The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-02-24
Conservation
CROW APPEARS
TO REMEMBER
FOR ONE WEEK
Useless to Set Shooting
Blind in Same Place
Until Time Passes.
This is the concluding article of a
series of two on crows.
BY WILLIAM F. COLLINS
Times Special Writer

much. Take your place in a we'll
built blind. Use your favorite
weapon; personally, prefer a 20
gauge automatic shotgun with the
long barrel full choke and at times
when I feel cocky, Colt officers
model % callber pistol
Garrison of Delphi uses an auto
matte % rifle and is sudden death
to anything flying within 100 feet.
Get a great horned owl from the
conservation department and have
Lee Winders mount it for you as
he did one for me. The wings flop
and the head turns in a realistic
fashion when you pull string from
the blind; the decoy out from the
blind on Snag in a good shooting
stance, preferably near the border
of a wood lot which crows are
known to use and if at all possible,
within fifty feet of a high, bare,
shaggy old tree.
Try, if possible, to get your plum
der arranged and get into your blind
without being seen by a crow. Then
settle down and try to look like
leaf. This will take a little practice.
Appear Suddenly
There is not crow in sight, none
can be heard. But just as gulls
materialiZe Thurston- fashion out of
nothingness when you chuck over
board a Gods liver, suddenly an up
roar decends upon your owl out of
vacancy. "Blaw, blaw-caw-caca-
ca-ca!" All hell breaks loose and
you can begin firing.
In the excitement of the moment
you can get in a nice group of shots
and the crows do not seem to mind;
the falling birds must appear to
them as victims Of the owl Talk
about wing shooting
I have seen an octogenarian jump
out of blind when the ruckus was
over and do a double buffalo Thirty
minutes earlier he was gripping
about how badly his lumbar neu-
ritiS felt in contact with the cold
ground.
But don't think you can two
time" a crow Move your freight
to another blind, another wood lot,
next day. In a week or so you may
return, as that seems to be about |
the time limit of crows memory.
Fight Wind Resistance
For a change, find the lines of
flight of crows returning to their
rookery about 4 p m. Pick a day
with a strong wind blowing against |
the flight. You can always select
a spot where the wind blows against |
them if you know where the rookery
is located.
In the morning the crows leave
their roost in cartwheel fashion
and return at night along the radii |
of the wheel.
Some place in the circle, the wind
is against the flight and in that
spot the crows are flying low, taking
advantage Of every ground obstruc-
ton that breaks the force of the |
wind. Select your shooting stand
with an eye to concealment and
ability to move laterally as much as
a half mile quickly
A flight passes over in gun shot.
You pick two or three out of it.
Watch down the fight for a shift |
to the right or left. BY crow tele-
pathy even those birds out of sight
know something is getting messy
up ahead and they are on the pui
vive. When the flight shifts over,
be ready to get under it again. The
memory of you fingers in that |
flights mind several days. They |
won't come anywhere near the old |
line next evening or the next.
Saluted as Worthy Foe
Whenever you hear a crow say,
"Ca-ca, ca-ca," get out of your hid
ing place and go home. You owe
me a quarter for that tip for it will
save you many a cramped ache. |
Some crow has seen you and there
he will sit telling the world about |
your perf1dy.
1 once shot a crow by accident. |
That is, the circumstances were ac- |
cidental. One crow flew over me
while was walking at the edge of
the timber. He must have been
worried about either his light or his
black bill. I shot him. His mate
circled out of range and commenced |
a seductive calling, getting farther
and farther away. Finally I lost
sound of her.
I went back to pick up the dead
crow and he was gone. The calling
was done to lead him away to safe
ty. He followed her guidance;
there can be no doubt of that, for
the next day I found him with
broken wing 200 rods east of where
he was hit, the mate still watching
over him. Black magician, I take
my hat off to- you; you have out
witted me far oftener than have