bird photography

The Status Crow

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 9 Comments

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been fooled repeatedly.

I hear that insistent begging call, and I think — “Aha, a crow fledgling!”

There SHOULD be some out and about by now — but it’s been another perilous nesting season and each time I hear the begging call, it turns out to be not a fledgling, but a female crow calling out to her mate for food while she remains close to the nest.

Bella places an emphatic food order

Bongo delivers

At this time last year, Bongo and Bella’s fledglings had been out of the nest for almost two weeks and they looked on schedule for another early start. When we left for our trip to the UK in mid-April, Bella seemed to be sitting on eggs in their nice new nest. I’m not sure what happened in the month we were away, but they now have a new nest in a different tree and no sign of any fledglings yet.

Bongo, always near the nest on high alert

And poor Norman and Nancy! After a very trying start to the season, they were on their third nest effort when we left in April. When we got back in mid-May I was thrilled to see that, not only were they still on that nest, but I could see the heads of at least two little baby crows in there. Things were looking good!

But baby bird catastrophe struck overnight in some mysterious form (hawk, owl, eagle, raccoon, cat?) and the nest was abandoned.

A day later, Norman was out again on stick-gathering duty.  I don’t know where the new nest is  — and hopefully neither do the hawks, owls, eagles etc!

As for Marvin, Mavis and Lucky — they seem to have moved further away from our house following a short but heated territorial dispute with Norman.

Norman boldly ventured into what was hitherto Marvin and Mavis-land — was challenged by either Marvin or Lucky — and crankily refused to back down.

I’m not sure who’s who in this tussle. Fortunately, neither bird was injured — but the unseemly outburst was enough to convince Marvin, Mavis and Lucky to move a little further east for a quiet life.

The Walkers, back after their mysterious fall and winter disappearance, are still holding onto their old territory. Mr. Walker may have to be renamed Mr. Flapper as, since his eye injury, he does very little walking. His impaired vision has made him less confident and he seems to feel safer now on branches, wires and rooftops rather than strutting along the sidewalk as in days of yore.

Mr. Walker, May 2024

Wanda makes some desultory begging calls.

Wanda left, Mr Walker right.

The Walkers seem to be in nesting mode, but I can’t tell where the nest might be or at what stage they’re at, only that Wanda is begging for food.

Having only two good eyes between them, it’s going to be a challenge — but crows, as we all know, are determined and resourceful birds and the Walkers are veterans of nesting challenges.

A few blocks away, Earl and Echo had their first nest all completed back in April but, as with Bongo and Bella, something went wrong and they’ve had to relocate.

I’ve seen his Earl-ship around a lot, accompanied by last year’s fledging, but nary a trace of Echo …

… until a couple of days ago, when she emerged from what, judging by the state of her feathers, have been tumultuous times in the nest.

So that’s the nesting status-crow for now.
I’m expecting/hoping to see some baby crows in the ‘hood in the next week or so.

And when those babies DO emerge from the nest, remember that the parents will be (justifiably) beside themselves with worry as the fledglings stumble about helplessly on the ground until they get their flying skills sorted out.

Some crow fledgling tips:

 

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© junehunterimages, 2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to junehunterimages with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

New Year Advice: Crows and Raven Edition

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 5 Comments

It’s just another day, really — but this last one of the year always seems to arrive weighed down by a vast and slightly unbalanced load of meaning.

Add a dash of melancholy and a splash of nostalgia and it’s time to head outside and see what nature has to prescribe.

Be thoughtful

Be kind

Be a good listener

Find wonder in small things

Be determined

These are just a few of the suggestions the local crows and ravens have given me for 2024.

I’m sure there a lot more (curiosity, confidence, pizzazz …. but I’d be writing all day!)

Wishing us all joy, beauty, hope and peace for the New Year.

 

PS This morning’s reminder from Geordie that the “kindness” thing CAN be taken too far …

 

 

 

 

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© junehunterimages, 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to junehunterimages with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

 

Small, But Determined

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 9 Comments

I started to write this post about my song sparrow friends last week, but then world events, already dark, turned even more grim and made writing about small birds seem ridiculous.

Now I’m back to thinking that small things are sometimes the best subjects to hang onto at certain times. Also, their tiny determination seems somehow even more appropriate at this moment.

While Ben (the crow with broken foot I wrote about last time) is always the first crow to greet me in the morning, the very first birds there, every single day, are the song sparrows. Half a dozen or so seem to be in our garden at all times — more reliable companions than any other birds this winter.

Song sparrow on his favourite perch, as close as possible to the back deck..

The trees begin to rustle as soon as I open the door and small, drab, brown shapes emerge. At first it looks as if sad winter leaves are being blown loose, but it’s always the song sparrow gang.

They see the crows gathering but they always dive in fearlessly first, grabbing at least one peanut each before melting swiftly and seamlessly back into the foliage.

I always cheer them on.

And when I said they were drab — that is ONLY upon the most cursory of glances. Give these birds a single moment of inspection and it’s obvious that they’re one of nature’s more complicated works of art — and all created with a palette of infinitely varied browns, creams and a touch of pearl grey.

I’ve been spending time making simple bird figures by needle felting wool. Mostly it’s just an excuse to relieve stress and spend more time thinking about birds, but it’s also practice in noticing things about them that I might not properly see when photographing them. When I look at the intricacy of a song sparrow from the point of view of trying to reproduce it I am both defeated and filled with joy at their modest and complex beauty.

A pair of needle felted Mountain Bluebirds.

I have reference binder of my own photos to work from, and so far I’ve tackled rudimentary versions of bushtits, chickadees, a spotted towhee, a ruby crowned kinglet, mountain bluebirds and a whiskey jack — but, honestly, I don’t think I know where to start with the quiet but infinitely elaborate patterns in a song sparrow!

Song Sparrow with an acorn cup

While the feather markings seems truly daunting, I’d love to have a go at the facial expression of a song sparrow. They have, I would submit, the very best “judgemental” faces of all the small birds.

Midweek brought terrible news from Europe, and also a skiff of snow here.

That morning the sparrows left some cryptic messages. They looked like a combination of frost patterns and a more intentional series of documents in a forgotten script.

So many big and very small things to think about these last few days and, as usual, no real wisdom to be found aside from trying to find wonder where and when we can.

If your mind is drawn to those suffering in Ukraine, you can make donations to the Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal. (Funds donated will be matched by the Canadian government until March 18.)

 

 

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© junehunterimages, 2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to junehunterimages with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.