GIFT FROM MY CROW FRIENDS
by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
A crow left me a gift. It's a bit of rusty metal, part of a garden rake.
I know it's a gift because this doesn't belong near the terracotta plate where the crows feed.
This is the second gift I'm keeping. I've received other gifts from them; a crushed Styrofoam cup with a dead cockroach in it, some chicken bones, and feathers. I didn't save those. They were too gross even though I recognized that they were precious to the crows.
But I saved a blue ball and I'll put this metal in with the ball.
These gifts touch me. A crow recognized that I've been feeding them and giving them clean water, and the crow went out of his or her way to carry this object to where I'd find it. The blue ball and Styrofoam cup were left near the kitchen door. This metal was near their food dish.
Years ago, we didn't have crows in our neighborhood. We had song birds, smaller-sized birds. I'm not sure when crows came around but they seemed to suddenly be on the sidewalks, on top of trees. A bird flu epidemic killed a number of them because they disappeared for a while.
But they came back, and have thrived.
I bonded with the crows after a crow gifted me with the blue ball. I became more diligent in giving them food and fresh water.
I think there are many other neighbors giving them food and water because their population has grown.
Recently, we've had a hawk and his/her mate preying on the birds and small animals in the area, and while the crows are still around, they are more low key. They don't gather in large groups. They don't "party" as they used in my front lawn. They live in a community environment and are so organized in taking care of their young, in communicating with one another, in having "watch-crows" to sound the alarm when there is food or danger.
I really do like them.
#corvids #crowgifts #crows
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is the author and editor of over 20 books. Her official website is https://ceciliabrainard.com .
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