Chickens do fly. Depending upon the breed some do quite well.

Have you ever visited Jamaica? All chickens there fly.......

 

[Highbeam]

Have you ever visited Jamaica? All chickens there fly.......

Pie in jamaica cost 2$, pie in the bahamas cost 2.50$

Now you know the "Pirates of the Caribbean".

 

[Ashful]

Chickens do fly. Depending upon the breed some do quite well.

Perhaps, but not bloated 6 pounder meat birds! And not any of the half dozen layer breeds I’ve owned.

 

[Diabel]

Perhaps, but not bloated 6 pounder meat birds! And not any of the half dozen layer breeds I’ve owned.

This belongs in the flying chicken forum. Totally derailed.

 

[begreen]

Does the flicker rapid fire pecking sound like one of those automatic CWS machine guns on a ship. Kind of a BRRRR. We had that happen last week at sunrise too.

Yup.

 

[begreen]

Pie in jamaica cost 2$, pie in the bahamas cost 2.50$

Now you know the "Pirates of the Caribbean".

With enough Jamaican rum you can see elephants fly. (and singing ravens)