Yes, definitely worth throwing it on the bucket list. I've also thought that would be very cool. My daughters and I have made little trinket chest, pretending to be crows by picking up shiny or interesting things we find on the ground. Closest we've come. Spain doesn't really have the crow... black birds and grackles, but we haven't spotted a crow, yet.
Also... I really liked your voice over and I do not know how you do it! I tried to do it myself... with my own voice... and I could not breathe after 4 sentences. I talk non-stop all day... very fluid conversationalist, but this was not the same. It was very annoying. I gave up... and settled for almost-decent.ish AI slop, but I want people to have an audio option, because I myself prefer to listen so I can get chores done! Well... perhaps I'll give it another go in the future, but if you've got a secret, please share.
I love that idea! Need to do that with my kids. And you're in Spain?? Whereabouts? I can't remember if we've talked about this. We lived in Madrid a couple of different summers, that's a special place for us.
I'm glad you like the v/o! I don't feel like I do it very fluidly. I really hate reading aloud in general for the exact reason you just described. I have a bunch of practice from my YouTube channel and the real secret is that I edit a bunch of takes together and cut any mistakes. I'm fast at this because I have a background as a music producer. I could never pull it off in one take
Well, that’s good to know. So I can straight up drop the expectation of the one take. I wish I could get ahead with scheduling, but I’m always couple steps behind, making it impossible to ‘catch up’ with myself. But, I’m going to keep trying.
I’m in coastal north Spain, about an hour and a half south of Barcelona! We’re already very hot, so might be a rough summer ahead!
Ok but I’ve been similarly obsessed with befriending my neighborhood crows, and started courting them actively a couple months ago. Every day I line up peanuts in the shell on the railing of my back porch where the Michaels (I call them all Michael) can swoop down and grab them. I try to watch surreptitiously from my kitchen but usually all I see are empty shells at the end of the day.
Once I left them a bit of tinfoil and they took that along with the peanuts. Sometimes I leave hazelnuts because they’re locally grown. I’m pretty sure that study you referenced about crows holding grudges came from a professor here at University of Washington, so I like to think I’m in a particularly crow-rich region.
Did you know crows hold funerals to mourn their dead?! (I could really go on).
This is amazing! Giving them tin foil, genius. Have they started to know your face at all with your offerings or do they spook if you come out of the house? This is the piece that is missing for me
Mostly they still spook, but I’ve noticed that recently they’re coming back pretty soon after I put out the peanuts, so I think they’re still watching me from a more hidden vantage point. It’s almost always two at a time and I’m trying to figure out if it’s the same two or not…
Been thinking about this piece and reflecting on my crow observations and encounters up here. My gut is that you might need to up your gift game.
I just googled “high value treat for crows” (thanks for that opportunity btw). Try ground beef, scrambled eggs and chicken bones with some gristle still on them.
This also tracks with me seeing crows hanging out near the roadkill (once the turkey vultures are done, of course)
I wouldn’t be so sure that dream is out of the question.
After the first time you leave meat, they’ll be watching the house to see if there’s more. And they’ll see you walk out and make your offering. I bet over time, they’ll realize you’re a friend and maybe start making their own offerings.
The crows know.
Slightly different, but my neighbor (who runs the local fox hunt) has a fox at her doorstep every night because she leaves them eggs and meat.
Might pivot to being a crow-content-only account, yeah
And yes I know you're right...if there were regular crows out there in the vicinity then I'd assume they'd start putting it together, but there aren't so I feel like I'm performing to empty seats. But I'm sure I just need to be more patient and consistent. It's GOING to happen eventually. And then my enemies better watch their backs/windshields
This is a good tip! After I drafted this piece I actually did do a tiny amount of research (finally) and that's what led to the first real positive movement that's in my last video. I think you're right that meat is the play though. (Weirdly, they day before I published this, we actually had a road kill rabbit literally directly in front of our driveway and it was being picked at by, you guessed it, two ravens.)
I'm sure I can attract crows to house by leaving high value treats out there, I learned that with my bird feeder. But here's my issue: I don't know how to make them associate the treats with my face, because as soon as I walk out, they fly away and don't come back. So I'll have crows around, but they won't become my personal posse that will unquestioningly do my bidding :/
Yes, definitely worth throwing it on the bucket list. I've also thought that would be very cool. My daughters and I have made little trinket chest, pretending to be crows by picking up shiny or interesting things we find on the ground. Closest we've come. Spain doesn't really have the crow... black birds and grackles, but we haven't spotted a crow, yet.
Also... I really liked your voice over and I do not know how you do it! I tried to do it myself... with my own voice... and I could not breathe after 4 sentences. I talk non-stop all day... very fluid conversationalist, but this was not the same. It was very annoying. I gave up... and settled for almost-decent.ish AI slop, but I want people to have an audio option, because I myself prefer to listen so I can get chores done! Well... perhaps I'll give it another go in the future, but if you've got a secret, please share.
I love that idea! Need to do that with my kids. And you're in Spain?? Whereabouts? I can't remember if we've talked about this. We lived in Madrid a couple of different summers, that's a special place for us.
I'm glad you like the v/o! I don't feel like I do it very fluidly. I really hate reading aloud in general for the exact reason you just described. I have a bunch of practice from my YouTube channel and the real secret is that I edit a bunch of takes together and cut any mistakes. I'm fast at this because I have a background as a music producer. I could never pull it off in one take
Well, that’s good to know. So I can straight up drop the expectation of the one take. I wish I could get ahead with scheduling, but I’m always couple steps behind, making it impossible to ‘catch up’ with myself. But, I’m going to keep trying.
I’m in coastal north Spain, about an hour and a half south of Barcelona! We’re already very hot, so might be a rough summer ahead!
Ok but I’ve been similarly obsessed with befriending my neighborhood crows, and started courting them actively a couple months ago. Every day I line up peanuts in the shell on the railing of my back porch where the Michaels (I call them all Michael) can swoop down and grab them. I try to watch surreptitiously from my kitchen but usually all I see are empty shells at the end of the day.
Once I left them a bit of tinfoil and they took that along with the peanuts. Sometimes I leave hazelnuts because they’re locally grown. I’m pretty sure that study you referenced about crows holding grudges came from a professor here at University of Washington, so I like to think I’m in a particularly crow-rich region.
Did you know crows hold funerals to mourn their dead?! (I could really go on).
This is amazing! Giving them tin foil, genius. Have they started to know your face at all with your offerings or do they spook if you come out of the house? This is the piece that is missing for me
Mostly they still spook, but I’ve noticed that recently they’re coming back pretty soon after I put out the peanuts, so I think they’re still watching me from a more hidden vantage point. It’s almost always two at a time and I’m trying to figure out if it’s the same two or not…
Of course it is, that's Michael and Michael
Been thinking about this piece and reflecting on my crow observations and encounters up here. My gut is that you might need to up your gift game.
I just googled “high value treat for crows” (thanks for that opportunity btw). Try ground beef, scrambled eggs and chicken bones with some gristle still on them.
This also tracks with me seeing crows hanging out near the roadkill (once the turkey vultures are done, of course)
I wouldn’t be so sure that dream is out of the question.
After the first time you leave meat, they’ll be watching the house to see if there’s more. And they’ll see you walk out and make your offering. I bet over time, they’ll realize you’re a friend and maybe start making their own offerings.
The crows know.
Slightly different, but my neighbor (who runs the local fox hunt) has a fox at her doorstep every night because she leaves them eggs and meat.
I expect you’ll be posting regular updates?
Might pivot to being a crow-content-only account, yeah
And yes I know you're right...if there were regular crows out there in the vicinity then I'd assume they'd start putting it together, but there aren't so I feel like I'm performing to empty seats. But I'm sure I just need to be more patient and consistent. It's GOING to happen eventually. And then my enemies better watch their backs/windshields
This is a good tip! After I drafted this piece I actually did do a tiny amount of research (finally) and that's what led to the first real positive movement that's in my last video. I think you're right that meat is the play though. (Weirdly, they day before I published this, we actually had a road kill rabbit literally directly in front of our driveway and it was being picked at by, you guessed it, two ravens.)
I'm sure I can attract crows to house by leaving high value treats out there, I learned that with my bird feeder. But here's my issue: I don't know how to make them associate the treats with my face, because as soon as I walk out, they fly away and don't come back. So I'll have crows around, but they won't become my personal posse that will unquestioningly do my bidding :/