{"id":5893,"date":"2012-08-13T05:43:55","date_gmt":"2012-08-13T11:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=5893"},"modified":"2026-03-27T10:23:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:23:47","slug":"fish-crows-why-i-cant-dislike-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/08\/13\/fish-crows-why-i-cant-dislike-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Fish Crows – Why I Can’t Dislike Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was going to do a simple post about this image of a Fish Crow with a young Gopher Tortoise in its bill that was taken on Egmont Key State Park<\/span><\/a>. It is also Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, an island located just to the west of Fort De Soto, Florida.<\/p>\n

\"FishFish Crow with a young Gopher Tortoise on a No Pets sign – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 250mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I\u00a0remembered some reactions & comments on Facebook that were made after a post I\u00a0published about Fish Crows last year (seen here<\/span><\/a>). The comments were about how unpopular they are with some shorebird conservationists because they eat the chicks and eggs of other birds. It isn’t just shorebird conservationists that dislike Fish Crows, I’ve heard people call them disgusting, annoying and a nuisance.<\/p>\n

The Fish Crow above did not eat the young Gopher Tortoise. After this image was taken the Fish Crow let the it drop to the soft sand below the sign and flew off perhaps to find something easier to eat.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Gopher Tortoise on Egmont Key – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1500, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, Fish Crows do eat eggs of other birds and they will eat the young nestlings if given a chance. They will also eat turtle eggs, fish that wash up on the shoreline, carrion, fruits, seeds, worms, insects, and mollusks.<\/p>\n

In addition, they will consume any kind of edible garbage they can find near parking lots, public beaches, picnic areas, trash cans, dumpsters, and streets.<\/p>\n

Great Blue Herons eat the eggs of other birds but most people don’t dislike them they way they dislike Fish Crows.\u00a0 Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons will take the chicks of ducks, shore and water birds.<\/p>\n

People are fascinated by the majestic eagles and in awe of the power of Peregrine Falcons, not so with a Fish Crow.<\/p>\n

\"FishFish Crow with nesting material, Fort De Soto County Park – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 340mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know why, aren’t they all doing what comes naturally? Don’t they all need to eat? Is it because Fish Crows aren’t as regal as an eagle? Or as beautifully streamlined\u00a0as a falcon?<\/p>\n

When I look at the Fish Crow in the image above I can’t help but like the bird for what it is. I can’t and won’t dislike or be repulsed by the crow for finding whatever sustenance it needs to survive. Every bird needs to eat.<\/p>\n

\"SunsetSunset at Fort De Soto – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of the day, I am more concerned about the impact humans have on nesting shorebirds than Fish Crows. We have reduced shorebird nesting grounds because of over development, polluted their hunting areas with fertilizers, pesticides and oil byproducts. We have also disturbed or destroyed their natural habitat and put many species at risk.<\/p>\n

And some of those shorebird conservationists and people that complain about them? They live in houses where the Fish Crows<\/span><\/a> used to live before the land was developed for those same houses and they don’t even get the irony of that.<\/p>\n

That I can<\/em> dislike.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Fish Crow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was going to do a simple post about this image of a Fish Crow with a young Gopher Tortoise in its bill that was taken on Egmont Key State Park (also Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge), an island located just to the west of Fort De Soto, Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1747,1746,439,25,704,1745,2000],"tags":[5132,14752,14751,4260,5970,1051,4312,4446,14753,4448,1748,1749,7950,4681,14754,14755],"class_list":["post-5893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-egmont-key-national-wildlife-refuge","category-egmont-key-state-park","category-fish-crows","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-gopher-tortoises","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-coastal","tag-coastal-island","tag-coastal-key","tag-corvus-ossifragus","tag-crow","tag-crows","tag-environment","tag-fish-crow","tag-gopher-tortoise","tag-gopherus-polyphemus","tag-natural-balance","tag-no-pets-2","tag-shorebird-conservationists","tag-sign","tag-tortoise","tag-tortoises"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/fish-crow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9148.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1x3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49271,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/04\/fish-crow-in-flight-over-egmont-key-florida\/","url_meta":{"origin":5893,"position":0},"title":"Fish 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