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Crow

Submitted by Sarah on Thu, 11/17/2005 - 1:21pm.

crows

I listened recently to a discussion concerning crows on KUOW. John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell have put out a book In The Company of Crows and Ravens and I found the interview with the authors fascinating.

Two things especially stick in my mind:

"Mentally, crows and ravens are more like flying monkeys than they are like other birds."

And also that when crows watch us, they really watch us, they even keep track of what we are watching. They watch our eyes. Imagine.

Both my son and I have dive bombed by crows stories. Do crows come after us because we are tall? It is all a mystery.

I wonder if wearing one of Nikki McClure's crow tshirts from buyolympia.com would help.

Sarah's blog
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No doubt that crows are smart

Submitted by Rick on Thu, 11/17/2005 - 7:21pm.

No doubt that crows are smart. I've read accounts of people who see swarms of crows while walking outside -- except in the single instance of when carrying a rifle. Then, no crows to be seen.

Wheatfield With Crows, one of

Submitted by stevenl on Sat, 11/19/2005 - 4:43pm.

Wheatfield With Crows, one of Van Gogh's last paintings, is one of my favorite works of art. Isn't it interesting that a flock of crows is also known as a "murder of crows"?

On a related note, in the Spring, there are red wing blackbirds that have terrorized the State workers at Point Plaza East and West. It got so bad that people would run to their cars under umbrellas. I myself have been hit several times.

Awhile back I found a list of

Submitted by Sarah on Sat, 11/19/2005 - 8:06pm.

Awhile back I found a list of animal names at my son's request. This list has for a collection of crows: murder, horde, parcel, hover, and muster.

I'd not heard about the terrorist red wing blackbirds. If everyone had personal portable squirt guns to squirt water at the diving winged ones, would that work? Although maybe that would make them even more protective and aggressive, plus open the squirt gun wielding person up to further attack.

Wheatfield With Crows is powerful stuff.

Also learned through that radio interview that there is crow justice. Crows will judge and carry out sentences on one of their own, including killing it.

I also like the term, "an unp

Submitted by stevenl on Sat, 11/19/2005 - 8:51pm.

I also like the term, "an unpleasantness of ravens."

On a couple occasions I have had the weird experience of watching a crow peck at and fly away with a mouse squiggling away in its beak. Also, in front of my house, they like to drop walnuts on the road over and over until the shells break open.

I like to feed the crows stale bread in my front yard. Occasionally they are joined by seagulls here in McCleary. When I see the gulls (wordplay intended) then I know a storm is coming, otherwise they don't come this far inland.

About once a year I'll find a huge crow on my front porch, deader than 4 o'clock without any marks of violence.

What do you suppose a group of caimans are called? --31

An infestation of caimans?

Submitted by Rick on Sat, 11/19/2005 - 10:28pm.

An infestation of caimans?

The closest animal collective

Submitted by stevenl on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 7:15am.

The closest animal collective name I can find is for the crocodile: a congregation, or nest, or bask, or float, or striker of crocodiles. But, given the acceleration of the seriousness of the caiman problem in Olympia, I think "an infestation of caimans" is quite appropriate.

Is an infestation of caimans

Submitted by Sarah on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 4:48pm.

Is an infestation of caimans responsible for that odd whirring noise that emanates from Westfield Shopping Town (Village/City/Mall/World) around 2AM each morning?

Inquiringly,
#54
(When do I get my shoe phone?)

An odd whirring sound at 2AM?

Submitted by stevenl on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 9:42pm.

An odd whirring sound at 2AM? Suddenly, like the "vuuuupphfft" sound of a vacuum packed can being opened the true vast conspiratorial dimensions of this caiman plot come into focus. I scarce dare utter the sordid truth. May God have mercy on our souls.

Can citizens completely comph

Submitted by Sarah on Mon, 11/21/2005 - 6:32am.

Can citizens completely comphrend the vast reach of this criminal conspiracy? Caimans are now suspected by knowledgeable insiders as contributing to excess concrete at a city railroad crossing - Jefferson Street & State Avenue.

All confessions will be checked, collected, and compiled by the Committee to Control Caimans.

Caimans with hardhats, jackha

Submitted by stevenl on Mon, 11/21/2005 - 6:46am.

Caimans with hardhats, jackhammers, and opposable thumbs are scarey enough. Wait until they learn how to drive steamrollers!

The book sounds great,

Submitted by Chia on Fri, 01/04/2008 - 8:44am.

The book sounds great, Sarah, I'm putting it on my list to read. About the attacking birds...even though I tend to be intimidated when it happens, I also realized that the property is shared and that they may be trying to protect a nest of young. Wouldn't we do the same thing, after all? Maybe we could just find other routes to walk or otherwise become less threatening to them. It's a complex issue and I think it's important to try to find compromise with urban wildlife when we can.

---------
Nonviolence Includes Animals:
audio
"PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's address to the International Nonviolence Conference in Bethlehem"

Crows and Ravens are impressi

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 11:21am.

Crows and Ravens are impressive birds, worthy of our respect and admiration. I think we all owe the crows a big measure of appreciation for keeping things clean.

They are skilled tricksters.

Submitted by Sarah on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 4:43pm.

They are skilled tricksters. So many great stories about them, especially about Raven.

My son (He's 6'5" and I think still growing) and I walked across the west side Target parking lot today and got dive bombed by crows. Maybe we looked to be intruding on their picnic, some promising litter was scattered across the cement.

Yes, I think that somewher

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 11/21/2005 - 10:42am.

Yes,

I think that somewhere in your past, karmic or otherwise, you have crossed the path of the crow, and it wasn't a pleasant or congenial encounter. Have you tried making peace with the crows on an emotional level?

My son just reminded me that

Submitted by Sarah on Mon, 11/21/2005 - 10:55am.

My son just reminded me that we were carrying food at the time of last swoopage, open energy bars.

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