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Ol' Five Cracker stacks up Ritz crackers on Tuesday morning at the Holz Rubber plant in Lodi. The crow stacks saltine and Ritz crackers so that he can carry more than one at a time. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)
Crow family takes a shine to Lodi's Holz Rubber plant
There's something about Holz Rubber plant that a family of four crows seems to like.
It's not the rubber they like at the South Sacramento Street plant; it's the saltine crackers that a longtime engineer keeps feeding them.
That and the morning food truck that sells Asian, Mexican and American food at 8:30 each morning.
"They even like Mexican food, especially the burritos," said a Holz employee who identified himself only as Ben. "And that's spicy burritos."
Following several incidents of interesting crow behavior — including a crow that flew into a Lodi police car and scuffled with the officer — the Lodi News-Sentinel invited residents to share their crow tales.
One such tale is the story of the four crows who visit Holz Rubber.
About four years ago, an adult male crow started coming by the rubber plant. Ted Cooper, a long-time engineer, started seeing him outside his window and started noticing his habits. He named the bird "Ol' Five Cracker" because he's smart enough to stack five saltine crackers, then carry them away to eat them.
Ted Cooper, safety and environmental manager at Holz Rubber Engineering, throws out crackers for a local crow, Ol' Five Cracker, on Tuesday morning. Cooper has been feeding the bird for the last four years. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)
On Tuesday, Ol' Five Cracker showed up like clockwork, but his lady friend and baby birds weren't there. This time, Cooper left some Ritz crackers, which are heavier than the saltines, so the bird only picked up two of them.
But how does one know it's the same crow that comes each day? Cooper knows it is.
"They all have personalities all their own," he said. "He'll recognize me if he sees me."
It started with just Ol' Five Cracker coming for food, but now he has a significant other and two babies, one born last year and another one two or three months ago. But only Dad has the talent to stack the saltines, he says.
Crows enjoy more than saltine crackers. In fact, they'll eat most anything, Cooper said. They're so smart they know the employees' lunch schedule, which for one shift is 11 a.m. They usually show up at 10:30 a.m. to wait for workers to devour their lunch, and better yet, drop some crumbs on the ground.
They've also taken a liking to almonds, if the tree down the street from Cooper's desk is any indication.
"They've pretty much stripped it (of almonds)," he said.
Ol' Five Cracker has taken to the employees eating lunch outside as well. He used to wait for the employees to leave before foraging for leftovers they dropped to the ground. But now he doesn't wait for the workers to leave.
Length: 18 1/4 inches.
Characteristics: Shy but cunning.
Range: Common in all parts of the United States.
Diet: Eats fruits, vegetables, seeds, snakes, frogs, lizards and other small reptiles, worms and insects.
Source: National Audubon Society.
Characteristics: Shy but cunning.
Range: Common in all parts of the United States.
Diet: Eats fruits, vegetables, seeds, snakes, frogs, lizards and other small reptiles, worms and insects.
Source: National Audubon Society.
Antonio Hernandez said the crows will sit on top of the nearby almond tree, wait for employees to drop some food, then swoop down and eat it.
"They started trusting us," Ben said.
It gets particularly entertaining when seagulls fly through the Central Valley on their way to Mono Lake each year. Some gulls visit Holz Rubber and fight the crows for food.
"Actually, it's the crows defending their territory," Holz Controller Tom Azevedo said. "The seagulls are just passing through."
Cooper, who lives in the north end of Lodi, sees a murder of crows fly over his house on a regular basis.
"It's like a B-17 from World War II," he said.
But he has a soft spot in his heart for Ol' Five Cracker and makes sure the bird is fat and happy.
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.
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