Crows "picking" flowers

6 years ago

Within the last month the crows in my yard have been relentlessly picking at flowers in my garden. They will pluck all the flowers off one plant before moving on to the next, they leave the flowers, whole, at the base of the plant. They are not picking at the leaves. Plants included are mostly hellebores and then daffodils, narcissus, and violas.

I couldn't find anything online about crows doing this. Any ideas as to why they are doing this or how to stop it? Not sure if they are looking for bugs or it's just fun and games for them.

Featured Answer

Embothrium

6 years ago

Ravens have been observed lying on their backs and rolling pebbles around on themselves, like pinballs - it is believed they are too smart for their ecological roles and become bored. Otherwise crows in my area are given to walking along the edges of beds mulched with wood products and flicking wood fragments out onto lawns. I have assumed they were looking for invertebrates underneath the mulch, maybe with the flower picking there is actually some kind of food seeking involved. That they are looking for prey inside the flowers.

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Comments (9)

Embothrium
6 years ago
You'll either have to keep shooing them away or put cages over the plants.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
Crows are omnivores and will eat flowers and small plants. But that is not what is happening here :-) Can't explain the behavior but crows are unnaturally intelligent, creative and able to solve problems. And the are not above a bit of mischief!!

They will tire of this in time and move on to other activities.....nesting time is coming up.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
Crows are known to create and use tools. I'd assume rolling on the pebbles reflects that sort of advanced behavior.

In my old garden, I would have to clean out a birdbath almost every day. The crows would use it to soak and soften the stale bread neighbors put out for birds before eating it. Made a right mess of it!! Sometime things other than just mushy bread would appear.

Despite their sometimes destructive nature, I find crows rather fascinating....and a little bit creepy in their intelligence and ability for deductive reasoning.
Embothrium
6 years ago
It was ravens, which are smarter than crows and they were lying on their backs and placing the pebbles on themselves, rolling them around. Boredom due to being too smart for their niches was the possible explanation by scientists observing and reporting the behavior.
Hutchae84 Zone 8b/PNW
Original Author
6 years ago
very interesting, I had a feeling it might just be fun and games for them. There are two of them, one stands guard while the other one picks. I just wish they would pluck them a little further down so I could at least make a bouquet :)

I think I'll just let them by for now and see if they lose interest.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
A raven is just a larger species of crow. And they are not specifically smarter than crows but do share a similar unique intelligence and playfulness, as do all members of that genus.
bbsmo
4 years ago
I have pots with FAUX flowers and they are picking at them too. They are not even eatable. They just keep tearing them apart. I makes no sense to me.
kl23
2 years ago
I really appreciate that the original poster said they are in the PNW. This indicates to me that this bad garden behavior is done by the American crow and not the fish crow we have in the east. I currently am having the worst year ever for crows pulling up my new seedlings on farm. I've been told they are bothering other farmers in the state more than usual. This year, or maybe just this month, there are also fewer fish crows around for some reason. We are on the border of fish crow territory and are two weeks ahead of the start of their local breeding season. I have a hypothesis that the fish crow presence may deter the American crow presence.

Can anyone provide information either supporting or refuting this hypothesis?

Can anyone tell me how to attract fish crows but not American crows?