Hello!

Yesterday, following up on a previous report in Summit Co. I headed toward
Cuyahoga Falls to see if I could locate the reported Fish Crow(s) in the
area of Chapel Hill mall (Howe Ave.).  Almost immediately when I got to
where the old Border's Books was (now Books-a-Million), I saw crows flying
and chasing each other.  I pulled into a restaurant by the bookstore and
definitely heard several Fish Crows calling back and forth.  The group flew
over to a tree between a car dealership and the Home Depot and I snapped a
few photos for documentation purposes.  I waited for some time with my
phone at the ready to record their calls, but once these particular birds
got to the tree they did not make another sound, so no recording was made.
I had some sense of confidence about knowing their nasally call after my
trip to Florida earlier this year when there was ample chance to hear them.

It seems to me that we have a challenge ahead of us as Ohio birders.  It is
very likely that Fish Crows will continue to spread as they seem to be
having success breeding in the Cleveland area, which one would suppose
means dispersing to more areas.  I have learned that the ONLY reliable way
to ID a Fish Crow versus American Crow is to get a recording of the bird(s)
in question.

A thought occurred to me this morning on my commute.  How often will we
observe Fish Crows in circumstances that allow for good recording of their
calls?  I was thinking about areas like New Philadelphia (Tuscarawas Co.)
where roosts of tens of thousands of crows happen each late fall/winter.
In the din of these roosts can we hope to get a good recording even if we
were able to pick out a Fish Crow call in that context?  How often can we
hope to get a little group in isolation that will allow for good recording?

I do not know the answers.  I know that recording will be imperative as
they move inland and their population grows, which again I think is to be
expected.  Perhaps this will be more of a problem for another generation of
Ohio birders, but I thought I would open the discussion up here, and in
other forums, to see how we might proceed effectively.

Happy birding and Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) to all!

Jon Cefus
Carroll Co.

--
He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher...or, as his wife
would have it, an idiot.
  -Douglas Adams

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