bird brains at work

caw-laborative christmas

The experiment? We have been feeding crows on our back deck for years now. At first we had a young family - mom, dad and their son.

(we’ve learned that female crows once they reach mating age tend to fly away while the boys linger)

Now there are four sometimes six, crows swooping in at a time.

We feed them peanuts in the shell.

Peanuts in a shell require effort.

They have to put their magnificent bird brains to work in order to carry them away and open them.

This also prevents the crows fro gobbling everything down at once.

This creates a slower process and we can enjoy the crows longer with less inputs.

I started creating experiments for the crows. I’ve wanted to get closer to them.

Here's what I've learned

Initially, they would fly far away and wait on top of a more distant shed, a neighbours house or at the top of a tall tree before taking any of our offerings.

Each day I bring the peanuts, I linger a little longer on the deck. They fly closer, then I leave.

Now?

Now I find my way outsid…