I finally witnessed the chaos of dusk in downtown Oakland.

I have been feeding a crow for a few months and yesterday I got his beeping, clicking and bowing on video. He has become a lot more friendly and familiar recently. I know we can’t know what he’s saying but I think it’s a good sign! I haven’t found another video with this specific sound so maybe it’s regional? Made me so happy 🥰

(The other clicking is me imitating him)

TLDR at the end! Thanks in advance!

I live in an apartment unit in a fairly-large city, and I overheard my landlady talk about how she hates birds. She's also been very vigilant about inspecting balconies for pigeon nests. I've lived here for almost a year, and starting in spring I started leaving nuts and seeds on a tree stump in a somewhat-private parking lot. The local crows caught on, of course, and that's brought me so much joy! I'm normally very careful about feeding wildlife, but I see so many crows eating garbage in the city that I don't care if I'm accidentally domesticating them a bit more or enticing them to stay...I'd rather them become lazy foragers from eating peanuts than fast-food leftovers or something unsafe in a dumpster. I'm careful not to leave strong-smelling food like meat because I don't want to attract wildlife that is currently still more wild, like coyotes.

I always fed the crows at the stump or on walks a good distance from my apartment building, but they inevitably started following me home and know where I live. They started perching closer and closer to the building over time, even if I walked past them and put the food on the stump. At this point I frequently feed them near the building, wherever they're waiting, because they're just gonna wait there anyway. I only feed them once per day, but I have a very inconsistent routine so I just look outside every now and then to see if they happen to be waiting.

They recently escalated, and I'm both exasperated and flattered...they figured out which unit I'm in! They must've seen me in the window looking at them so many times, and then coming out to feed them, so now they're begging closer to my unit and not being subtle at all! The other day one swooped right up to my window, inches away, and then circled back to the rest, like it was trying to get my attention (it worked). Just today, my partner said a crow was sitting on a rock right in front of our unit, the closest they've ever been to our building, and screaming directly at our window LOL. We're now very familiar with their food-related calls.

I don't know what to do! I love feeding them and don't want to give up on supplementing their unsafe urban diet, but I also don't want to get in trouble for enticing wildlife or something. There's a camera on the building which probably isn't monitored, but I could also get caught by my landlady if I didn't know she was visiting or something. I know I made it worse by feeding them near the building, but I'd given up because they were waiting for me there every day anyway. Any ideas on how to keep a good relationship with them and keep feeding them good food without making my apartment building look like my dream witch hovel?

TLDR: I feed urban crows in an empty parking lot so they have less tummy room for garbage, but I live in a rental and my landlady would be upset that the crows follow me home and wait outside the building. I started reinforcing their behaviour by feeding them closer to my apartment since they were begging there anyway instead of near the stump. How can I discourage them from hanging out in front of my unit when they did it even when I fed them far away? Thanks!

In the past three days I have found three keys outside in my yard that open my front door. One was placed on the ledge by my front window, one was on the grass in the front yard, and the one this morning was left in place of their morning peanuts. The only sane (ish) thing I can come up with is that the people who lived here before us hid spare keys in the yard, the recent rain uncovered them, and the crows that follow me around found them. It’s so weird and I’m feeling kinda crazy. Is this possible?

Gosh, he's pretty! He's even modern enough to share my affections with a whole mischief of maggies. 😍

every morning. 4:30 am until full sunrise. thousands gather and pop off. then dissapear for the day.
my theory is its a gathering spot for all the different groups meeting up and discussing whats going on elsewhere in the city.
any ideas?
this is every morning.

In spring and in summer i managed to get a picture of a Eurasian magpie and a hooded crow that were seen hanging out together. Now in autumn, when i returned home and visited grandma, i was able to see the duo again. They fly together, roost in the same tree, and even if they happen to be with their own species, they preffer to follow the other rather than members of their own species. A theory is that they are actualy a couple, as they stuck together even during the mating season, which is quite interesting to see

My lovely crow friends enjoying some walnuts, so lucky I get to see them during my lunch break.