Crows

I feed squirrels and crows every day. The squirrels, they're like clockwork; they know what time I'll venture out in the backyard and there they are, waiting and eager. I love how they look at me expectedly, attentive to my every movement, just waiting for the nuts and seeds to be dispersed. The crows, though, oh the crows, they prefer to announce themselves loudly, cawing to me, perched princely upon a branch of the big red pine tree that I named Tulip. They do not respect punctuality, it means nothing to them. I could be working away diligently, in my groove or on a virtual meeting and I will hear their loud caws, and I get so very excited, and if I am able, I'll drop everything I'm doing to rush outside. I don't want to miss the chance to feed them, to see their dark majestic wings and the power and mysticism they imbue with their presence.

When I first started to feed them, I was cautious and apprehensive, not sure how they would react or receive me. I had heard of crows attacking people before, but usually it's because they are protecting their young, their fledging. On the other hand, they usually treat their feeders differently, in fact, some leave gifts. One young girl name Gabi Mann in Seattle, has a large assorted collection of gifts she received from crows. Everything from buttons, charms to paperclips, to name a few.

I was lucky enough myself to receive a small gift. About three crows had appeared on my fence, and the middle one had something in its beak. When I made eye contact with the crow, he dropped it. After they flew off, I retrieved it. It was merely a piece of folded blank, yet I found it intriguing. I simply took it as a message of thanks. I never did get anything again from them again, but I think it's because I asked them to find me a diamond, so I think I overshot my request.

I learned a lot about crows, their intelligence, their symbolism and their language. A study on the results of testing birds on intelligence, published in 2014, from Plos One, a scientific journal titled, Modifications to the Aesop's Fable Paradigm Change New Caledonian Crow Performances, stated in their abstract that "Rook, Eurasian jay, and New Caledonian crow performances are similar to those of children under seven years of age when solving this task. "

American author and ornithologist John Marzluff, cited in Canadian Geographic, indicated that crows can have very long memories; the author himself experienced the harassment of a crow he banded 10 years before.

Apparently in Japan, there are crows that will drop walnuts in front of moving cars in order to crack them. There are some interesting videos on YouTube on it.

Crows are also rich in symbolism, often associated with death and the underworld, because they feed on carrion. However, dig into further layers of its symbolism and you'll uncover many deeper meanings, such as spiritual transformation, new beginnings, wisdom and good fortune.

Crows have highly complex language structure, beyond the generic "caws" one would generally associate with them. They are even able to distinguish between one another by the call they make and even are known to have regional dialects. They are incredibly attuned and communicate differently to each other for a variety of reasons as well as to their doting humans.

Overall, they are an incredible avian species and highly adaptable.

When I don't see them for a few days, I begin to worry about them and then I selfishly worry that I've been replaced by another kind feeder. Strange though, sometimes I swear they read my thoughts, or feel my longing for them, because usually within a half hour, there they are again, cawing from outside, beckoning me to come hither. And come hither, I do.