You know that coworker type, the one who just became a grandparent and won’t stop showing you picture after picture of some baby you will probably never meet? And how the pictures are pretty cute for the first thirty seconds, but, dear lord, when will she stop showing them to you?
I feel like that coworker, except I’m the person on Hive that won’t stop talking about the baby crows. More specifically, Bo and Lorena’s baby crows.
Here, look at these pictures. Smile and nod while you try and make the coffee.
This is one of the fledglings trying to fly.
And look! Look! Don't burn yourself with that hot coffee while I wave this cute picture in your face of the fledgling coming in for a landing.
Let me follow you to your desk while I show how cute and grumpy this little one looks.
I know you have to get to work, but before you do, just watch this video of Lorena feeding one of her babies. It's really short.
Here's one more-- a little baby butt hanging over the edge of a rain gutter. I think they can drink water on their own, now. They sure do grow up fast, don't they?
All joking aside, crow fledglings are ridiculously cute in a very peculiar way. Seeing as crows have a cultural association with darkness and mystery (at least in the US), it makes sense that their fledglings would look like something out of The Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal.
On a more somber note, I believe that there is only one fledgling left.
I heard from one of the neighbors that a cat killed one of them last week. The one that I got photos of trying to fly was really frightened by the wind we had the other day and couldn't or wouldn't get off the ground. They kept hiding in bushes. After that day I have only seen and heard one around, and Bo and Lorena have been staying very close to them, following them everywhere they fly, and responding in rapid panic to even the tiniest cry. I can't even imagine what it must be like to see your own child killed right in front of you, and yet crows face this agony every year.
At the very very least, though, Bo and Lorena having only one fledgling to look after does increase this little crow's chances of making it.
Lorena has been very vigilant about the cats. The other day I took some video of her yelling at a cat who wasn't doing much more than eating grass and vomiting it up. She was yelling at biting at the power line above her, presumably because of the trauma she had already experienced.
Then she flew over to me.
And perched on the fence and talked to me about it before flying back to yell at the cat some more.
If you managed to sit through all the fledgling videos, you may have noticed that the little one was playing with branches and twigs. I've also seen Bo pick up twigs and other nesting material recently. (This is Bo.)
I don't know if this is meant to teach the fledgling how to use their beak to manipulate and move things, or if Bo might be planning another nest if this baby doesn't make it. It's so hard to think about it that way, but he has no choice, I guess. I wish he did.
Here he is with his kid. Bo's the one with the mouthful of nesting material.
A couple days ago I was standing underneath the fledgling, talking to them and getting to know them. They picked a little twig off the tree and dropped it to the street, right by my feet.
Was it for me? Or was it some kind of gesture towards me? Some kind of communication? I'm not sure. But I kept it. Bo watched me pick it up. The next day, Bo was in a low branch not even a foot above my head. He was eyeing me as he snapped off a twig and let it drop to the ground in front of me. I wonder if he did it to see if I would keep it.
Because I did.
Bo and I also had a little fun. I like to bring him treats and stuff to mess around with. This week I brought him the container of coconut ice cream I had finished off. He liked the taste of the melted droplets of ice cream, and also seemed to enjoy the container. He kept coming back to play with it.
And I think he wants to try out one of the rental scooters. But he doesn't have the app installed.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! If you’d like to learn more about my friendship with Bo, please read my blog An Unexpected Friendship. I blog about Bo every week, and post tons of my photos of crows and other birds (and sometimes other subjects) on a regular basis. If you like this kind of stuff, follow me! And join Feathered Friends!
Thanks for reading!
All photos and videos are mine unless otherwise stated, taken with my Nikon D7500 (or sometimes iPhone) and edited with Apple Photo Editor and Adobe Lightroom.
