This morning I saw crows out and about. One made a rattling noise to another crow. It reminded me a situation in the previous post, which one crow made a rattling noise to another crow. But that seemed to be a negative situation. This one did not seem to be negative. Both situations occurred near the edge of a roof. In both cases, the one bird that was approaching the edge of the roof seemed to be the bird doing the rattling. In both cases, the bird being rattled at was sitting on the edge of the roof.
Additionally today, while I was watching a crow flap its wings, I could hear a sound similar to that of a plastic bag. I had never known crow wings to make noise. This crow's wings were positioned differently. They were not straight out. The wings dipped in the middle while the crow was flapping. The next one that flew by did so on silent, straight wings. I think these two birds may also have been the same ones from the rattling situation.
I've discovered that in certain light, crows look brown...not an almost black brown, but an interesting shade of brown...a shade that is quite dark, yet maintains its brown quality. I've never seen this in all of my years watching birds, until I started paying closer attention to the crows.
In all of my years watching crows, I've never seen them flying and congregating in such large numbers during the summer and in the middle of the day. The crows up here in North Dakota just seem...different. They seem more vocal and seem to have a deeper sense of community.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
A Most Intense Conversation
With experiencing nature, there are trade-offs. I no longer live among the common nighthawks, and I miss them so. But to be back among the crows fills me with pleasant feelings and wonder.
When I lived in Schenectady, New York, I felt welcomed into their world, a few times. These experiences happened during fall, when people were not in the park or by the water, as I was. There were no calls that I remember, just quiet. I felt close to them. Other times, I was just a spectator but nevertheless, fascinated.
Currently, I don't feel as if I am a part of their world, but I do feel somewhat close to them...more close on a regular basis than I have felt in the past. They are always around, living their lives, talking, and don't seem to pay me any mind. In all the experiences I've had with crows, none seemed so vocal as the ones here in North Dakota. Today I came across a conversation which seemed to be intense. There were many crows together, which surprised me because it's still summertime...although I feel as though I can sense the coming of fall. There were about 12 crows in a some trees from what I can see. The trees were close together. Others were on the roof of a nearby building. Others were flying. Some were in a tree a little further down. There seemed to be at least 2 distinct groups of crows. During my observations, the crows expressed different vocals. There was the typical CAW sound. There was a CAW that seemed to be the same in length, but higher in pitch. There was a CAW sound that was expressed more quickly and higher in pitch. Sometimes the typical CAWs were expressed together in unison or near unison. I don't know how many birds were talking. It sounded like a lot, but a particular bird could have been expressing different types of vocals. One bird expressed a sound that I was not familiar with. It seemed to be annoyed with another bird.
There was so much noise, I looked around for a hawk or an owl. I did not see one. It sounded like they were in alarm. However, it would be a mistake for me to read too much into their vocals. After all, the typical sound of crows is naturally very harsh. The vocalizations went on and on. I don't think I've ever heard a more complex conversation among crows before. With no predators around or even birds that resembled predators, I had no idea what they were talking about, but it seemed to be very important.
When I lived in Schenectady, New York, I felt welcomed into their world, a few times. These experiences happened during fall, when people were not in the park or by the water, as I was. There were no calls that I remember, just quiet. I felt close to them. Other times, I was just a spectator but nevertheless, fascinated.
Currently, I don't feel as if I am a part of their world, but I do feel somewhat close to them...more close on a regular basis than I have felt in the past. They are always around, living their lives, talking, and don't seem to pay me any mind. In all the experiences I've had with crows, none seemed so vocal as the ones here in North Dakota. Today I came across a conversation which seemed to be intense. There were many crows together, which surprised me because it's still summertime...although I feel as though I can sense the coming of fall. There were about 12 crows in a some trees from what I can see. The trees were close together. Others were on the roof of a nearby building. Others were flying. Some were in a tree a little further down. There seemed to be at least 2 distinct groups of crows. During my observations, the crows expressed different vocals. There was the typical CAW sound. There was a CAW that seemed to be the same in length, but higher in pitch. There was a CAW sound that was expressed more quickly and higher in pitch. Sometimes the typical CAWs were expressed together in unison or near unison. I don't know how many birds were talking. It sounded like a lot, but a particular bird could have been expressing different types of vocals. One bird expressed a sound that I was not familiar with. It seemed to be annoyed with another bird.
There was so much noise, I looked around for a hawk or an owl. I did not see one. It sounded like they were in alarm. However, it would be a mistake for me to read too much into their vocals. After all, the typical sound of crows is naturally very harsh. The vocalizations went on and on. I don't think I've ever heard a more complex conversation among crows before. With no predators around or even birds that resembled predators, I had no idea what they were talking about, but it seemed to be very important.
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