Subject: Re: a cawcophony
Date: Feb 8 14:49:53 1995
From: Hank Burchard - burchard at TWP.COM

On Monday 6 Feb 1995 Dennis Paulson wrote:

> A Red-tailed Hawk flew through my yard in Maple Leaf Saturday morning
> carrying a crow. All hell broke loose, as crows converged on the spot from
> all directions. I'd never heard such a cacophony of caws, which obviously
> were being used to rally the troops. They dove into the dense hemlock
> foliage where the hawk landed, finally chasing it out and away, still
> carrying its prey. Over 30 crows had arrived by this time; there are
> usually only a few in the neighborhood except when flying to roost. Some
> people have claimed that crows were relatively immune to predation (even
> distasteful), but not so.


DP, you're gonna be sorry you told this story. Twenty-five years
ago, when I was a young birder, I reported to the Audubon Naturalist
Society that I had seen a red-tailed hawk turn and kill one of the crows
that was mobbing it as it flew above Rock Creek Park in Washington DC.

The result was that my report was laughed off and my reputation was
ruined. They even put a little smartass note in their bulletin about the
hyperactive imaginations of inexperienced birders. Raptors don't kill
crows, according to conventional wisdom. I was so offended by their
snotty superiority that I quit the society and have avoided organized
birding every since.

Some years later a former president of the society confessed to me
that he had seen a precisely similar encounter in roughly the same place
at nearly the same time, but had not reported it for fear of calumny.
There is nobody, absolutely *nobody* more arrogant than a birding
"authority."

+ + + + +


Hank Burchard * Weekend Section * The Washington Post
1150 15th Street NW * Washington DC USA 20071-0001
VoiceMail (202) 334-7243 * Email: burchard at twp.com

============

From: Gail Mackiernan <GAIL%UMDD.BITNET at vm1.nodak.edu>

Three weekends ago, when Barry and I were scouting for Maryland's Gull Day, we
were being driven around the Laytonsville Landfill by the manager in his
truck. Coming up one of the roads, we noticed an immature Redtail sitting on
the ground -- not a rare commodity at the dump -- but it seemed to be
clutching prey. It was also surrounded by a large flock of angry crows. When
we got close (and from the truck we were maybe 15 feet away) we could see
that it had a crow in its feet, and was in the process of dismantling it.

The landfill manager (who has seen lots of hawks chased by crows) said, "well
one of the bad boys got his comeuppance!"

Gail Mackiernan, Gail at UMDD.UMD.EDU
Maryland

============

From: Charles Bragg <ChasBragg at AOL.COM>

This seems to fit here: a couple of years ago I was at Morongo Valley the
day before Mothers' Day. Our group heard a little squabble in the brush and
then saw a Scrub Jay carrying a dead Lesser Goldfinch away. Awww, we said,
and thought deeply about the mother LG.

The next day, at my mother's house in Pasadena, we heard an enormous fuss
in an oak tree - the Scrub Jays were furious. Mobbing an owl, I said in a
superior manner (my mother is not a birder). Then, to everybody's surprise, a
Red-shouldered Hawk emerged (quickly) from the tree, carrying a dead Scrub
Jay! It flew off and the jays fell to muttering with each other.

The scales of justice, we said. I've never seen, before or since, a Scrub
Jay playing raptor, and likewise have never seen an RSH capture another bird.
It happens, but in two days I saw all I'm ever likely to see.

==============

From: Joe Morlan <jmorlan at SLIP.NET>

On Wed, 8 Feb 1995, Hank Burchard wrote:

> crows, according to conventional wisdom. I was so offended by their
> snotty superiority that I quit the society and have avoided organized
> birding every since.

My, my. You certainly were/are easily offended. Has it been worth it to
avoid all organized birding over the years?

When I first started out, my observations were also greated with a touch
of skepticism. I too thought that people were questioning my honesty and
my integrity. But I just shrugged it off. Now I realize they were not
questioning either my honesty or my integrity; they were questioning my
COMPETENCE.

I figured the best solution was to improve my competence and I got a great
free education from organized birding groups, off and on throughout my
life. And I'm still learning. It's been a great experience.

> There is nobody, absolutely *nobody* more arrogant than a birding
> "authority."

I would say you haven't met very many people then. No one group has a
monopoly on arrogance. I could, but I won't, mention certain newspaper
columnists and talk-show hosts.

> Hank Burchard * Weekend Section * The Washington Post
> 1150 15th Street NW * Washington DC USA 20071-0001
> VoiceMail (202) 334-7243 * Email: burchard at twp.com

----------
Joe Morlan
Albany, CA
jmorlan at slip.net

================

From: Hank Burchard <burchard at TWP.COM>

If you report sightings as carelessly as you read and respond to
messages, I'm not surprised that your competence is questioned.

+ + + + +

Hank Burchard * Weekend Section * The Washington Post
1150 15th Street NW * Washington DC USA 20071-0001
VoiceMail (202) 334-7243 * Email: burchard at twp.com

============

From: David Powell <vireo at MUNCH.GENE.COM>

Folks,

This line of messages is getting a little agressive. There is no
need to start insulting each other here.

--
David Powell
Half Moon Bay, CA
vireo at gene.com