I thought I needed to update you on some crow-news.
1) Mr Fluffy. I do believe he is less lame. The Fluffies come for food all the time now - I do think that the injury must have led him to be wary of being on the ground. He always used to threaten by hopping toward crows too near his patch, rather than launching aerial attacks. Now I see him and Mrs Fluffy chasing the Feisties away from the trees quite regularly.
2) Divo and Diva. They - and especially the scruffier Divo - have become very brave. Divo is rather like CD in how close he will come. But what's funny is that they will both run after me, flapping their wings, as I walk away from the Fluffies and Flyings to feed them in a place that should not be deemed threatening to anyone else.
Divo is also quite thrilled by finding treats hidden under sticks of leaves. Oh, and he does what Jabi used to do - he watches Diva cache her treats and then goes and steals them! poor Diva. He also chases her off the food, so I have to spread it out - this is not the case for the Fluffies or Brave Three who eat very close together. Diva is a little wary of Divo and yet it is often she who is spotter and chaser-away-er (maybe I have their genders wrong?). Divo will always nab the best treats, taking all of them before she can get there. I try to throw them for her but she is still too nervous.
All this said, I am sure that I saw them grooming the other day....
3) CD. Recently I was bemoaning the lack of gifts, coos and play. Well, CD provided two of the three.
One day I gave him a very large dog treat. He pecked at it but couldn't get anything to break off. He stood on it for a while. Like a kid on a box. Then he seemed to decide it was boring and headed over to ask for something else. But a seagull swooped to steal it, so CD dashed back and examined it again. Once more, it did not appear to break and standing on it achieved nothing. He walked toward me again and again the gull swooped and he hurried back.
Right, he must have thought, it can be useful.
He picked it up and flew among the gulls getting them to chase him and scream. He did a strange thing which was like he just stopped in midair - not flying or even gliding.... I think he did a tiny drop and catch... but it really was like her just stopped flying - only momentum kept him going forward as his wings were stretched in a glide but half tucked like when they nose-dive.... Anyway, then, when he had a huge host of seagulls, he dropped it and watched them swoop for it before coming back to me.
Another time, I was standing watching him as he foraged. He was very close to me, but just doing his own thing, staring at the ground, pecking at it, tearing sticks apart and ripping up leaves, just doing curious crow stuff. I said, 'Coo! Coo!' But he ignored me and carried on doing his thing. He moved on and then tucked up his beak in the coo shape and did a... well, a bubbling sort of coo.... a burble. It was incredible... a new sound... I gave him a treat.
He's a very special crow.
4) Seagull and pigeon. I saw a gull and a pigeon having a sort of non-violent squabble... it was like the pigeon wanted to be with the gull and the gull did not want to be with the pigeon. The gull chased the pigeon away - like the crow chases, all the aerobatics and twisting and turning. But later, I am sure I saw the same pigeon with the gulls.
I know, I know, many doubt that I can tell the crows apart, but a pigeon?? Well, it's about behaviour.
5) Seagulls and pigeons. Now the crows have to invest time chasing groups of these off their food. Divo gets really pissed off and just flies at flocks of pigeons near his patch, sending them flapping into grey clouds.
6) Subtle seagulls. Gulls have long legs and flat backs. When they plan to steal something, they will run up with their heads squashed down against their backs like they are hiding. They look hilarious - they look like running backs without heads! And because they are so tall anyway it's not like it does any good at camouflage! It may be a submissive posture (they are wary of the crows) and I have seen young gulls do it to other gulls. But it makes me laugh out loud!
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