The Urban Nature Enthusiast

Crow and raven photographer, celebrating nature, usually in an urban setting

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astonishment

Astonished

July 4, 2014September 2, 2014 / The Urban Nature Enthusiast / Leave a comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me

    keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

— from the poem, Messenger by Mary Oliver (Thirst)

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CITY CROW STORIES

junehunterimages

The Watcher — keeping an eye on me as I pack order The Watcher — keeping an eye on me as I pack orders in the studio today. #ravenportrait #junehunterimages #ravenphotography #junehunterstudio
Are those plastic “bird scare” owls a good investm Are those plastic “bird scare” owls a good investment?
Well, it depends …
As a crow deterrent — 0⭐️
As a crow enrichment toy — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#citycrowstories #crowintelligence 
#crowgames
I’m going through my videos, getting ready for my I’m going through my videos, getting ready for my “Raven or Crow?” presentation on 0ctober 3 at Kinderbooks. The talk, a month-long show of my work and a “meet the artist” day on October 4 (all at Kinderbooks, located in the New Westminster River Market) are part of the New West Culture Crawl, featuring a fabulous mix of BC artists. 
The video, btw, features a raven being harangued by some local crows. 
Also, I’m afraid the presentation is fully booked — but do come by Kinderbooks on October 4 to “meet the artist” (me) and talk about corvids — or any day in October to see the show of my work. 
@kinderbooks2 @nwculturalcrawl 
#crowphotography #ravenphotography #junehunterimages
A tiny version of “Things Go Better With Crows” ne A tiny version of “Things Go Better With Crows” nestled in the studio. 
This one is a 3 x 4-inch, deck-of-cards-sized wood panel. A series of these, and some bigger panels, will be for sale as part of my small art show at @kinderbooks, as part of @nwculturalcrawl starting on October 3.
#NewWestCulturalCrawl #NWCC2026 #ArtsNW #NewWest #junehunterimages
Raven echo. A comment made on yesterday’s video r Raven echo. 
A comment made on yesterday’s video reminded me of this raven, carefully listening to his or her own call echoing off canyon walls of glass and concrete. 
I filmed this a few years ago when we used to have regular raven visitors to our block. I find raven calls hard to track at the best of times. They always seem to be coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. When I did locate this raven speaker, I realized that the second raven I thought I heard was an echo illusion. 
#ravenspeak #ravenmystique # echo #ravenvideo
Young Noodle has taken to coming by to visit on hi Young Noodle has taken to coming by to visit on his own, although I’m sure Nancy and Norman are keeping an eye on him from a distance. Yesterday, he had a LOT to say for himself. 
I love many things about crows and ravens, but near the top is listening to the young ones making long rambling speeches as they try out their expanding vocabulary. It always reminds me of a school poetry recital. ❤️
#citycrowstories #normanandnancycrows #youngnoodlecrow #crowvocalizations
Fred’s shenanigans have been temporarily suspended Fred’s shenanigans have been temporarily suspended due to moulting season. 
There are only two annual gaps in his dog-tail-pulling activities. 
First, there are a few weeks in spring where he devotes 100% of his time and energy to fledgling protection. After that, he’s demonstrating for the youngsters how it’s done. 
Then comes the late summer/fall moulting season where the itchiness and apparent dip in self-esteem lead to second-guessing himself. He’ll sidle up behind the dog, get about a foot away from the target-tail, and then bottle it. 
If the seasons unfold as usual, his confidence will be back, and the tailing-pulling will be back once he’s grown his magnificent new feathery superhero outfit. 
#citycrowstories #fearlessfredcrow #moultingseason
A party goes better with crow coasters. Even bett A party goes better with crow coasters. 
Even better would be crow party guests, although they CAN get a little rowdy. 😍

#junehunterimages #coasters #crowphotography #crowdecor
The late-season fledglings are still making a rack The late-season fledglings are still making a racket in the ‘hood. Of my local crows, Bella & Bongo and The Angels (Angelo & Angela) had their first nests fail, but succeeded on the second go round. 
Interestingly, I notice that the older fledglings in the area, who had more or left stopped pestering their parents to feed them, seem to regress when hearing those baby sounds coming from the neighbours. Now they’re all back to the plaintive begging sounds, to the annoyance of the tired and grumpily moulting parents. 🤣
#crowfledgings #citycrowstories #parenting
A post in honour of the disheveled song sparrow wh A post in honour of the disheveled song sparrow who was briefly trapped in a corner of our front porch this afternoon. 
Happily, I was able to rescue them and release them to go about their important song sparrow business. 
That business, as illustrated here, includes singing (duh) and looking very, very judgemental. 
#songsparrow #birdsofjudgement #birdrescue #lbb
Young crow couples in the competitive Vancouver re Young crow couples in the competitive Vancouver real estate market: this was the subject of my last blog post. In all the tariff furore, I forgot to post here about it earlier. If you’re in the mood for some lighter reading material, you’ll find the story of Nellie and Neil Young at at urbannature.blog 😊 #citycrowstories #neilyoungcrow #vancouverrealestate
Thanks so much to all the Canadian customers who o Thanks so much to all the Canadian customers who ordered prints this week after seeing my work on CTV News on Monday. (I was briefly featured in a piece about the impact of the new 50% US tariffs on Canadian artists.) 
These prints are now winging their way to customers, and others will leave the studio tomorrow. 
Thanks again. 
Also: Elbows Up & Buy Canadian!!! 😊🇨🇦 

#junehunterimages #crowphotography #buycanadian  #elbowsup #tariffs
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Extreme close up of an very wet crow, spiky head feathers and one indignant eye looking at photographer

Extreme close up of an very wet crow Photography by June Hunter ©junehunterimages2026

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