The Status Crow

June 9, 2024 / 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.

Spring 2024 Crow Sagas Part 4

April 20, 2024April 16, 2024 / The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 1 Comment

THE EARL AND ECHO TEAM EFFORT

Earl an Echo had a busy summer last year. They fledged their youngster a bit later than the other crows and two of them are still with mom and dad.

One of Earl and Echo’s offspring this winter — like dad, this one poses for Dutch Master-like portraits. He or she also makes little sneezing noises, which I’m not sure is a symptom of something or just a foible

Earl collecting nest lining material in early April. You can see here one of his distinguishing features — the frilly upper wing feathers on his right shoulder.

Echo is sitting on the nest early this year, high up in a large cherry tree and having the extra beaks and wings has come in handy already.

The other day we noticed that a squirrel was getting too close to the nest for Echo’s comfort. A high speed chase ensued with dad and the kids pursuing the squirrel up and down every branch until the interloper managed to leap into a neighbouring tree and escape. I believe he or she will think twice before climbing that particular tree again.

Magnificent Earl, identifiable also by his right leg, which bends inward. Also, his always dignified demeanor (except when chasing squirrels)

Echo, recognizable by her blind left eye and constant head motion

Tomorrow: Bongo and Bella: will Bongo bong?

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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.

White Wing: A Year In Review

March 12, 2023 / The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 2 Comments

Keeping track of White Wing has been a little trickier that usual this year.

In many ways she’s the easiest of all the crows to spot — one of the few I can tell from a long distance from just a silhouette …

White Wing on right with sticking out wing feather

The secondary clue is her location. For many years she and her mate were always to be found on a certain corner, and they would build their nest in that half block or so. The Wings have always been some of the most successful crow parents in the neighbourhood but last spring something went awry.

They live a few blocks from me, so I only see snippets of their lives when I walk the dog every day, but someone who also follows the Wings, and does live close by them, let me know in May 2022 that there had been a fierce crow fight. Mr Wing was left with battered feathers and both he and White Wing were hard to find for weeks afterwards. If they had fledglings, none survived the upheaval.

I have no way of being sure what happened, but I assume it was a territorial battle with another nesting crow family from further down the block. It’s a highly desirable street, extolled by crow real estate agents for its big shady trees and relatively low traffic volumes, and I guess the market just got too hot.

For a while I thought the Wings, in search of a quiet life, might have left the area entirely but in the fall I started seeing them a block north of their old corner. I’m happy they’ve decided to stay and are just testing out a new area slightly out of the reach of the tetchy neighbours. They’re now close to what used to be Mr. Pants land, and close neighbours to the Walkers.

Another impediment to identifying these two is the fact that White Wings distinctive feather is NOT a permanent feature. It falls out quite regularly, and not just during moulting season. At these times she looks just like any other crow. When I didn’t know where to look for her AND didn’t know whether she was with or without her feather, it was pretty much impossible to locate her.

Now that they seem to have semi-settled again I can guess it’s her by the way she walks or flies confidently up to me and, after waiting patiently, I start to see the beginning again of the white feather.

A nubbin of what will become that big distinctive feather in a couple of weeks.

I’m not sure why her feather is like this. I guess it’s something to do with the feather follicle that causes it to grow twisted every time.

Seeing her from below, you can see the gap that the sticking out feather leaves, but luckily it doesn’t seem to affect her flying ability at all. Maybe she thinks of it as an extra navigational feature.

Here’s White Wing this March morning, snagging a few peanuts and looking pretty confident — ready to defend the new turf as nesting season rolls around again.