American fish crows build decoy nest

This video from the USA says about itself:

28 September 2016

Fish Crows noisily go about the business of building a huge nest of twigs high in a long-leaf pine tree. They did such a good job of hiding this huge nest near the crown of the tree that I had to bushwhack my way back in the Jungle just to get an angled view of it. But the nest was never used and further research brings me to the conclusion that I was duped by a decoy nest! We all know crows are extremely intelligent – did you know they are known to build decoy nests and keep their real nest very private. That explains why they were so noisily and obviously building this one to attract attention to it while they quietly built another nest nearby.

I had plans to film the raising and fledging of their young, but they are too smart for that. If I’m watching them then they are watching me! I found this interesting quote by musician Tom Waits that relates to this event: “I saw a crow building a nest, I was watching him very carefully, I was kind of stalking him and he was aware of it. And you know what they do when they become aware of someone stalking them when they build a nest, which is a very vulnerable place to be? They build a decoy nest. It’s just for you.”

So in a way I feel honored!