Friday, March 4, 2011

New Crow Friends

My new crow friends, a nice black pair, come every morning and sit on the telephone wire.  The wire is just about even with the railing of the second floor of this home.  They have become very brave.  I put the food bits on the railing and then they hop right over to check out the days offerings.  I wonder why these crows are so friendly and fearless.  The crows around my home in Napa are very fearful.  It takes alot of checking out and peering and poking around before a Napa crow will come down and get a peanut from my driveway.  Something  in Napa must have scared them.  I saw a program on crows recently that showed that crows recognize faces.  In fact the next generation will recognize a mean face if it was recognized by the parents.  That is really fascinating.  Do humans do that??? 
We are here in Shell Beach for a few more days.  So I will enjoy the friendly crows and clean out the refrigerator at the same time.  They have liked left over chicken, pretzels, pecans and croutons.  Perhaps in time the Napa crows will get to know me and not be afraid.  I am also hoping that the Napa raven remembers me.  The raven came to my redwood tree twice before I left for Shell Beach.  Wouldn't you know that the raven would show up just as I was leaving for vacation????  I will get right back on the egg in the platform feeder patrol as soon as I return to Napa.  It has been a lovely sojourn here on the Central Coast of California.  A little of everything, sunny days, rainy days, very high surf, shopping, dining by the ocean and visits from friends.  All in all, everything a vacation should be.

3 comments:

  1. We have a number of Ravens out here, but there's a resident pair - I recognize them by their voices. It's possible one is the same Raven that I rescued 2-3 years ago from an injury, as I can get fairly close to him, but the female keeps her distance. It's also possible this Raven is the same one that a neighbor raised from a baby when he and 2 siblings fell out of their nest as babies! She always called him Hoss, so I called my rescued Raven Hoss also, and I'm calling this resident male Hoss. Hoping they are all the same Raven!
    I've started your trick of putting out an egg on a fencepost. When I hear Hoss calling nearby, I make sure he can see me take an egg out and put it on the fence post.
    It took a couple of days for the first egg to disappear... and I can't be sure it wasn't a packrat or something else. Today I put the second egg out. We'll see how long it takes to disappear.
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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  2. Did your egg disappear? I am sure Hoss is a very smart Raven and will catch on very soon.

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  3. I found that first egg I had put out - it was in the grass, below the post! The Ravens never took any egg I put out. Plenty of other goodies to eat around here, I suppose. We did have a pair nest right up the creek this summer - I never got a good look in the well-situated nest, and I wasn't around when the young fledged, so I never did know how many they had!
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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