What do the crows know?

I feel like we’re brushing past the salient point here - why are the crows doing this?!

Based on the abstract of a research paper I found (the only source I found not interested in exaggerating things for clicks or commenting on mundane problems like nests and poop), crows know that dropping rocks is fun. The researchers (again, according to the abstract--the meat is behind a paywall, as usual) speak as if crows are always dropping rocks; the implication being that the presence of the solar panels is happenstance. Their research merely correlates cracks in the panels, and pebbles on the panels, with crows flying overhead. In the paragraph they don't even directly blame the cracked panels on the rocks, let alone the crows. They simply state the chain of events as a possibility.

On the other hand, I've heard lots of fun facts about birds over the years and the underlying theme is that birds are bastardly and some, like crows, are intelligent. What human kid doesn't enjoy throwing rocks or shooting bullets at glass? I don't find it hard to believe that crows might similar mayhem enjoyable.

They are big oil drones, birds are not real.

Big shiny burn eyes. Rock make shiny sparkle. Hurt bird protect big shiny.

Deciding which side to support between the anti corporate anti technology crows or the bad ass green energy supportimg hawks:

Crows are based.

At a guess, because crows are smart, resourceful little chaos goblins, with basically no fear, especially in groups. Maybe they like the noise the breaking glass makes, or maybe they're just curious to see what will happen. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they've made a game of it, to see which of them can hit nearest the centre, or from highest up. I'm actually surprised that a single falcon manages to scare them off, after seeing what they do to buzzards round here. Even if the buzzard is minding it's own business, multiple crows will attack it in flight, dive it bombing and harrying it until it has left the area.

This headline and xitt smelled to me. Searching in Japanese, I find one instance of it being used at a installation. https://project.nikkeibp.co.jp/ms/atcl/feature/15/389489/041000017/?ST=msb&P=5 I'm not immediately seeing anything else similar.

Edit: clarity.

They also like shiny things so it wouldn't surprise me if it's just due to that.

I'm not convinced a crow can crack a solar panel, they are very tough. People walk on them, and they survive hail.

Is it possible the light bounces off the panels in a way that annoys them too?

The crows are smarter and it worries me they know better

hawk is a narc.

They're farming the raid boss

Even further, why scapegoat the crows at all?

The local avian population no doubt bombs enough bad paint to cause issues when it anneals to the panels in the focused sunlight.
Secondly, that one falcon is quite likely taking whatever it can find on the wing each sortie. Even ground critters. So...

Again. Why? 🤌🏼

Have you seen one IRL? They're really not that but at all. Could fit in a backpack —if you have a wish to lose your soul to oblivion, but yeah. Pretty awesome, actually. 🥰

Gestapo. They were a predator before, too.

Cracking them would increase their sparkle...

What are "sorties"?

So, that's 2.5 sorties an hour, 24 hours a day. I don't know how much falcon need to sleep, but that feels unsustainable.

..what?

Must be your translator. Anyhow, gotta gallop! 🦄

Aviation term for an air attack. Out, hit, back.

I think it's also general military. A squad can sortie out to accomplish an objective.

All of the above!

From the French sortir, "to go out".

So yeah, the "out" and "back" parts are important: if a unit is attaching while maneuvering in the field, it's not a "sortie". That's also why it's common in aviation, since airplanes inherently require a home runway that every attack begins and (ideally) ends at.

Yeah, I’m wondering about the truthfulness of this story also. Here in Southern California we have solar arrays and crows. They seem to coexist quite peacefully,

Ok but who will protect the batteries from the falcons?

Leverage.

Yada yada yada... I just installed our second set of cobras under the couch. They eat the mice. The mice are for feeding the security bears, but they tend to run into the house. The mice, not the bears. The bears protect the house from the road lions who prevent cars from parking in front of the house. That's where we have our electric car chargers fed from the solar panels. Yeah, we got the eagle to chase the falcon who chases the crows. The crows are there to prevent pidgeons so I can enjoy my fries in pace. My dog doesn't bark at all. Cone to think of it, I haven't seen that rascal in a few weeks. I wonder what he's doing.

Now I’m wondering. How large of an area one bird could cover. How many falcons does one professional falconer have? Do they take constant upkeep training like a dog or do they retain better? Does a falcon eat much? Can they eat people food? Like two mice a day with some fish would probably be ok. Maybe let it eat some of the crows to keep costs down?

So like 2-6 falcons, they can sleep in the van, let them eat the crows they nail. The birds are only flying from dawn to dusk, so 7 days a week for maybe 10 hours on average?

Screw it, I’m buying a falcon.

Shouldnt the crows be happy about green energy? I think they are ungreatful.

Jesus, I know French but i didn't connect the term to the language! 🤣

I would also be amazed if a crow could lift a big enough rock to damage a panel. I have a pile of panels in use; they're pretty damn tough to break that glass. Only time I've seen one broken was the wind tore it off it's mount and smashed it into the top of a fence post. I measure the production afterwards and it was still 90% despite the glass being crazed across the entire surface.

Had crows at my parents place pecking the windows. So them attacking glass surfaces definitely tracks.

"there was a high possibility of actual damage occurring, such as the cover glass being broken by falling rocks or the panel surface being soiled with droppings" from the Japanese article via google translate.

Our crows here are larger than the US ("grackles" in Texas may be close, but I think they're still smaller), but I still wonder if they could drop rocks heavy enough (or repeatedly enough) to do anything.

Merry focused ambling to you and your pack.

Nature is self-sabotaging it would appear

Info from the original source, which I think was this facebook post:

In Japan, large solar power farms face an unusual challenge from crows, highly intelligent birds that have taken to dropping stones and other debris onto the photovoltaic panels.
Although the impacts rarely shatter the glass immediately, the accumulated objects create hotspots by blocking airflow and sunlight, leading to gradual overheating, reduced efficiency, and potential long-term damage to the expensive infrastructure critical for renewable energy production.
Experts speculate that this behavior might stem from curiosity, playfulness, or crows treating the shiny, flat surfaces as novel platforms for their habitual object-dropping antics—similar to how they crack nuts by dropping them from heights onto roads.
Conventional deterrents like netting, reflective tapes, or noise devices often prove ineffective against such adaptable and persistent corvids.
The most reliable solution has proven to be falconry: professional falconers deploy trained raptors, typically hawks or falcons, to patrol the sites.
The mere presence and aerial pursuits of these natural predators trigger an instinctive fear response in crows, prompting them to vacate the area entirely rather than risk confrontation.
Remarkably, a single well-trained falcon can conduct around 60 rapid attack sorties daily, establishing dominance over a vast territory and safeguarding up to 100,000 solar panels from further interference.
This eco-friendly, non-lethal method revives traditional falconry practices to protect modern green technology, balancing wildlife behavior with sustainable energy needs.

Just like my ex husband

Between this and the decoy nests what the fuck did Japan do to piss crows off so bad

Please film yourself putting a live wild crow into your backpack. Conscious, please