Fred, I do! I have information about that bird!!!
The tag actually is QS, but my painter at the time always had problems with Qs, so the confusion is understandable. QS, a female, was hatched on 16 April 2007 in a nest just east of Triphammer Road and north of Winston Dr., east of Kendall. We banded her on 14 May when she was 28 days old, about a week before she could fly out of the nest. She weighed 405 grams, which is pretty big for a nestling, but she was smaller than her two nest-mate brothers (which is standard; males tend to be larger). Both of the boys are still alive and both still hanging out near their family. The family was already rather large, with the 2 parents (unbanded), 1 sibling from 2004, 2 from 2006, and 3 from 2006 helping raise the 3 new nestlings. QS stayed at home the next year and until at least April 2009, which is our last record of her being at home. It's possible she found that spot on Elmira Rd. right then and could have bred there last year, but that's pushing the time frame a bit. Two-years old is a little young for a crow to breed, but we do get some, including QS's brother SQ this year, right next to home! Most don't breed until they're 4 or older. Her new spot is almost exactly 4 miles (as the crow flies) SSW of home. We don't know anything about the family she joined, and in fact I have not been able to find her down there when I have looked. It would be very interesting to watch her with her new family and see what the group is like that she joined. Although the most likely scenario is that she found a mate and is the breeding female in that family, it is also possible that she just joined the group as an extra. That happens occasionally, and immigrant females may stay with the family for several years. Some become breeders when the previous female breeder dies (do they know she is going to die?), and others become breeders next door when a vacancy opens up. Thanks for the report. We always appreciate hearing about our tagged crows. We know where most of them hang out, but when they disperse to breed it is frequently people like you who alert us to the fact. All the best, Kevin p.s. Thanks to Dave Nutter for a very good and very kind summary of my work. It's always nice to know that I have altered (I'd say improved) someone's attitude and appreciation of crows. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of M Kardon Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 8:43 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Tagged crow spotted While walking at 9:30 this morning on Meadow St., not birding, I saw a crow on the grass in front of Moe's Southwest Grill. It had a 1 by 1 1/2 inch white tag on each wing. The tag on the left wing was labeled "GS". I did not see if there was a label on the other tag. Does anybody have any information about this? Fred Kardon -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
