Battling Crows
Crow with an agitated Grackle below it
By: Pat Coate
On a daily basis I’ll hear the grackles, sometimes joined by the piercing alarm call of the robin, raising a ruckus. Inevitably, there will be a clearly apprehensive crow pinned down at the top of a tree withstanding a squadron of brave grackles who are taking turns dive bombing it. Eventually the crow will make a run for it and be escorted out of the territory by a grackle or two who continue their assault on the airborne crow.
The Crow makes a run for it and will be pursued by the grackle
Another standoff, with the crow keeping a wary eye on the grackle
The assault starts
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It took 20 minutes before this crow finally had enough
The crows will rob the nests of eggs or nestlings if they can, so it is no wonder the grackles so aggressively, and loudly, attempt to drive them away.
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Mon@rch's Nature Blog 
Very nice photography! keep it up.
9 June 2011 at 11:56 am
What do you call a small crow? A “Micro” . . . . outstanding pictures Pat
9 June 2011 at 3:39 pm
I saw a crow the other day here on the Northern Arizona University campus with a nestling in its mouth and one of the nestling’s parents flying around it in a panic. It was a very interesting but also kind of a sad thing to see. I can understand why the grackles don’t like crows!
9 June 2011 at 4:53 pm