In town, crows appear to fly around in large groups and pay no mind to people going about their daily lives. Because of this, it is easy to imagine hunting crows would be similar to slaughter. In reality, the crow is the most intelligent bird in North America.

Outside of town, crows get jumpy and are cautious to approach anything out of the ordinary. Groups of crows use scouts to check out odd situations and often times these scouts are able to circle around the hunter and literally sneak up on him.

Crows are living creatures and deserve respect, but too much of a good thing quickly becomes a bad thing. Large local populations of crows are able to cause severe damage to crops by pulling corn seedlings out in the spring and eating kernels until harvest.

In some situations, farmers have had to plant decoy crops to ease the destruction of their main crop. Crows will peck the eggs of waterfowl and pheasants, and in some cases, even eat the young.

Consider the damage done to the trees in Ames and the historical buildings on campus where the majority of crows seem to roost.

Some say crows are a benefit because they clean up trash. The fact is crows don’t clean up trash; they spread it by ripping open garbage bags and cans.

The real benefit of crows actually comes from hunting them. Groups of friends or father and son teams can enjoy a crisp and cool morning by shooting a few birds.

Robert Krush

ISU Crow Hunting Champion Team Captain