Crows can eat almost anything that they come across. You will find them in city dumpsites eating all sorts of food items that they can find, or in the cornfield destroying corn. But what about fish, let’s take a deeper look into this topic.
Do crows eat fish?
Crows catch and eat fish using their beak, the fish crow is a type of crow that live along beaches, estuaries, marshes, rivers, and lakes, and a large part of its diet is made of fish, crabs, marine invertebrates, and turtle eggs more than any other type of crow. However, all crows can eat fish.
Crows have been known to cause fish farmers huge losses by invading their fish ponds.
Fish crows are also not entirely restricted near the aquatic environment. They can also be found inland in urban and suburban centers and agricultural fields, wooded neighborhoods, and golf courses.
The ability of crows to eat almost anything has made it easy for them to adapt and survive in a new environment quite easily.
Do crows catch fish?
Yes, crows do catch fish, mostly crows use their beak to catch fish or other aquatic animals. while crows do not have talons like eagles and will not catch fish like sea eagles. They compensate lack of talons and mighty wings by being very intelligent.
Crows have learned the art of luring fish using baits and then catching them using their strong beaks.
They will use baits such as bread break them into small pieces and then throw them into the water luring fish to eat the bread crumbs.
Once the fish swims to the surface to eat the bread crumbs, crows will snatch them using their strong craws and fly away with their catch.
The video below shows a crow using bread as bait to catch fish.
Crows do not have eyesight as strong as sea eagles, but their intelligence helps them compensate for what they lack in other departments.
Crows have also been reported to steal fish from fishermen, especially fishermen who leave their fishing lines to be checked later.
Crows are intelligent enough to draw the fishing line and eat the fish caught by the hook.
Fish crows that are well adapted to life near water bodies have better fish-catching skills compared to their counterparts such as the American Crow.
Fish that are caught up in water paddles, or among rocks are easy prey for the crows.
Fish crows have also been observed to hover over the water as they look for fish or other aquatic animals. They can either use their feet or beaks to catch and fly away with their prey.
Do crows take fish from ponds?
Crows are capable of catching fish from fish ponds just like they would in an open water body such as a swamp or wetland.
Taking or catching fish from the pond is even easy since pond-rared fish respond to feeding much better than wild fish making it easy for crows to bait and catch them.
Most people who have a garden or Japanese Koi ponds have reported witnessing crows catching fish from their ponds. These ornamental fish are easy to tame by human beings, especially during feeding time.
This same fact makes them easy prey for the crows and other birds that eat fish such as kingfishers.
Given that crows have learned how to use baits to lure fish to the water surface, it becomes easy to catch fish from ornamental ponds since these fish respond to feeding much better than wild fish.
With bread as bait, the crow will drop a few pieces on the water surface and the unsuspecting koi or goldfish will swim to the surface to feed hence becoming easy prey for the crows.
Their colored bodies also make it very easy for the crow to spot them in the water. When a crow gets used to stealing these ornamental fish from the ponds they can easily clear the whole pond within a short period of time especially when they are many.
How to protect your fishpond from crows
Use predator decor
Crows fear and avoid owls since owls hunt and kill them, especially at night. Therefore, having an owl decoy will keep crows away from your fish pond. There are several options of owl decoys on Amazon that you can check for your pond.
Using Effigies of dead crows or fake models
Crows will avoid any place where they have spotted a dead crow. However, you should never use a real dead crow. Crows are known to moan about their dead and when they spot a dead crow they might just call other crows and flock to your home.
Therefore, you should use fake models such as the ones used during Halloween. They have proven to be very effective, especially when combined with the decoy owl.
Lasers
There are lasers that are designed to deter birds from certain places. You can buy and install these lasers in your garden to keep crows off.
Recorded Distress calls
When crows are feeding they normally have a sentinel that is supposed to keep watch and inform other crows in case there is danger. These sentinels have distress calls that are supposed to inform other crows of any impending danger.
These calls are recorded and can be played to deter crows from visiting your fish pond.
Additionally, predator calls are also recorded, and since crows can identify the sound of their predators once these sounds are played they will either escape or avoid your home.
What do crows like to eat the most?
Crows are omnivores and they will eat just about anything that they can lay their beaks on. Some of their favorite foods include eggs, nuts and seeds, small dog and cat pellets, corn, fruits, and vegetables plus dead meat or carrion.
The ability of crows to eat different types of feeds has made it easy for them to be able to survive in almost all environments.
For instance, the American Crow moved to the urban areas where they can easily eat roadkills and all sorts of food that they come by some of which they may not come by in their natural environment.
For animals such as lions that have a particular diet, they would find it difficult to survive compared to crows when they run out of animals to hunt or when the population of their prey dwindles.
What can Crows not eat?
While crows will almost anything they can get, there are a few food items that are very poisonous to them and can even kill them such as chocolates, alcohol, tea and coffee, mushrooms, salt and sugar, onion, and garlic, apple fruit seeds, avocado, and xylitol.
If you choose to be feeding crows that frequent your backyard make sure to avoid feeding these food items.
While it can be easy to catch and treat other pet birds such as cockatiels and African grey parrots. It can be hard to catch crows and treat them or take them to a vet when they eat toxic feeds.
Summary
While all crows can eat fish, fish crows stand a better chance to eat fish compared to other crows since they can easily access them in their natural environment. This does not mean that their diet is restricted to fish only. Crows are omnivorous, eating both live and dead animals. While crows do not have talons like eagles, they compensate for that fact with their intelligence which surpasses most birds’ intelligence levels.
This fact alone has made it super easy to survive in different environments that most animals may find hard to adapt to.
94% of pet owners say their animal pal makes them smile more than once a day. In 2007, I realized that I was made for saving Animals. My father is a Vet, and I think every pet deserves one. I started this blog, “InPetCare”, in 2019 with my father to enlighten a wider audience.