What effect do Crows have on your garden?
Debra Hultgren
Are crows really all that bad for your garden? You may have a quick retort - “of course, scarecrows exist”. However, with minor research you’ll come to learn that these birds are in fact quite intelligent, and of little harm to your to garden. According to an informational article from birding.in: “Their brain-to-body ratio is almost equal to that of dolphins and only slightly lower than that of humans”! The latin name of this species is Corvus brachyrhynchos and it is the second largest perching bird to the Common Raven. Crows have been noted for their “tool-using” abilities, using wood sticks as probes.
As for the physical attributes of these birds, they are all black birds with a purple or green sheen seen in direct sunlight. They have fan-shaped tails, and this is one identifying factor in the identification of crows vs. ravens. While the Common Raven has a wedge-shaped tail, the crow’s tail looks like a handheld fan. There are either few or no physical differences between genders - the same is true for adolescents. For their size, they can be anywhere from 17 - 24” in length, with a wingspan around 3’.
They are partial to non-migrators, meaning that they can be seen year-round. Most of the feeding is done on the ground, even though these birds are arboreal. While crows have been recognized to eat carrion, they are not specialized scavengers - roadkill makes up only a fraction of their entire diet. Crows are very adaptive - they’ll eat whatever they can wherever they are. They’re omnivorous in their diets eating seeds, grains, insects, spiders, nuts, fruit, snails, mice, snakes, frogs, and even live fish. This is where the true benefit of embracing crows’ presence comes to light - according to humanesociety.org: “A crow family can eat 40,000 grubs, caterpillars, armyworms, and other insects in one nesting season. That’s a lot of insects many gardeners and farmers consider pests. These good environmental citizens also transport and store seeds, thus contributing to forest renewal. And their habit of eating carrion makes them part of nature’s cleanup crew.”
In addition, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Crows are known to drop hard shelled nuts onto a street, and then wait for passing automobiles to crack them. Similarly, along the coast they drop mussels and other shellfish on rocks to crack the shells and expose the flesh.” That is just one example that I personally find compelling enough to prove that these birds are extraordinarily intelligent. So the next time you come across a crow or a murder of crows, think before you start calling them names; they might help your garden - not to mention they’ll actually hold a grudge against you for doing such things as hollering or shooing them away.