How do you find the good wildlife shots? Listen to the crows!

“Caw! Caw! Caw!” The sound of the alarm broke the still morning air. I couldn’t help but...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 66931394 - American Crow; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. March 30, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com

“Caw! Caw! Caw!” The sound of the alarm broke the still morning air. I couldn’t help but hear the American Crows going at it. Instead of ignoring these nuisance birds, I realized something was up. As I approached, this “murder of crows” (yes, that's what a group of crows is really called!) was mobbing a hawk in a tree, raising the alarm and thereby alerting me a great photo opportunity.

Crows are great for sounding the alarm that an adversary is near. Whenever I hear crows sounding alarm, I take notice and know that a wildlife photo-opportunity may be materializing. If the crows are mobbing in the air, there is probably a raptor nearby; if sounding the alarm on the ground, there might be a snake slithering in the grass.

Listening to the crows’ alarms is no new revelation. I once read the account of a 19th century hunter on the trail of some game when he was alerted to danger by crows. While stalking his prey, the overhead alarms alerted him that he himself, the hunter, had become the hunted. The crows were cawing at a Mountain Lion was tracking the hunter. The hunter had become the prey, but was alerted by listening to the crows!

On another occasion, upon hearing the boisterous crows sounding alarm, I ran over to see them dive-bombing one particular spot in the grass. A distressed Black Racer snake was frantically trying to get away from the pecking cacophony! Again, another wildlife photo opportunity, thanks to the crows!

So when you’re out hunting for that great wildlife photograph, don’t ignore the crows. Their caterwauling and cawing just might lead you to a quality shot! A snake or raptor could be near!

Posted on 30 de março de 2024, 10:58 AM by williamwisephoto