I had an interesting experience last week. I was on the north side
of the lake at East Fork State Park, Clermont County, last week
photographing insects when I heard a nasally two note call. It has
been a couple of years since I have heard a Fish Crow but this bird
sounded very close. I tracked it down and found a single crow hidden
behind some branches in a tree overhanging the lake. It continued to
make the two note nasal call. I called Bob Foppe and he played some
Fish Crow calls so that I could hear them over the phone. The
duration of the two notes of the call were almost identical, however
the East Fork bird's tone was a little deeper. It also seemed a
little deeper than what I recall from time spent in Fish Crow habitat.
The bird continued to call a few more times while staying mostly
hidden then went silent for about 10 minutes. After that it flew
about 100 yards to a snag where it perched in the open and proceeded
to make typical American Crow calls. I concluded that it was most
likely an American Crow. There were no other crows in the area for
the 45 minutes that I was at the location.
Cheers,
Bill Hull
Cincinnati, OH, USA
http://www.mangoverde.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mangoverde/
On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 8:24 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Well, when we start to recycle the bird-name abbreviation issue (I know
> of a completely unambiguous 29-character system for North America I'm
> willing to share: it would be even shorter except for the pesky
> 'northern rough-winged swallow'), it's time to try something new.
> I read something the other day that suggested a series of posts, I
> hope
> informative and interesting, about Ohio records that would, had they not
> been forgotten, ignored, or disputed, have added new species to the
> state list.
> #1 is fish crow. On page 67 of "Birds of West Virginia. Bulletin #3 of
> the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station," by W. D. Doan,
> published in Morgantown in 1888, appears the following entry: "FISH
> CROW. Corvus ossifragus. Resident. Rare. I saw two Fish Crows on
> Blennerhassett Island October 2. They were flying over the island to the
> Ohio side."
> In a quick look, this work looks like a conscientious compilation of
> its time. One slightly whacky thing I found is its inclusion of northern
> shrike and omission of loggerhead shrike. Fish crow has a firm place on
> today's West Virginia list, for many more reasons than this report;
> George Hall acknowledges it, accompanied by a bit of skepticism, in his
> "West Virginia Birds' (1983).
> Part of the reason Ohio doesn't have this species on its list involves
> ID problems far more difficult than those regarding shrikes. Fish crows
> are somewhat smaller than American crows, and there are some
> morphometric differences if you have the bird in hand. There are some
> behavioral clues that might lead one to look more closely, but for the
> most part one should rather listen more closely. Corvid expert Kevin
> McGowan has some excellent advice at
> http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/FishCrow.htm . Most authorities seem
> to agree this species is slowly extending its range inland via major
> watercourses, and Doan's report supports the idea of being extra alert
> for this bird along the Ohio River.
> More on other species later,
> Bill Whan
> Columbus
>
>
>
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