Crows/Magpies and...Coyotes?

Mike9327

Mike9327

New member
So I got to go out and make a stand today. It was late so I only had time for one. Anyways I had the Foxpro about 30-40 yards out in some sage brush next to a fence line and played the baby cottontail.. The wind was perfect and was slightly blowing at my back. I thought for sure I would see a yote. There are also quite a few tracks in the area and last week we heard a lot howling in the morning. About 10 mins into the stand I heard a crow cawing behind me. Along with two other followers. And directly in front of me was another about 150 yards out. I kept glassing to see if I could see anything else. After the crows circled the caller for about 5 minutes they lost interest and flew off. After about 25 minutes I gave up on the stand and was kicking myself for leaving my shotgun at the truck. They were close lol.

So after that I texted a buddy who is big into yote hunting and told him about the whole thing. Hes killed his fair share of dogs. He was telling me that a coyote probably wasn't far behind the crows. He said that coyotes sometimes work as a "team" with crows and magpies and are held up until the crows make a move. I've also heard that "every coyote has a magpie/crow." Is there any truth behind this? What do you guys think? Was I busted by some crows?
 
I can't say if you were busted or not witout having been there, however your buddy's right about coyotes and magpies/crows following each other to find food.

Here abour half the time a crow will land in a tree and scope you out and the next place it looks is to where whatever is trying to flank you is coming in from. It has gotten me dogs in the past just by watching the crow. blue
 
I wouldn't say every coyote, but sometimes they do follow them. I had a magpie fly over my head one time when I was calling and about 5 seconds after that a coyote jumped over the sagebrush right next to me and kept running. He had no idea I was there he took a 55 gr vmax to the butt at 15 yds dropped him like a sack of poo. That was the only time I have had one following a bird and I call in a lot of birds.
 
I believe and have experienced the "every coyote has a magpie", but conversly, not every magpie has a coyote. Just last Thursday, I made four stands. Called birds on each stand. Had one dog hang up on the down wind and bark at me on the first stand, and shot a big male on the second stand with the 870. On that stand, there was quite the entorage of birds that arrived shortly before the dog. 10-15 magpies, and a couple crow came in circled the called, and then roosted in the only tree about 100 yrds away. I would estimate that within 30 seconds to a minute, the dog was trotting in at 40yrds waiting for a load of 4 buck! I have had similar experiences while calling wolves this fall as well. Predators work together! Just my two bits.
 
The bird/coyote deal isn't universal, but back when we could get air gunning permits for 'otes we always watched close for bird movement and usually found an 'ote "right in there"!

My experience on the ground has been negative with birds bustin' me.


Three 44s
 
I've never seen the crow/coyote thing here, but while watching coyotes mouse in old rice fields have seen hawks circling closely. It was like they were watching for a mouse to run out that the coyote didn't see.

Shayne
 
Good thing to know. Maybe it will help later on and ill be able to answer it as well lol. Thanks for the replies guys.
 
If I am in the middle of the stand and I see a magpie come in, I get ready. Not that I'm not already alert but I might even click my safty off. More times than not a yote isn't too far behind. ...My experience only.
 
I found the correlation by accident. As a signal to my hunting partner that I'm calling it quits rather than just getting up to leave I started to use the fighting crow call as a signal. Within a minute the crows started in. Just for fun I kept calling. Then all of a sudden a coyote comes busting in. So my standard end is always a crow call. It doesn't happen every time but I'm sure it helps. I'm sure others have watched crows being pushed off a dead deer or gut pile by coyotes. They certainly have a common interest.
 
If You can fool Crows or Hawks to come in to a Distress Call it makes sense that a Coyote,Fox or Bobcat may very well come in also!

I recently bought myself a Crow Call just to draw in more Crows so a Coyote would come running in....it does work,when Predators hear Crows group up and making a ruckus they're first instinct is to see what's up and get an easy meal.
 
Yep, and then when you get your hat taken off by an owl at night, you know you are doing it right.
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I had an experience with this in the summer. I was using my foxpro to call crows and 3 coyotes came in after crows showed up. It surprised me I was looking up. They ran right past my caller into a corn field. I had a owl decoy on the fence above my caller. I switched to rabbit distress to try and bring them back. No sign of them after a few mins I switched back to calling crows and used crow distress. One of the coyotes immediately came back within 40 ft of me and stopped too look at the owl decoy. I dropped him with 20 gauge low brass #7 buckshot. Of course his coat was thin. Anyway I posted my results and several guys on here said they have had good success calling coyotes by finishing up their stands with crow calls. I'm sure there is some connection, curiousity, easy meal, ?? If it works how cares...lol.
 
Around where I hunt Ravens fly right over coyotes as the coyotes are running in to my e-caller.

If a Raven is dipping down low to the ground as it is heading towards my e-caller I always watch for a coyote under the Raven.

It is not a coyote following the Raven, it is a Raven pestering a coyote.

I have also seen coyotes under hawks and one time a Golden Eagle dipped down right over a bobcat that we had not seen. We may have never seen the bobcat if the eagle hadn't dipped down right over it.

When there are lots of Ravens around sometimes I will use Foxpro's Raven & Jack Rabbit sound, it really gets the Ravens fired up. There has been a few times when we had a coyote come in after playing the Raven & Jack Rabbit sound.

I don't think any of the birds and coyotes are working as a team but the birds and coyotes are using each other to find food.

I have found coyotes on dead cattle from very long distances by seeing Ravens or Eagles way off and then looking with binoculars and seeing coyotes with the birds at a dead cow.
 
Originally Posted By: Mike9327The wind was perfect and was slightly blowing at my back.

Huh, if the wind was blowing at your back then the coyote smelled you.
 
They are all in the same game together, survival. I see it as one species gaining whatever they can from the other, if a coyote sees a bird be it magpie or crow bug out unnatural it will use more caution or may not come in at all. I think the birds settle there nerves and give them more confidence in the situation. Two years ago I finished up a bobcat stand with a crow/cottontail sound on my Foxpro and had a big tom walk right from his hiding place into the open to see what all the bird chatter was about only thing is there were no birds around but he was sure looking. I believe that with the sounds of the grows mobbing the food he dropped his guard a bit which in the end got him a load of #4 buckshot.
 
Coyotes will chase the buzzards off a dead animal here, when we drop a yote a 150 yards behind the house the buzzards will fly up and I know a couple of coyotes are on it. They will hit it off and on all day for two or three days. We got two more off a dead one a few months back.

I put two down over a week ago and there hasn't been a single buzzard or yote on them, can't figure that out. My buddy thinks that with calling three in and getting two of them we won't get a coyote back for a couple of weeks. Made a mistake letting that third one get away, it surprised me he was still there and leaving the scene after the second one went down.
 
I got two stories involving birds. Once, was in the summer while I was using adult cottontail in distress. A hawk swooped in and tried to bite the decoy. Killed a 40lb male 20 minutes later. A couple of weeks ago, I was calling and ate lunch after. Well, while I was calling, a big ol caracara flew in and perched about 70 yards away. When I started lunch, he was still there. Looked over to grab my camera from my bag only to find this thing stealing my chicken and flyin off! On the way out I noticed some yote tracks that were not there on the way in. Don't know if this helped, but these are my experiences.
 
Originally Posted By: Cman962I had an experience with this in the summer. I was using my foxpro to call crows and 3 coyotes came in after crows showed up. It surprised me I was looking up. They ran right past my caller into a corn field. I had a owl decoy on the fence above my caller. I switched to rabbit distress to try and bring them back. No sign of them after a few mins I switched back to calling crows and used crow distress. One of the coyotes immediately came back within 40 ft of me and stopped too look at the owl decoy. I dropped him with 20 gauge low brass #7 buckshot. Of course his coat was thin. Anyway I posted my results and several guys on here said they have had good success calling coyotes by finishing up their stands with crow calls. I'm sure there is some connection, curiousity, easy meal, ?? If it works how cares...lol.

Now, I have had coyotes come in to me calling crows. One showed up within 30 seconds of turning the call on.

Shayne
 
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