SCORES & OUTDOORS: Crows v. Ravens: is there a difference?

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

If you remember, a couple of weeks ago I wrote about all the birds that have been coming to our feeders, and I compared the situation with the Alfred Hitchcock thriller film, The Birds. Well, I have another chapter in that episode. I have noticed recently the high number of crows, or ravens, that have been hanging around my house. Just the other day, I saw seven of them sitting in my pine trees in the backyard. They are huge birds.

Just to draw a comparison, there was a gray squirrel – either Martha or Stewart, my resident squirrels, are pretty good sized squirrels – on one of the other branches, and these birds made it look like a field mouse. The squirrel was dwarfed by these birds. They were also licking their chops. However, the crows’ stout bill is not strong enough to break through the skin.

Later that day, while driving by the park that is located at the end of my street, there were about two dozen of these birds feeding on the banking that was bare of snow.

Where are they coming from? And are they crows, or ravens like some people are calling them?

Well, to cut to the chase, crows have a fan-shaped tail, while ravens’ tails are wedge-shaped. The birds I’m looking at have a fan-shaped tail. Obviously, there are a few differences between the two species. Most of the differences are noticeable when the two are together. However, crows will assemble in large flocks, while ravens tend to be solitary, until the fall migration.

Crow, left, and Raven. Note the position of the tail feathers. The crow’s are fan-like, while the Raven’s are wedge-shaped.

Both the crows and the ravens are highly intelligent birds. Perhaps the most intelligent. The two can learn to imitate a variety of sounds, including the human voice. Recent research has found crows not only use tools, but also tool construction. Their intelligence quotient is equal to that of many non-human primates.

There is a story that indicates crows know how to count. The story has not been substantiated, but it goes like this. Three hunters enter a hunters’ blind. They wait, the crows know they are in there. The crows don’t move. Two hunters leave the blind, and the crows still don’t move. Once the third hunter leaves, the crows know they are gone and resume their normal activity.

Crows also have a good memory, remembering where there is danger, and where their cache of food is for later consumption.

Predators include owls and hawks. Crows will gather together to move an offending or intruding owl or hawk. However, West Nile disease has been taking its toll on crow populations.

A couple of years ago, while fishing on Webber Pond, my wife and I noticed a large flock of crows headed for a tree that sat on a point. Apparently, a bald eagle was intruding on a nest. The crows mobbed the eagle and drove it off. That was interesting to watch.

So, taking all these things into consideration, the large black birds hanging around my house are crows. But the question as to where they come from and why they are hanging around, has not been answered. In the past, I have seen massive numbers of crows fly overhead in late fall. But they continue in a northwesterly direction, darkening the sky as they passed. This year, they are making themselves right at home around my house.

I will continue to investigate.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Canada lynx surviving in Maine

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Recently, two Canada lynx were found dead in northern Maine, spawning an investigation into why, and who, killed the predatory cat.

The Canada lynx, Lynx canadensis, was listed as threatened on March 24, 2004, by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Canada lynx are medium-sized cats, generally 30-35 inches long and weighing 18-23 pounds. They have large feet adapted to walking on snow, long legs, tufts on the ears, and black-tipped tails. They are highly adapted for hunting snowshoe hare, the primary prey, in the snows of the boreal forest.

A Canada lynx in the wild.

A Canada lynx in the wild.

Lynx in the contiguous United States are at the southern margins of a widely-distributed range across Canada and Alaska. The center of the North American range is in north-central Canada. Lynx are found in coniferous forests that have cold, snowy winters and provide a prey base of snowshoe hare. Lynx, primarily found in northern Maine, prey almost exclusively on snowshoe hare, so the fate of both species are linked.

Lynx can only flourish in a large boreal forest that contains appropriate forest types, snow depths and high snowshoe hare densities. In the Northeast, lynx were most likely to be in areas that support deep snow (106 inches annually), associated with regenerating boreal forest landscapes.

Lynx are highly mobile and have a propensity to travel long distances, particularly when prey becomes scarce.

Some believe both lynx and coyotes would compete for the same food, but during a recent 12-year study, it was found that is not the case. Lynx roam the deep snow without problems, while coyotes travel more in packs along trails and road systems, and are more likely to attack larger prey, such as deer.

a snowshoe hare

A snowshoe hare, the favorite prey of the lynx, with its winter coat.

The historic and current range of the lynx in the contiguous United States is within the southern extensions of the for­ests of the Northeast, Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains and Cas­cade Mount­ains.

The lynx is listed in 14 states that support the environment needed to sustain the animal. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are three of them.

The environment in Maine is perfect to support Canada lynx populations. Harsh winters, deep snow, dense evergreen forests and sub-zero temperatures are exactly what the lynx likes. But, due to extensive hunting for its pelts in the 1960s, the cat nearly disappeared from Maine. Only a new law enacted in 1967, has protected it from hunting and trapping.

According to Jennifer Vashon, in charge of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife lynx program, it is believed the lynx population in Maine is at a historic high. More than 1,000 adult lynx are believed to be inhabiting the Maine forests. Even though it doesn’t sound like very many, compared to other fur bearing animals in the state, the lynx is actually living at the edge of its range.

Recently, a friend of mine who keeps farm animals in Richmond, reported sighting a lynx that was checking out his chicken coop.

Although the lynx was placed on the federal threatened species list, it is only listed as a species of special concern in the state of Maine.

Legal trapping, snaring, and hunting for bobcat, coyote, wolverine, and other fur-bearers create a potential for incidental capture of lynx. Lynx persist throughout their range despite the incidental catch that presumably has occurred throughout the past, probably at higher levels than presently.

Even though the animal rights group won a ruling about the state taking steps to prevent the occasional accidental trappings, they were not successful in their request for temporary suspension of some trapping where lynx are present in northern Maine.

Subsequently, inadvertent trappings of Canada lynx occur from time to time.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The goose and Christmas dinner

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Well, it’s December, and Christmas is closing in on us fast. What does that have to do with a sports and outdoors column? How about talking about one of the all time traditions of the holiday dinner – the Christmas goose. After all, even Ebenezer Scrooge, of the 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, prompted by the Ghost of Christmas Present, observed the Cratchit family enjoying a goose for Christmas dinner.

The once common farm bird, the goose has a rich legacy of multi-purpose value. Geese possess down feathers, dark flavorful meat, and rich high-temperature cooking fat.

As natural foragers, geese much prefer to graze than feed on grain alone, and need the freedom to roam in search of tender grasses. Their tendency to grazing has made them difficult to be produced under farm conditions, like the turkey.

According to Frank Reese, “In the old days you’d never harvest a goose until after you had freezing weather. The old people really felt that the cold weather allowed the goose to put down that important layer of fat that was needed to make it taste like it was supposed to.”

Goose, before Christmas dinner.

Goose, before Christmas dinner.

I once attended a wild game dinner with some friends. As hunters and fishermen, we would gather once a year and share our bounty from the previous season. That was the first time I had tasted goose, which had been harvested in New Jersey. I found the meat to be tender, a little greasy, but very pleasant to the palette.

Geese are a waterfowl. The word goose is a direct descendent of the German word gos, with the plural ges and gandres, becoming the modern English words of goose, geese, gander and gosling, respectively.

Actually, goose is the name given to the female of the species. The males are called ganders. Interestingly, a group of geese on land or in water is called a gaggle, while in flight, it is known as a skein.

Fossils of true geese in North America seem to indicate the different species of geese have been around since about 10 million years ago.

Geese are monogamous, living in permanent pairs throughout the year; however, unlike most other permanently monogamous animals, they are territorial only during the short nesting season. Paired geese are more dominant and feed more, two factors that result in more young.

However, farmyard ganders have been known to have a harem of three or four females. They are extremely dedicated partners and will actually mourn the loss of a mate.

And the Goose just before Christmas dinner.

And the Goose just before Christmas dinner.

Geese are herbivores, and the bumps in their beaks are used for cutting through grass stems. Since the inside of the beak and the tongue are serrated, they are often mistaken as fangs.

The goose is also the subject of many well-known sayings in American culture:

  • What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander;
  • Your goose is cooked;
  • Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs;
  • A wild goose chase.

The Egyptians domesticated the goose more than 3,000 years ago. Properly cared for, geese can live to be as old as 20 years.

In Victorian England, the goose was the chimney sweep’s favorite tool. The goose was lowered down the chimney to collect the built up coal, and would come out the other end blackened with soot.

Another historical fact about geese: their feathers were used in some of the first golf balls, being created by hand, making them extremely expensive.

How do you cook a goose (no pun intended)? Very carefully.

As a casual dabbler in the culinary arts, I suggest this: Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Generously salt both the inside and out and fill the cavity with garlic, thyme and sage. Prick small holes over the skin, being careful not to pierce the meat. This allows the fat a chance to render out during roasting. Cook low and slow, preferably at 325°F.

Having a tendency to be a bit dry, the meat should be served medium-rare. If you’re worried about the dark meat, to ensure it has had time to become tender, remove the breast part way through roasting.

Now, trying to find a goose at the local grocery store can result in a “wild goose chase.”

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

The New England Patriots are 6-5 in Super Bowl appearances. Name the teams to which they lost.

Answer can be found here.