I have a similar question; I want to find out if I'm imagining this crow experience or not:
Three years ago, I slowly walked up to a pair of young-adult-looking crows who were picking my cherry tomatoes and throwing them around, and at each other. In a reasonable yet ominous voice I said 'You can eat the grubs in the garden, but tomatoes are my food. Please leave the tomatoes on the vines' and similar, as I walked toward them. They sidestepped out of the garden, and I kept walking and talking, until they made it halfway across the yard, then flapped up onto the compost bin fencing. Once they settled on the compost bin, I changed my tone and said 'That's good. You eat that stuff. Go ahead. Good job' and similar.
I swear that those two crows came back, brought their young the next year, and taught them to eat from the compost, the plants around it (including mountain ash berries and wild grapes), and to leave the garden tomatoes undisturbed. I put lots of delicious stuff in the compost for the crows. I've seen all of the crows in the garden, eating the grubs (which are big and juicy up here in central Ontario), but none have touched the tomatoes.
I took a sabbatical this past year, so I was in or near the garden every day, and the pattern continues. I have never used any netting to protect my garden; I grow apples, blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries, tomatoes, and the crows respect the boundaries.
Are the crows teaching successive generations to recognize my face and respect my crops?
mnahmnah84 karma
I have a similar question; I want to find out if I'm imagining this crow experience or not:
Three years ago, I slowly walked up to a pair of young-adult-looking crows who were picking my cherry tomatoes and throwing them around, and at each other. In a reasonable yet ominous voice I said 'You can eat the grubs in the garden, but tomatoes are my food. Please leave the tomatoes on the vines' and similar, as I walked toward them. They sidestepped out of the garden, and I kept walking and talking, until they made it halfway across the yard, then flapped up onto the compost bin fencing. Once they settled on the compost bin, I changed my tone and said 'That's good. You eat that stuff. Go ahead. Good job' and similar.
I swear that those two crows came back, brought their young the next year, and taught them to eat from the compost, the plants around it (including mountain ash berries and wild grapes), and to leave the garden tomatoes undisturbed. I put lots of delicious stuff in the compost for the crows. I've seen all of the crows in the garden, eating the grubs (which are big and juicy up here in central Ontario), but none have touched the tomatoes.
I took a sabbatical this past year, so I was in or near the garden every day, and the pattern continues. I have never used any netting to protect my garden; I grow apples, blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries, tomatoes, and the crows respect the boundaries.
Are the crows teaching successive generations to recognize my face and respect my crops?
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