I don't recall anyone questioning whether Crows are covered by/subject to
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, only pointing out that your interpretation
of how that works is too simplistic. It's good you've now reported your
concerns to WDFW.

the example you posed to Marzluff is also unfortunately simplistic. The
Treaty and the Act prohibit, among other actions, "taking" of a bird
covered by the Act. The term "taking" is not defined in the Act so much as
in implementing regulations, and that is where it all gets more
complicated. The most relevant aspect of that is that the regulations
permit industrial activities to harm and kill covered birds in certain
situations where doing so is an "incidental" consequence of certain aspects
of the industrial activity. It is not as simple as "cutting down that tree
is a violation of the Act." This has long been the law as implemented in
Federal regulations. Dismayingly, the Trump Administration changed the
regulation to substantially widen the scope of industrial activity and
narrow the protections for birds. The Biden Administration is fortunately
moving to reverse those changes in the regulations. But what all that may
mean for the specific case you observed will depend on many factual and
legal details that WDFW and other agencies will have to sort out. It's now
in the right hands.

Chris Kessler

On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 5:36 PM Jill Freidberg <jill.freidberg at gmail.com>
wrote:


> For people responding to this post questioning whether or not crows are

> covered under the Migratory Bird Act…

>

> I went back to an email exchange I had with John Marzluff a couple of

> years ago about construction threatening a crows nest in my neighborhood.

> He said, "If there are eggs or nestlings technically cutting the tree is a

> violation of migratory bird treaty act." Crows have typically laid eggs by

> late March, early April. I went to the WA Fish and Wildlife page and found

> an online form to filing a complaint or violation.

>

> Thanks

> Jill

>

> On Apr 23, 2021, at 1:55 PM, J Christian Kessler <1northraven at gmail.com>

> wrote:

>

> Rock Pigeon & European Starling are introduced species, and so not covered

> at all by the Migratory Bird Treaty or Act. Crows and Ravens are treated

> differently than other passerines, as they were (and in places still are)

> considered agricultural pests. One can shoot both in Washington, with a

> specific permit. Otherwise I don't know the details of what is permitted

> and what is not, but the WDFA site lists crow hunting season as Sept. 1 to

> Dec. 31.

>

> Chris Kessler

>

> On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 1:34 PM Max Warner <maxcamf4 at gmail.com> wrote:

>

>> Seems to me I read somewhere that three birds, crow, starling, and rock

>> dove are considered non-migratory ( and in some areas , pests)

>> and thus are not covered by the Migratory Bird Act. Is this correct?

>>

>> Thanks.

>>

>> Max Warner Tacoma

>>

>> On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 10:15 PM Jill Freidberg <jill.freidberg at gmail.com>

>> wrote:

>>

>>> I'm wondering if anyone knows how to report local violations of the

>>> migratory bird act. A construction project in Pioneer Square was notified,

>>> more than once, that crows had built a nest in their construction elevator.

>>> Today, they ran the elevator through the nest, destroying it.

>>>

>>> I know it's "just crows." But if they care that little, what other

>>> environmental protections are they willing to violate on other projects,

>>> when they think no one is looking? Cutting down protected trees, improperly

>>> disposing of waste water? What if it had been a Peregrine nest instead of a

>>> crows nest? Holding people accountable for small transgressions is one way

>>> to prevent the cumulative impacts of repeated violations.

>>>

>>> Thanks

>>> Jill

>>>

>>>

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>

>

> --

> "moderation in everything, including moderation"

> Rustin Thompson

>

>

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--
"moderation in everything, including moderation"
Rustin Thompson
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