Just don't get caught feeding them lol, should be easy enough if you could do it from your backyard, and don't overdo it because if all the crows in a 50 miles radius start nesting on your roof, people might start to notice.
this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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As the others said, food. Specifically unsalted cashews. I called our (Dutch) bird rescue center and they said that's the healthiest "human" food to give them.
I have three crow friends (and sometimes their buddies) who light on my balcony railing and wait for me to come out. One will eat it there while I'm watching; the other two fly it across the street to their stashes. All three will just sit on the railing and watch me work sometimes.
Sometimes the magpies show up, but they are super, ultra cautious around The Human. I can tell they know me though when they fly through the street. They make the happy magpie sound they make to their mates when one of them steals a cashew intended for the crows instead of being silent.
I get that this is illegal, but you do not have to give them a lot or make it obvious . One or two a day. You may not see them, but they will see and remember you as Cashew Guy/Gal/Nonbinary Pal.
Also alas, Unidan, where did you go?
Also alas, Unidan, where did you go?
Got banned for vote fraud.
TIL there's a Wikipedia article for Unidan
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This is going to sound witchy, but have first hand experience it works lol.
Get a stone bowl, with a crow effigy on top in center. Ideally put it near the nest too.
Fill it with a few berries and chopped cashews, along with shiny pennies, a colorful feather, and 2 small crystals (the cheap tumbled kind like tiger's eye, crackle quartz, and goldstone).
Below it have a sparkly shallow dish filled with water, and under it a narrowish glass filled with water (one is for bathing and the other for drinking).
Everyday, at the exact same time, refill the bowl with food and a single new crystal, colorful feather, or shiny penny, but do so while holding the offering above your head. Then refill the waters if needed.
You'll be extremely close friends real fast.
I once had a crow friend who would knock on my window if I was late coming out to give them their seeds. It was just the one crow that was bold enough to do this. Sometimes he'd do it way earlier than usual, and I am 100% confident that he wasn't mistaken, just being a cheeky asshole and trying his luck. I miss that asshole bird.
You were late by crow time.
Get a stone bowl, with a crow effigy on top in center.
I would be willing to bet that it works just fine without the crow effigy
It's to help repel the other birds that aren't crows a bit more, while the crows quickly figure out it's not alive and a symbol for them.
Or so I'm told. Maybe I should start a Kickstarter to help fund a double blind experiment and see what crows prefer:
Effigy, No effigy, Effigy of a different bird
And then set up many of these little crow shrines around and see how they do
I know crows are can be smart, but aside from an exceptional one here and there, I sincerely doubt a bird is going to see an effigy of a bird, and recognize it as a picture of them.
But maybe a bird scientist will come in and prove me wrong, who knows
I'm no bird scientist either, but I do know Crows pass the mirror test, so it makes sense to me they could probably recognize other Crows
I'm certain they can recognize other crows. As in living birds.
Instructions unclear, angry murder
Gift them something shiny.
If I were a young parent I wouldn’t want something shiny, I’d want diapers.
I’d put out an array of snacks and see which one they pick first, then add more of that the next day.
If someone feeds my babies reliably and conveniently I’ll forgive them pretty quick.
They say it takes ten seconds to break trust but ten years to rebuild it, so OP is gonna have to play the long game.
I don't want them to become too dependent on me, in case it hurts their ability to find food on their own.
How much food would be reasonable but not excessive?
If you limit it to like a few seeds a day, I don't think you'll become their primary food source
Disclaimer : I'm not a biologist. But I remember reading somewhere that birds need to eat almost as much if not more than their body weight per day.
I wish I was a crow biologist so I could help you. But I know crows like peanuts, so maybe a peanut, an almond, and a pecan and go from there.
Interspecies communication has to start slowly.
I can confirm with firsthand experience that crows fucking love unsalted cashews. I don’t know if it’s the flavor, distinctive shape, or the texture, but there was a family of crows at my old house that used to go bugfuck wild when I gave them cashews.
I used to buy them in bulk as a snack, so I always had a lot on hand. I’d usually put them in a little plastic cup if I was going outside. One time I spilled some on the patio and didn’t bother cleaning them up. The next time I was outside and had a cup of them, that family of crows was extremely interested. I left a few on the patio as an experiment and went back inside. As soon as I was inside, they were on those cashews like flies on shit.
From then on, whenever I happened to take that plastic cup outside, I’d have a family of crows waiting for the traditional offering of cashews.
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Seconding the crow effigy idea (well, I didn't do it with an effigy, I just left them a couple of shiny stuff).
For me, what I did was sit on my doorstep for a while, to get them used to the sight of me. And then I made sure they saw me leaving the shiny thing. I wasn't forbidden from feeding them, so I also let them see me putting out some seeds.
Although feeding them is prohibited, the crow effigy idea person said to have a few cashews or similar in the little nesty thing, and I agree that this would be likely be necessary to draw them over at first.
If you're okay with bending the rules a tad, if the sitting outside thing works and you're able to not scare them away, then leaving behind just a cashew or two in your wake (if the crows are nearby) could help them to begin to associate you with good stuff.
Though if they're dive bombing you, it might be challenging to come back from that
Give them a few unsalted peanuts. Don't tell anybody
this is like crack to those birds. you don't need to feed them daily or even that regularly for them to associate you
if this will make them less protective of their nest you'll find out. please report back in one of the corvids communities.
it's always good to have crow friends
Wait until the younglings are gone and then try to offer food on the reg. You need to be present. And be prepared for stubborn refusal.
They are smart birds to a point. If you leave some sticks out and then later they incorporate them into their nest, they won't think oh this kind human did this for me. They needed sticks and took them. If you stay out of their feathers they're not thinking oh this human is so respectful of my boundaries. They're thinking this terrain is mine! So you're operating on the assumption that you have some sort of getting along with the creatures credit that only exists in your mind. As far as the birds are concerned you were at best a dormant threat they could live with until something made you an active one and you got attacked. And now that's all you are. And it'll take time and effort to change that.
If you go outside with a sandwich and accidentally drop that sandwich, then loundly proclaim your disappointment in your clumsiness, then go back inside, and the crows come down for the remains of your sandwich ... and if this becomes a reguar occurrence ... you can't be fined for being clumsy. Can you?
It depends on the judge
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I was watering the garden and sheepishly decided to spray a crow (not my finest moment). It started dive bombing me regularly. So I gave it some banana and we were chill after that. It only took one offering. You could try giving it some soft material for it's nest.
I don't have a solution but I wanna bump this question, I am invested now.
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Just as an amateur naturist, based on what I've read, I'm thinking it would probably be useful for you to be proactive here and make friends with these intelligent animals, not just get along with them.
So I'd recommend doing a little research and following up, which I'm thinking might involve leaving them out some kind of preferred food on a regular basis, that kind of thing.
Just as an amateur naturist…
I’m not an expert in corvid behaviour either, but I doubt showing your naughty bits to crows is the best course of action.
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Crows will eat cat or dog food (my local crows love the cat food we feed them!). If there aren’t laws against feeding stray cats, you could put a bowl on your porch with cat food and if you’re questioned, play innocent.
As an aside, if you want to identify the fledglings, look at their mouth. Baby crows have red/pink mouths while the adults have black mouths!
As an aside, if you want to identify the fledglings, look at their mouth. Baby crows have red/pink mouths while the adults have black mouths!
The one(s) in the nest have orange around their beaks, so that must be the fledglings. The one(s) that attacked me do indeed have black beaks!
You might not be allowed to feed them directly, but I bet you can eat a messy sandwich or souvlaki that drops a bunch of meat and cheese.
But now you might just be feeding them without them seeing it as a friendly action and get no benefits.
They'll know. Do it a few times. Whistle, click or clap a bit before hand so they're paying attention.
Fuck the bylaws!
I've heard that crows seem to recognize offerings made to them and respond well. Try going outside and, while in their sight (not too close, though), present some food to them where they can see it, carefully place it on the ground, and slowly back away out of sight once more. You may have to do this for multiple days or maybe even weeks, not sure. Otherwise, you can take solace in the fact that nesting season will probably be over shortly as crows usually only raise 1 brood a year. They also don't usually reuse nests, but have been known to build on top of prior successful nests.
You should post an update somewhere in a week or two because this is pretty interesting!
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Huh I had no idea we're not allowed to feed crows.
I got dive bombed years ago one summer, after which I started bribing the crows with peanuts from my balcony. Now they're used to me and let me get pretty close, or come hang out when I'm out there.
They've got babies out front of my building this week and show no interest in me or my dog, but I see them bombing other people regularly.
Oops, you left your PBJ on the porch!
A crow dive bombed me twice, hitting me the first time and whooshing by me the second time. It didn’t hurt, but I’m offended that they don’t remember me
Dude, if they have a youngling and they attacked you/divebombed once, they were teaching the youngling to fly and wanted you to go away just in case.
If it continues, you can try to bribe them, if that doesn't help you will have to chase them away. Preferably after the fledglings can fly.
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I mean, ya gotta make amends. Give healthy food on a schedule so they know you're committed. Perhaps leave a kindly note with a shiny bead.
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Apart from food, look at what crows themselves give as gifts, e.g.
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