>Earlier this month (7/6), I saw my first crow in Grant county, WA. It was
>at the Vernita Toll Bridge, on the north side of the river. I have heard
>of one other record, several years ago, I believe Dennis P and Bill T
>and others saw this. I would like to know if there are plenty of other
>records, or some others, where these records were. Are there theories,
>reasons, (or even data?) about why this relatively common bird in some plac=
es
>is not around in such a large area as Grant county? They seem to be
>in lots of other eastern WA areas -- is there just not enough garbage=7F
>in Grant co?
>
> Alan Richards

Irene Wanner asked about "no crows" in Desolation Canyon, Utah, also.

Probably a simple reason, people--no trees. Crows need trees in which to
nest, no matter how versatile they are in foraging. Ravens can nest on
cliffs, power towers, even buildings, so they occur in desert and grassland
and tundra areas where crows couldn't. Grant Co. and much of the center of
the Columbia Basin was virtually treeless before people got there, and I
think it has taken the crows a while to colonize the area. If I'm right,
they should continue to increase.

Actually crows are now regular in Grant County, with numbers in Othello
(perhaps only in winter) and in the orchards along Frenchman Hills Rd. I
don't know if they are breeding yet, but there are certainly enough trees
now that they could. I saw a whole flock go over at Frenchman Springs a
few years ago, heading west in a hurry (back toward the land of trees).
Crows are very common in the Kittitas Valley east of Ellensburg, but when
you pass into the open sagebrush they stop, cut off by the population
guillotine of habitat availability.

I don't know anything about Desolation Canyon, but I wouldn't be surprised
if it's the same reason. I don't think garbage has anything to do with it,
as crows survive quite well without it. Remember, crows were common birds
in this land before there were garbage dumps (yes, crows even evolved
before Native Americans).

And just to extend the thread a bit farther, trees (or their lack)
obviously control the presence or absence of many species. Red-tailed
Hawks occur through much of the Columbia Basin because they can nest on
cliffs, so the absence of trees doesn't affect them (they are absent as
breeders where there are neither trees nor cliffs). Swainson's Hawks are
absent from such areas unless there are tree groves. Conversely,
Swainson's can nest on utility poles, something Red-tails apparently don't
do, probably because they make a larger nest, so Swainson's have extended
their range into areas of open grassland on that basis. We already
discussed Western Kingbirds in this context.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.e=
du
Tacoma, WA 98416