Could I Learn to Love a CROW?

I have seen nary a raven at my new location except for one raven flying overhead.  The raven was flying very high and fast- going somewhere but NOT here.  I do however have a band of noisy crows.  I noticed these crows stalking around as soon as I moved in.  They come in the morning and stalk around the yards of all the houses on the court looking for food.  So I went off and bought two gigantic bags of peanuts.  We now have a morning routine.  When I wake up I go outside and put the peanuts under the redwood trees with one raw chicken egg.  The scrub jays show up immediately to grab as many peanuts as they can before the crows know what is happening.  The crows are very cautious.  They sit in the trees looking at the peanuts for awhile before they fly down to get the food.  Meanwhile the jays are busy at work getting as many peanuts as possible before the crows make their move.  Eventually the crows fly down one by one to claim a peanut or two.  By this time most of the nuts are gone.  It is fun to watch the crows as they have many of the same mannerisms as their big cousins.  They land on the ground, then they jump forward toward the food- then jump back- forward and back until they grab a peanut.  The jays will not come down once the crows are on the ground.  At this point I go out and replenish the peanut supply so that the crows get their share of the morning's booty.  The crows will peck and eat the egg once the nuts are all gone.
The other day I was out working in front yard planting an angle's trumpet (datura) and I heard what sounded like a high pitched knocking sound.   I looked up and it was a crow.  I didn't know they made such a sound!  He was looking at me and knocking- wow!  I might like crows yet!  But love- hum- after raven there is no other.
Apparently Lindsey Wildlife Rescue has a juvenile blind raven who is looking for a long term home.  Ah wouldn't it be wonderful to have a raven in your life?  It apparently will go to a home out of state.  It is very difficult to keep a wild animal in California, as is everything in California.  One has to get a special PERMIT- oh could take years to get one I am sure.  Anyhow- someone will have a special bird in their life.  Apparently the bird is friendly and is hand fed.  I hope whoever gets the bird is young as they live a good 35 years.

Wildlife Day

Yesterday we decided to go to Bodega Bay after fiddle lessons.  It was a beautiful day at Bodega, clear and warm- quite unusual.  There were big signs up in the town- Tippi Hedron coming in Sept.  Do you remember the Hitchcock movie "The Birds"?  It was filmed in Bodega.  Tippi must be in her 80's by now since that movie came out in the 1960's.  Now that movie made black birds out to be terrible or so I heard.  I never saw the movie because I like BLACK birds.  So much for Hitchcock and Tippi.
We had lunch at the Tides Restaurant and got to watch the sea lions feeding right outside the window.   It was so much fun.  The sea lion would dive and get a fish.  Then up they would come and throw the fish up in the air and catch it to take a bite.  Meanwhile the seagulls who are very canny indeed would dive at the fish just as it was being thrown into the air.  It was quite wonderful to watch this sea theater right before our eyes.

After lunch we went up to Bodega Head.  On the way up we saw a great number of white pelicans.  They are so beautiful to watch when they are in the air.  They look like great flying ships.  It was low tide and they were congregating on the tidal flats.  Birds of a feather truly do flock together.  It was a beautiful day on Bodega Head and there were lots of people up there looking out to sea.  As it turned out there was a pod of whales passing by the head at very close range.  We saw at least 20 whales passing by 2 by 2.  They were going north which is very odd at this time of year.  I have never seen so many whales at close range along the California coast.  Only in Baja California have I seen more whales at one time.  It was a great spectacle of nature and we were very lucky to have the opportunity to see these wonderful creatures.

On the way home we saw a great flock of black birds flying over an open field and some were on the ground.  There were at least 50 birds and they were RAVENS!  It appeared to be a band of juveniles.  Some were doing barrel rolls and others were flying all sorts of interesting ways.  I loved it!  It made the wonderful day complete!

Raven Visits

Since I have seen NO ravens around my new house, I am forced to make raven visits to get my RAVEN fix.  Therefore I drove up to Mt. Veeder equipped with eggs and non-salted peanuts in the shell.  Both are great raven favorites.  I parked on Mt. Veeder Road near the big redwood tree where the ravens frequently hang out.  I got out of the car and started calling- RAVEN- really loud.  Then I heard the raven call back- it made me so HAPPY!  In a few moments they both appeared and sat in the tree watching me.  I put the eggs and peanuts on the ground and sat in the car and watched them come down and get them.  I was very pleased.  The 2 women who bought our house are interested in the birds.  They told us that the ravens come around every afternoon.  We told them about their love for eggs and they were interested in that so I hope they will feed them some eggs!
Yesterday we went to Bodega Bay.  I observed the tree near the restaurant where we like to eat.  The raven pair were there!  So I went over to pay my respects sans eggs however.  How rude of me.  I should be better prepared next time.  If I had never lived on Mt. Veeder I probably would never have paid any attention to the big black birds.  I am so glad that I did live there and learned about ravens.

Raven Rippers

Yesterday we went up to Mt. Veeder to visit friends and ravens.  Our friends live near our old house.  They have a pair of ravens that live around their property.  They also have a compost pile that the ravens like to frequent.  Fred puts out compost and food for the ravens each morning.  The ravens come down every morning and root around to see what is good to eat.  They become quite vociferous if the food does not arrive on time!  The problem arose when they put an Easy UP tent up near the compost pile to protect their wood splitter.  The ravens did not like that!  Apparently it was too close to the compost pile.  They retaliated by shredding the top of the tent.  It appears that they would poke a hole in the tent, then grab the loose piece of fabric and then pull, thus removing a strip of fabric.  Those aggravating birds!    Fred moved the tent further from the compost pile and the ravens haven't bothered it since.  The Raven Rippers got what they wanted!
We went down to the compost pile with pieces of cheese to see if the ravens would come around since I am so raven deprived.  They sat up in the trees and ran through their repertoire of sounds but would not come down.  There were four of us standing below and this probably discouraged them from coming down for the cheese.  I so enjoyed listening to the ravens knocking, croaking and commenting on the humans.  It was a great visit.

Crows All AROUND

I am now living in the land of the crows.  I have not seen a raven around the house although I have not given up hope.   There is a large open space across the way and I plan to start daily walks over there with eggs in my pocket.  Maybe I can coax a raven to come across the street and visit me.
Meanwhile I am making friends with the crows.  They are too small a bird to pick up a chicken egg so I had to think of what they might like as a treat.  I jumped in the car and went to the store and bought unsalted peanuts in the shell.  Yum- crows like those and so do the bluejays.  I put their treats in the same spot each morning and now they are waiting for me.  Those corvoids are such smart birds- they train us!  I don't know how the neighbors are going to like crows out there every morning but I like it fine!!  They are much better sounding than the rock band that practices in a garage two houses away- who knew- the man we bought the house from failed to mention this fact- full disclosure- I think not!   Oh well- it is life in the city- how I miss the tranquility of Mt. Veeder and the ravens.  However if I can't have ravens I will have their little cousins, the crows.  We shall get along just fine.

Visit with the ravens!

We made a trip up to Mt. Veeder to visit our former next door neighbors who had invited us to dinner.  I took two eggs along in case I saw Bold and Shy.  We parked at the base of the big redwood tree where they like to hang out and I called out RAVENS like I have always done.  I could not hear any raven sounds around at all.  I was very disappointed.  I placed the two eggs by the base of the tree and went up the driveway to our friends home.  While we were sitting out on their porch, the ravens appeared!  They were flying back and forth in front of the porch.  I was so happy to see them.  They did not approach the porch but they were showing off with their flying antics.  When we left that night I checked by the redwood tree and the two eggs were gone!  Crafty ravens didn't miss those!

I have found a new author that I like- James D. Doss who writes mysteries about the Ute indians of southern Colorado.  The stories feature an old woman shaman, Daisy, who enjoys the company of ravens.  She calls them Taqo-ci or Mr. or Mrs. Darkwing.  They talk to each other as the raven skip-hops along beside her.  Wouldn't that be fun?  I want a raven like that!!!

I have put out eggs several times in my new yard and they have disappeared during the daytime so I am hoping one of those ravens I see flying overhead have come down and picked them up.  We have lots of crows in this neighborhood.  I hear them everyday.  I talked to my friend Fred up on Mt. Veeder today.  He said he saw crows by his house for a short while but they have disappeared.  I too noticed crows at our Mt. Veeder home in June for the first time ever in 14 years.  I was so surprised.  Maybe they were trying to move in but it didn't work out- the ravens probably told them to hit the road Jack!!!

One of my friends suggested that I put the eggs on the roof for the ravens.  He said I should build a little platform for them on the roof- oh yeah- that is what I need to do and probably fall off in the process!  Raven will have to see the eggs in the garden and come and get them.  In time I hope this will happen.

In our new digs

We are more or less moved into our new home if you call a blowup bed and 2 chairs moved in!  Our furniture is in storage and will start arriving on Monday.  I have been scouting out the bird life in the new neighborhood.  We are very close to open fields and vineyards and a creek so there are many possibilities.  I have seen ravens flying overhead but way too high to attrack their attention.  So far I have seen the common garden birds, doves, towhees- the plain brown ones, lots of scrub jays, robins and chestnut backed chickadees.  Yesterday I went to the store and treated myself to all new bird feeders and 3 big bags of seed.  I spent the morning setting up the feeders and trimming the rose bushes.  While I was working I saw a pair of black shouldered kites fly overhead.  I started waving my hands and yelling so they circled around to take a better look.  Who says birds don't pay attention to humans???  As soon as I came inside from my chores, the bluejays came to investigate the new feeders.  They have not landed on them yet.  It will take one brave bird to be the first and then look out!!  I made a platform feeder out of a tomatoe support and a planter dish and put a nice big EGG in it right out in the open.  I will watch the egg to see if a raven will spot it and come down and get it.  I certainly hope so.  I am going to bring it in at night if it is not gone by dusk as a wily raccoon would be on it in a New York minute.
I got a message from my neighbor on Mt. Veeder.  She said the ravens made alot of racket after I left, calling for me to come out and play and bring eggs!  After two weeks they have quieted down.  I am going to go up there this weekend and call for them and bring them an egg or two and visit.  They know my car and I hope we can hook up as the modern expression goes!   I will walk on Mt. Veeder just like I always did- it is only 20 minutes away.