We were worried. The crows hadn’t shown up for four days. It didn’t seem likely that all four of them would have been hurt or killed. They must be scouting for more food. Maybe they migrated south to Mexico. Maybe they went east to the Imperial Valley, a large agricultural area that has a different climate than we have here on the coast. The valley might have crops ripening that would appeal to our crow friends.

A few crows had shown up at different times, but Pat had decided that she would only feed “her” crows. Her crows were recognizable first by seeing the guy with the mangled foot, and next by the Boss Crow who was a boisterous talker and always had plenty to say to Pat.

I think it was the 5^th day that Terri was coming over. As she approached the house, she saw crows in the driveway. As she pulled in, the birds scattered and went to the nearby trees. Terri charged into the house and yelled, “The crows are back!”  She said, “I saw the guy with the mangled foot.” She and Pat rushed outside, and Pat gave the food call, “Caw, caw, caw, caw.” From a tree, they heard an answering “Caw, caw, caw, caw,” and the crows swooped down and landed on the driveway. The Boss Crow began talking to Pat, no doubt explaining where they had been for the last four days. He gets so excited when he is talking to Pat that you know he is imparting something that is really important to him.

Things are back to normal. There are always three birds for sure- Boss Crow, the one we think is his spouse, and the mangled foot guy. Sometimes, there are a 4^th and 5^th crow that we think may be offspring. There were 6th and 7^th crow today, but the Boss Crow didn’t seem too happy about it. He kept crowding them out of the immediate area. Two sparrows have been showing up the last couple of days, and they have been accepted.

Dave Thomas

1/16/2024