two more crows down - the smart ones got away

[mazzgolf]

Is anyone else out there hunting this time of year? We have been having some beautiful mornings. 

 

Woke up to crisp, cool 30 degrees, sunny, blue skies. I decided to go out at sunrise to another, different public spot this morning.

 

I set up on the edge of a small cut field - hung a few decoys in the trees on the edge, a few more on the ground in the field, and within 15 minutes of turning on the FoxPro I already had a small group come in and one down! "Dying Crow" seems to be the call that gets them the most riled up. After that, I was consistently having 1s and 2s coming in every 10 or 15 minutes. Ended up with 2 total. I only stayed about an hour, but still had a lot of action and tons of fun in the woods in great weather.

 

And let me just say - these birds must have eyes of hawks. I had one come in squawking and perched high in a tree on the other side from where I was set up. He would caw-caw every so often, but stayed put. Now, I just froze and stared at this bird. I didn't move. I just watched him for at least a couple of minutes. And this bird wasn't moving either - just calling out on his perch. He was in range, so I figured, let me see if I can take him down while he is sitting on that branch. Well, I barely lifted the gun up - wasn't even shouldered yet - and the bird immediately flew off in the opposite direction. I could swear that bird was eyeing me the whole time while up top in that tree and once he sniffed me out by my little movement, he was gone. I had a couple other birds that came in and it was almost eerie how they seemed to be able to pick me out because they would leave almost immediately as I would think, "hmm... I think he might have seen me."

 

Anyway, a lot of fun! And I got educated by a few smart birds this morning, but still managed to take a couple home. Here's some pix...

 

Note to self - next time, pay closer attention to where the sun will come up BEFORE setting up 

 

 

[Jim_]

Fun!

[Buck154]

Nice 

[dlist777]

Crows are crazy smart.  They hide food from each other.  They even fake hide food if another crow is watching them.  They have a look out bird sometimes.  I read a story about a girl that would feed crows and they would bring her "gifts" in return.  They are smart birds for sure....

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026

 

 

Check out this web site.  They have tons of good info and techniques.  I tried it once, but have had no success...might try again in the future:

 

http://www.crowbusters.com

[County Hunter]

Way to go. Yes, I have to try this!

[bob kudile]

mazzgolf, setup with an owl on a fence post with some crow decoys on the ground spread around. if you have a crow come in try to wing him so he is flopping around with a broken wing and crowing like mad. the other crows will come to rescue him from the owl. my two sons and i had the best day one time with crows coming in and we were shooting them at 6' standing out in the open. a bunch of crows on the ground feeding will have a watch crow in a tree. if you can get him all hell will break loose as they will attack him on the ground. you will need two guns and a helper to load for you.

[Tarhunt]

Crows are crazy smart.  They hide food from each other.  They even fake hide food if another crow is watching them.  They have a look out bird sometimes.  I read a story about a girl that would feed crows and they would bring her "gifts" in return.  They are smart birds for sure....

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026

 

 

Check out this web site.  They have tons of good info and techniques.  I tried it once, but have had no success...might try again in the future:

 

http://www.crowbusters.com

Yep. Crows even know how to use sticks to dig out food.

[hunterbob1]

Your new Indian/user name...... ... TWO CROW. 

[Rusty]

Your new Indian/user name...... ... TWO CROW. 

 

I like it.    

 

Congratulations Two Crow.  

[mightyhunter]

Congrats!

[Rutting Buck]

How was the crow breast?

[Fishman]

Congrats!

[Zipper]

You got Heckle and Jeckle!

Edited March 15, 2018 by Zipper

[mazzgolf]

How was the crow breast?

 

Here's my write up from my first attempt at cooking crow: https://www.njwoodsandwater.com/topic/20735-got-my-first-and-second-crow/?p=251958

 

This time around Heckle and Jeckle got breasted, I butterflied each breast half, and the meat is brining as I type. Dunno how I'm gonna cook these yet. Got a couple more crow recipes I might try - OR I might actually try a recipe I use for goose breast (since I think they are very similar). 

[MRMCR]

Crows have a pecking order and do communicate to each other sometimes in large groups.....