Things are beautiful if you love them. Jean Anouilh
If I could hug my crow family, I would be so happy. The love of an animal is pure and sweet.
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist and screenwriter 1910-1987.
Curated from Rivers in the Ocean / Craft Kreatively
Crow Brain: keeps shiny and useless things or things to put shiny things in.
That is totally ME.
Neighbors have begun to complain about a recent increased influx of crows in our area and I am one of the few who defend their right to live and eat and roost anyplace they choose. I tell them the same thing I say when they complain about coyotes..LEARN TO COEXIST!
“Having a crow brain” means to possess a high level of intelligence, particularly in terms of problem-solving, complex reasoning, and the ability to plan ahead, similar to the cognitive capabilities observed in crows, which are considered to be among the most intelligent birds; essentially, it signifies a sharp mind with advanced cognitive abilities, even if the phrase is often used figuratively to describe someone particularly clever.
We’ve long known that crows exhibit extraordinary intelligence. The more scientists unravel about their brain structure and behaviors, the more crows seem to resemble humans.
The breakthrough study published in Science revealed that crows show signs of perceptual consciousness and an ability to have subjective experiences unique to their individual minds. This means the birds keep new information, or memories, in the front of their brains for extended periods, and use it in reasoning and navigating new situations they encounter.https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-more-we-learn-about-crow-brains-the-more-humanlike-their-intelligence
And specifically, Seattle has a thing about crows.
My son shared this phenomenon with me: a single roost at the University of Washington Bothell campus is home to as many as 16,000 birds. The sight of thousands of crows flying toward the campus at dusk has become one of Seattle’s signature attractions for those in the know.
A crow-filled sky might stir Hitchcockian visions for some, a “murder” of crows harassing people when they venture outside. This is the time of year when Seattleites take to social media with tales of protective crow parents dive-bombing them for unwittingly wandering too close to crow fledglings too young to fly.
The advice to those pleading for help is almost unanimous: Befriend the crows!!!
Crows, ravens, I love them all. How spectacular would it be to have tea with the king of the ravens.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Because my human family understands the special love I feel for my crow family (I refer to them as my cousins), I was gifted Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt.
These are some of my garden “cousins” who greet me in the morning.
“Grandma, I know you love crows so much, but do you think they’re a little scary?”
Angel Boy asked that question because the crows in their neighborhood seem to know when they’re eating outside in the garden, and perch in the trees and on the garage to patiently wait for fallen morsels.
“I’m not afraid of them because I don’t believe they would ever cause me harm. The crows who visit me at home leave shiny little gifts. These guys simply want to share your dinner.”
I didn’t think it was the right time to tell him that if he tried – he could get them to eat out of his hand — but one day I might.
Crows are considered to be among the most intelligent animals in the world with brains that are similar in size to humans and make up almost two percent of their body mass. They’re known for their ability to solve complex problems, and some say they have the intelligence of a two to seven-year-old child.
Haupt is a Seattle-based author, naturalist, and speaker. “My work explores the beautiful, complicated connections between humans and the wild, natural world.” She has created and directed educational programs for Seattle Audubon, worked in raptor rehabilitation in Vermont, and as a seabird researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the remote tropical Pacific. (Curated from https://www.lyandalynnhaupt.com/)
If you love crows like I do, you will LOVE Crow Planet.
What are YOU reading now?
A dramatic sunrise always makes me think of Romeo and Juliet:
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
From the front door looking directly toward the lagoon, this morning’s spectacular sunrise showcases the clouds that brought a little overnight rain.
Those black specks are hundreds of raucous crows heralding another new day.
Leonard Cohen said it perfectly:
The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say…
Happy first Sunday of 2024!
My crow cousins have been leaving gifts for me all around the garden and deck.
Shiny and sparkly!
So far I’ve discovered these four baubles. I always look up to see if I can catch the gift giver; so far I haven’t, but I say thank you out loud as I pocket my treasures.
Crows are known to give small gifts to people who pay attention to them or feed them. The phenomenon is actually called “gifting”. I don’t feed my local crow family as there is plenty to eat without my intervention, but I do talk to them and generally love their presence, so maybe they feel that emotion and return the affection. I’ve read that crows (and other corvids) remember the faces of those who are mean to them and those who are especially kind.
Some of my neighbors don’t appreciate our community of crows as much as I do, and I’m positive they aren’t receiving the same kinds of gifts like I am.
I’m full of gratitude to my bird family Thank you, cousins!
Check out another crow post:
https://enchantedseashells.com/2023/01/25/crows-crows-and-more-crows/
Kids really do listen to everything we say, that’s absolutely true.
One time I looked up as a crow flew by and said, “Hello, cousin!”
Angel Girl asked me why I said that, and I told her that crows are very smart and that I feel they’re like family to me.
The next time we saw crows fly by, she pointed and said, “There goes one of your cousins, Grandma!”
Mom asked her why she said that, and Angel Girl told her all the crows in the whole world are Grandma’s cousins, which is a great thing to her because she loves her own cousins.
The best part of the story is that it makes perfect sense to her that animals are family. I like that a lot.
Besides a murder of crows, there are other collective nouns for crows: a horde, a hover, a mob, a parcel, a parliament, and a storytelling.
As for a storytelling of crows? This is a bit of an unknown but crows do tend to gather in large flocks and are known for their loud ‘caw’. Perhaps someone observed this and decided that they weren’t so much plotting a murder but were telling stories to each other, https://www.birdspot.co.uk/
This photo from late yesterday afternoon must tell quite the story; I’ve never seen so many crows on the school field.
Seeing crows at sundown is a common occurrence around here, but not on this grand scale. Everyone driving by slowed down to gawk and neighbors came out to record it like I did.
On the roof, on the fence, on the fields — all my cousins!
Update: I sent the photo to my original Angel Boy and received a video text from his almost seven-year-old clone, AB 2.0 — “Hey Grandma, that’s a lot of cousins!”
My happiness grew exponentially.
I’ve never played a single musical instrument — well, I took a few guitar lessons many years ago but I can’t remember a thing plus I had no talent.
We have a piano because of Angel Boy. His grandma really wanted him to learn so he could play Ode to Joy and Fur Elise for her, which he did, and it made her very happy, especially during her final illness.
I looked up on this very sunny and hot blue sky day and the first thing that popped into my head was that I was looking a musical score of some sort.
I think I’m not the only one who has observed birds on wires and took similar photos, but this is my contribution. Whatever tune they’re playing is a special sort of magic. Counting Crows?
Both ravens and crows live in my neighborhood, but I think these two thirsty birds are crows.
What do you think?
This photo was taken as I peeked through the long pointy fronds of a ponytail palm situated directly outside my downstairs living room.
Here’s an especially informative Audubon link that helps to discern the differences between the two:https://www.audubon.org/news/how-tell-raven-crow
For the last week or so, there’s been something otherwordly going on in the gardens at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
At approximately 6:30 on another beautiful and shiny blue sky morning, I was on the verge of that first gratifying sip of freshly ground and brewed French roast coffee (no Starbucks for me, I like to be in total control of my java) and as I looked out the kitchen window, THIS was perched on my patio umbrella:
I could barely hold my camera steady as you can see by the blurriness. I mean, that was just a few feet away from me!
As she flew away from the deck to the ash tree, she was joined by another one!
Now there were two hawks!
And they were VERY interested in this juvenile crow who was all alone, very unconcerned, blithely eating his fill of mulberries one by one from the tree and the grass:
Hello, Mr. Crow!
Just hanging out…along with one of the bunnies that lives under the deck…
The bunny ran away,
For a couple of hours, there was a lot of drama, some of it happened so fast, I couldn’t catch it with a camera. The hawks hung around, flying from one spot to the next, here on the roof of the shed…
…walking around on the GROUND in front of the shed!!!
And picking up a mulberry leaf that had fallen on the lawn. He flew away with it in his beak! Again, sorry for the bad photos, but it was impossible to capture it all perfectly.
There seemed to be a sort of relationship emerging between the crow and the hawks.. Although typically they’re not known to be friendly with each other, but when it does occur, there are mystical and magical meanings attached to the encounters.
First, the hawks would swoop and dive at the crow who seemed fearless; totally ignoring the faux attack, but then did the same exact thing to the two hawks perched on that same branch. It looked like they were playing and having fun; there was no aggression.
And then they shared a branch together. All in harmony!
I did a little research on the phenomenon of crows and hawks playing, and found this: http://www.thenerge.com/bird-nerge/crows-and-hawks-playing/
Crazy, huh?
This similar scenario replayed for the next few mornings; the crow is still here, but I haven’t seen the hawks.
However, one thing’s for sure, it doesn’t take much to make me happy, but I think I really really need to hone my photography skills. Hee hee.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 