Alright, I'm trying something new with my "Crow Updates." Bluesky's 300 character limit is a bit low to my taste and I've never been a big fan of long threads either.
So let's try this ATProtocol powered blogging platform for my longer posts. Tell me what you think.
This is my crow update from last weekend.
Know that not much happened, but some developments may matter in the future.
It's about Mr. and Ms. Crow, obviously, but also the Crows-by-the-sea. However, all pictures in the post are of Mr. and Ms. Crow on Sunday (read the alt for details). Let's get started (it may be long, you know me, I can be wordy).
Saturday morning, I went for a walk, and the crows were in the park. However, only Ms. Crow came down for peanuts!
(I haven't figured out how to add an Alt Text in the pic, so here it is: Mr. and Ms. Crow in a garden in the neighborhood, on Sunday afternoon. The garden is not used anymore and I think the land is for sale. Which is sad, the chances that it'll be replaced by a house are close to 100%. On less area with nature and plants in the neighborhood (Japanese people hate nature and are in love with concrete, I swear)
I was not sure why Mr. Crow wouldn't come down, but a few more minutes outside made me realize that it was quoite windy, and sadly his wings are damaged again. He still can fly (unlike last Spring) but I think it demands a lot of energy. I'm not even sure if he goes roosting downtown at night or stays in the neighborhood these days. All my concerns from last winter about him are about to return, I'm afraid.
Returning from my walk, there were some crow noises that I'm not too familiar with (but that I recently heard) in Mr. Crow's tree. The invaders flew away from it when I approached! However, I had to walk through the park again five minutes later, and Mr. Crow was in his usual spot on the tree. I didn't think about looking five minutes earlier, so I don't know if he left and returned when the invaders flew away, or if he was there all along and it was some sort of standoff??? 🤔
That's pretty much all I saw of them on Saturday (I was out most of the afternoon, but they came to eat peanuts a few times - they get several servings on the balcony these days, they need to get fatter for Winter).
On Sunday, they were around, including hanging out (and eating) in the abandoned garden (see the pics)
On Sunday evening, Ms. Crow came on the neighbor's roof with something in her mouth that took some time to eat which allowed me to take this great picture.
Alt Text: Ms. Crow eating something on the neighbor's roof above her, some stunning orange clouds lit by the setting sun.
That's pretty much all for Mr. and Ms. Crow (there was also that great moment when they both waited for me outside the door on Monday morning, a rare thing, but I already showed you in Bluesky on the day).
Now, the "Crows-by-the-sea".
A few days ago, I wondered why I didn't see them in the park by the sea (that gave them their nickname) anymore. I understand why they chose a nesting tree that's more inland but nothing should prevent them from hanging out there from time to time.
(alt text: Not a crow-by-the-sea but Mr. Crow in the abandoned garden)
Well...
Saturday, during my morning walk, I went through the park-by-the-sea, and who did I see? The crows by the sea! But there was a twist!
One was clearly a crow-by-the-sea (I don't know which one is the male and which one is the female) as it has a clear spot on its chest (a few missing feathers). Its behavior was the usual: quite unafraid to come close to me (contrary to Mr. and Ms. Crow) but still easily startled if I make an unexpected move.
However, the second crow's behavior was unusual. It was a bit shy, staying behind "white chest" and not that confident around me (still ate peanuts). And suddenly I heard a third crow, a couple of blocks inside their territory (close to their nesting tree), making a loud call (the one that means something like "I'm here, where are you?" or "be careful, danger" - I'm not always sure which is which).
I should have been more patient, but I wanted to locate that third crow to confirm what I was suspecting. I didn't locate it. It had moved by the time I arrived, but I understood that the call was about a bunch of eagles flying around (they love windy days to glide in the sky while crows struggle to fly). Now, here is what I think. The somewhat shy crow was one of the crows-by-the-sea's offsprings with one of its parent!
(alt text: still not the crows-by-the-sea - not pics of them today, sorry - but Mr. and Ms. Crow in the abandoned garden)
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed one crow feeding another one like they do with fledglings (but it felt too late in the year). I was not sure of their identity; it happened on a small bridge that's no one's territory (near both territories, really.) And last year's Junior came back for about a week in October (this year's Junior didn't 😦) So one of the two surviving "fledglings-by-the-sea" may have returned... or... Could it be possible that for some reason, the fledgling didn't join its older siblings (what they usually do at the end of summer) and is "moving back" with its parents? Or next to them? Because on Sunday morning, I returned to the park-by-the-sea, and I saw one crow in a tree. It clearly saw me as well as the peanuts I threw, but didn't move at all. Either it was a completely different crow or the fledgling who won't approach me without a parent? No idea...
(alttext: Mr. Crow in the same garden)
Now, I'm even more curious about the situation in the park-by-the-sea. Unfortunately, I don't get to go there a lot during the week (well, I pass by every day, but this time of the year, it's dusk when I return from work, too late to see any crow) I can really only spend time there during daytime on the weekends and sometimes Tuesdays (I went yesterday but ran into some friends there!)
Well, now you know everything. Stay tuned for more sooner or later. Thanks for reading.
(alt text: Ms. Crow eating something on the neighbor's roof.)
Alright, this was an attempt to use White Wind. I may use it again, although the editor is not the best (especially to insert pictures) The other options are: my regular wordpress blog, or long threads on Bluesky. What do you think?
