I’ve found that the topic of crow behavior/intelligence is very popular with most people. A big reason for this is cultural; crows, ravens, and other corvids have lived near people since prehistoric times, and their brashness, intelligence, and willingness to exploit us for food caused us to take notice. Crows pop in mythologies and stories from cultures across the world as tricksters, messengers, and gift-givers. In contemporary times, we hear stories about crows using traffic to crack open hard nuts, remembering the faces of friends (and enemies), and bringing gifts to people who feed them. Small wonder why everyone is interested in crows!
As someone with over a decade of experience with both crow research and education, I offer a unique opportunity to share my expertise with you and your organization.
I have been invited to speak at dozens of events, from humble breweries and retirement communities to larger events like the Bothell Annual Crow Watch and Eastside Audubon chapter meeting. As part of my presentation, I show videos of some of the stranger crow behaviors, the scientific explanation for why they do some of the things they do, and the research that I and others UW have conducted in our search to learn more about our charismatic neighbors. I also answer questions from the audience until the organizers kick me off the stage. I’m consistently told that it’s a very popular presentation, and I’ve been reinvited by many.
If you’d like to invite me to speak at your organization, please feel free to reach out via my email; I can’t give my exact address here or I’ll be bombarded by spam, but the first half is “pendergraft.loma” and the last half is “@gmail.com” (just put the two halves together without the quotes). My speaker’s fee is contingent on travel distance (I live in Seattle, WA)