Crowventures, Con't

My three-crow family continues to come by at least once a day, sometimes twice. There's also a crow who comes by alone; I'm not sure if she's part of that family or a loner, but she's a lot cagier about coming close. She'll light on the big oak branch and watch me, but not land on the screen to look at me.

I can get out to the yard through two doors, and I switch between them based on which ones the squirrels are closer to (I don't like squirrels, thanks to long experience with them on the university campus where I work, where they will climb on you to take your food practically out of your mouth). I decided to use the side door one day to help the crow avoid the squirrels, who fight the crows for the peanuts, so I made eye contact (!) as I moved toward the door and said, "Crow, over here, okay?"

I opened the door and the crow, watching me, flew over to land near me. I think we were both startled by that, because the crows almost never fly toward me, and this crow in particular doesn't like to come close. I set the peanuts down verrrrry carefully that time, to not startle her, and then left us both bemused as I walked away.

The other three continue to be bold and friendly. If I walk to the side door and call 'aww aww' as I do so, the largest of them will fly over in response, pacing me. They continue to like to hop onto the screen to watch me more closely, so I return the favor. If I hear them in the distance, I can walk outside and call loudly, 'AW AW' and usually one of them will fly over. I am sure the neighbors think I'm nuts.

I'm also fairly certain one showed up to warn me about the storms preceding the recent cold front, too. He was yammering on the branch, but didn't fly for the peanuts when I spread them... just sat up there, hanging onto the branch and occasionally squawking. I could imagine him saying "HEY, ALIEN SPECIES WITH THE FLOWER-COLORED HEAD PLUMAGE. HEY YOU. YOU ARE SMART ENOUGH TO GET SHELTER, RIGHT? SHELTER, ALIEN CREATURE! SHELTER!"

I guess a lot of people dislike crows because they are noisy and not that colorful. But I love their insouciant struts, their complex family structures and attendant political drama, their glossy feathers, and their considering gazes. There are a lot of birds in Florida and on any one day my yard will have at least seven different species in it, from little blue herons and red-shouldered hawks to wrens and cardinals and jays. But no bird looks at me the way the crows do. Like they're curious. ❤️