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7 Reasons Why You Need a City Crow Calendar

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / Leave a comment

At long last, it’s done! The photo selection, writing, design, finicking, fussing, faffing, editing and proofing of the  2024 City Crow Calendar are all finished and it’s now at the printer. Woohoo!

I’ll be picking them up (love that special freshly printed smell!)  at the end of the month and mailing out the pre-orders immediately thereafter.

In the calm before the storm, I’ve been thinking once again of all the reasons why someone might not just want, but absolutely NEED one of these calendars.

Of course, they’re handy for jotting down birthdays and dentist appointments and the usual day-to-day stuff, but here are a few more reasons to consider dedicating some precious wall space to a City Crow Calendar.

GET TO KNOW YOUR OWN LOCAL CROWS

Bongo is August’s crow, as well as the cover model for the 2024 calendar

People often ask me how I tell my local crows apart, so I’ve made this a major theme for the 2024 calendar. Each month introduces one or two of my crowquaintances —  most will be familiar to long-time readers of this blog — and in a NEW feature, I’ve added a guide to getting to know your own local crows.

In the Get to Know Crows Guide I explain the layers of clues I use to identify my local characters and show how you can use a similar method in your own neighbourhood. Make some new friends!

FOLLOW THE CROW SEASONS

Sometimes, living in the city, you start to recognize the passing of the seasons only by the changing nature of the items on display in local shops, or in our social media feeds (back-to-school items … must be July, Halloween décor … what, August already?)

I like to think that City Crow Calendar owners will:

  1. be more excited to get outside to see what their own local crows are up to, and thus witness firsthand what the sky and vegetation have to say, and
  2. start to see the crows themselves as messengers of seasonal change.

Crow seen with sticks in their beaks … aha, must be the beginning of the nesting season.

Riotous crow behaviour in fall …this year’s fledglings are finally independent and nuts and berries are ready to harvest — party time!

BE IN TUNE WITH THE MOON

When everyone is saying “That moon looks amazing — is it a full moon?” you will be able to answer sagely “Not quite, but tomorrow night will be the Full Crow Moon” and your friends will be duly impressed by your oneness with the universe.

(Really, you just had a quick look at your City Crow Calendar, but I won’t say anything if you don’t. )

 

 

 

BE AN URBAN NATURE ENTHUSIAST

There are any number of calendars you can own that will show you breathtaking scenery on the coast, in the mountains or in the deep woods. The City Crow Calendar (the hint is in the name) is specially designed for those of us who, for one reason or another, spend most of our time in the urban jungle.
It’s a daily reminder that you don’t have to wait and wait until you can finally get out of town to experience being really in tune with Nature  — you can find those moments any day, any time by just going outside (or even just looking out of your window) and checking in on what your fellow city dwellers, the crows, are up to now.

Of course, in addition to the calendar, you can also subscribe to this blog, and/or follow me on social media for regular reminders on the wonders of urban nature.

 

 

CONVINCE THE “CROW CAUTIOUS”

We all have at least one friend who has not yet realized (poor benighted soul) how amazing crows are,

and how worthy of watching every single day.

Buy them a City Crow Calendar and see if it can sway them. Sometimes finding out why crows behave the way they do (for example, seeming a little aggressive in the nesting season while trying to protect their babies) can be the key to going from crow-averse to fully pro-crow!

 

ENHANCE YOUR COCKTAIL PARTY CONVERSATION

At a party and looking for the perfect conversation opener?

Friends and new acquaintances alike will be amazed when you explain to them how you can tell female crows apart from males. Cement your reputation as an eccentric (yet knowledgeable) crow enthusiast by telling them why fall and winter are the best seasons to visit the crow roost … and how they can tell their local crows apart.

The trick is to walk away if you notice eyes starting to glaze over. It’s always best to leave them wanting more in the way of crow facts!

 

GET A FREE COLLECTIBLE BUTTON

Each calendar comes with a free 1.75-inch wide button featuring  the City Crow Calendar’s 2024 cover model — who happens to be Bongo, keeping an eye on things from a stop sign.

 

The 2024 City Crow Calendar will be my 9th annual calendar!

© 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.

Crow Fest 22 — Part One

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 9 Comments

Although my last post was about how miserable the local crows are as they go through their annual moult, don’t feel too bad for them — this season is also their most social and joyful.

Several things come together in the the crow world to make fall time the best time:

  • Parent crows are mightily relieved that their fledglings are (mostly) independent
  • Fledgling crows, like teenagers everywhere, are busting to get out there, meet their peers and show off a little
  • Crows, even the still-moulting ones, look fabulous in the golden fall light and glowing autumn leaves
  • There are feasting opportunities/excuses for crow parties all over town

Crow Fest in our neighbourhood begins with …

The Hazelnut Happening

Around the autumn equinox a couple of local hazelnut trees become ripe, and many crows seem to have this date carefully noted in their social calendar. Hundreds of them, and dozens of intrepid squirrels, show up for the event every year.

A few years back a human bravely tried to harvest their share of nuts, wisely wearing a bicycle helmet as protection from the competition. This year, even more wisely, they seem to have left it all for the wildlife.

Normally the crows fly over our neighbourhood at dusk, headed to the roost a few miles east of here with only a few distant caws to mark their passing.

But it’s reliable as clockwork — the very day the hazelnuts are ready, our normally sedate area becomes an evening Crowstock venue, complete with rousing musical accompaniment.

The cawing is accompanied by the random percussion of nuts hitting the tarmac as crows drop them to break the shells.

Bombs Away!

There are other seasonal delicacies on the menu too …

While the raucous crow chaos is the big story here, as with all big events, it’s made up of so many small and personal sub-plots.

I love to pick out small groups or individuals in the crowd and watch them for awhile, trying to parse out the individual stories.

In the seemingly undistinguishable line of crows on the wires, you can often detect a family group — parents and fledglings, or just couples taking a quiet moment in the midst of it all.

The other night I spotted a personal acquaintance on the wires.

White Wing!

I’ve been worried about the Wings as they’ve not been in their usual spot for most of the summer. As if to confirm this was indeed her Wingship, she came down and landed by my feet …

The party rages on, but still full of individual little crow vignettes.

One young, ambitious and agile crow takes a moment to show off the Cirque du Soleil skill set they’ve been working on.

Look, Ma, only one foot!

I’m an a-crow-bat!!!!

Another independently-minded crow in the crowd decides to add a distinctive yip to the chorus of cawing.

A quiet young crow whiles away the time by catching and playing with one of their own recently moulted underfeathers before it floats away on the evening air …

And so the nightly Hazelnut Happening hurtles on for a few days until, finally, the nuts are devoured and relative quietness returns to the ‘hood.

Don’t worry though — the fall festivities are far from over. It’s just time to move on to the Dogwood Disco up the street.

More on this later …

You might also be interest in:

 

 

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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.

7 Reasons Why You Need a City Crow Calendar

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 1 Comment

I’m hoping to pick up the 2023 City Crow Calendar from the printer in the next couple of days — and then will begin the mad flurry of mailing out all the pre-ordered copies.

In the calm before the storm, I’ve been thinking of the reasons why you, or someone you love, might find you really need one … if you haven’t already booked your copy, that is.

Like all calendars, they’re handy for jotting down birthdays and dentist appointments and the usual day to day stuff, but here are a few more reasons to consider dedicating some precious wall space to a City Crow Calendar.

If you’ve owned one of my earlier versions, you may have thought of other uses, so if you have suggestions (polite ones only, please!) send them to me and I’ll write a sequel to this post!

FOLLOW THE SEASONS CROW-WISE

Sometimes, living in the city, you start to recognize the passing of the seasons only by the changing nature of the items on display in local shops, or in our social media feeds (back to school items … must be July, Halloween décor … what, August already?)

I like to think that City Crow Calendar owners will:

(a) be inclined to get outside to see what their own local crows are up to, and thus witness first hand what the sky and vegetation have to say, and

(b)  start to see the crows themselves as messengers of seasonal change.

Crow seen with sticks in their beaks … aha, must be the beginning of nesting season.

Croaking duck-like sounds, followed by slightly strangled cries of ecstasy … obviously summertime with crow parents feeding their insatiable fledglings!

Raucous gangs of crows roaming the neighbourhood … yup, it’s the beginning of fall and the crow parents are feeling their first freedom since nesting season started, and the fledglings are now teenagers meeting other teenagers, and the suburban trees are dripping with fruit and nuts — it’s party-time!!!


GET IN TUNE WITH THE MOON

When everyone is saying “that moon looks amazing — is it a full moon?” you will be able to answer sagely “not quite, but tomorrow night will be the Full Crow Moon” and your friends will be duly impressed by your one-ness with the universe.

(Really, you just had a quick look at your City Crow Calendar, but I won’t say anything if you don’t. )

BE AN URBAN NATURE ENTHUSIAST

There are any number of calendars you can own that will show you breath taking scenery on the coast, in the mountains or in the deep woods. The City Crow Calendar (the hint is in the name) is specially designed for those of us who, for one reason or another, spend most of our time in the urban jungle.
It’s a daily reminder that you don’t have to wait and wait until you can finally get out of town to experience really being in tune with Nature  — you can find those moments any day, any time by just going outside (or even just looking out of your window) and checking in on what your fellow city dwellers, the crows, are up to now.

Of course, in addition to the calendar, you can also subscribe to this blog, and/or follow me on social media for regular reminders on the wonders of urban nature.

 

 

CONVINCE THE “CROW CAUTIOUS”

We all have at least one friend who has not yet realized (poor benighted soul) how amazing crows are, and how worthy of watching every single day.

Buy them a City Crow Calendar and see if it can sway them.

It HAS been known to happen!

ENHANCE YOUR COCKTAIL PARTY CONVERSATION

Now that people are starting to attend social gatherings again, it’s time to dust off those small talk skills. Looking for a conversation opener?

Try, something like this …

“Did you know that if you see a crow in springtime with white goop on their beak it’s probably because they’ve been removing their offsprings’ fecal sacs from the nest?”

Just watch those jaws drop!

MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS

If, for some inexplicable reason, the party poop chatter doesn’t earn you a mass of new human friends, you can always be inspired by the City Crow Calendar to get out there and get to know some of your corvid neighbours on a personal level.

Like Marvin here, most local crows will at least pretend to be impressed by your wit and wisdom if you happen to have one or two peanuts in your pocket.

WALLPAPER WITH CROWS

Of course, I LOVE IT when people buy my signed crow prints as it keeps the wolf from the door, but I’m also happy to know that City Crow Calendar owners don’t usually chuck their copies out at the end of the year, but keep them — and sometimes put the pictures up around the house.

If you’d been collecting my calendars from the beginning, you’d have enough crow portraits by now to wallpaper a small room!!!

 

 

© 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.