Far Away Vocals

I have a disability.  I suppose you could say that I have had one for four years now, but it didn't feel that way until last summer.  During the year and four months I've been away from Grand Forks, while trying to make myself physically stronger; facing daily, ongoing pain; and having multiple doctor appointments each week, the crows of Grand Forks faded from my mind. Then suddenly, there they were again.  I was in my beloved apt. on a Sunday morning, listening to the raucous.

Unlike the crows in Schenectady, New York, I never felt I was a part of their world, and felt that I would never be.  I was merely an observer and nothing else.  I saw them ever so still in the cold and the snow.  I saw them facing each other while they talked to each other, one warm day...like two gabbing women.   I saw them grabbing at that pretty flower...that pretty flower that they seemed to like so much.

I have so many questions that have never been answered.  Why were they dark brown at times instead of black?  No doubt that was due to the angle of sunlight, but I never saw that before in my life...not in Schnectady, not in New York City. Were Sunday morning conversations between kin or just friends?  What were they talking about?  Why was Sunday morning full of so many vocals?  Why were the type of vocals they used limited compared to crows in Schenectady?

But here in Vermillion, there are no answers.  There's only silence.  It's thick, like pea soup.  What makes the crows stay away from Vermillion?  Why won't they come into town?  I have no clue.

Crows actually engage in many type of calls, more than 20.   In addition to types of sounds, they can also vary the loudness and pitch of their calls, depending on what they want to say.    At least one type of crow is even known to "curse!"  While listening to CAWS, "you may also hear crows making a 'subsong': a mixture of hoarse or grating coos, caws, rattles, and clicks. These are arranged in sequences that can be many minutes long, given quietly and with a rambling, improvised quality." (Cornell Lab of Ornithology).  Crows can also imitate the vocals of other creatures, even ones of humans.  Micheal Westerfield writes that, "crows use specific sounds under specific circumstances. Alarm calls, assembly calls, distress calls, and many others have been noted. One problem in interpreting these calls, however, has been the fact that different groups of crows, belonging to the same species but in different geographical areas, may not use or understand all of the same calls."

My days here in Vermillion grow short and I long to be among the crows once more.  I can't wait.

Sources:
All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Crows
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/sounds

Michael Westerfield, The Language of Crows
http://www.crows.net/language.html

The Screaming Blue Jay

While lamenting about the absence of crows from my surroundings, I started to think of blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata).  Sure, American crows don't roam the skies here in town, and it's been over decade since I've seen a fish crow (which was in upstate New York),  but every once in a while a scream will fill the air.  The scream today seemed to say, "I'm here!"

These beautiful, chubby birds are certainly one of the larger, noisier birds you can find at the feeder.  And like crows, they are screamers, saying their name over and over again.  The signature, loud JAY call is not the only sound this bird makes.  Blue jays can also express harsh, rusty whistles.  Anita Carpenter writes,"devilish bluejays can mimic screaming red-shouldered hawks, while loving bluejays will 'tea-kettle' to each other (Wisconsin Natural Resources).

When it comes to color, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on what the main color of this bird actually it is.  It has been said that this bird is mostly black.  One source states that these birds are actually brown.  It has been said that this bird is mostly gray.  But sources seem to agree that it is the sunlight falling on the bird and scattering that causes this creature to appear blue.  This pretty bird sports more than one shade of blue, a thick head crest, and underside of gray, and black markings on its face, its blue tail and its blue and bright white wings.

Like other corvids, blue jays like the company of other members of their species.  "They are fairly social and are typically found in pairs or in family groups or small flocks (National Geographic).  Blue jays can be found all over the Eastern half of the United States, in a variety of places, including the forest, a park, or even in a garden.  They eat a variety of foods, including insects, acorns, and nuts...and they will come to bird feeders for suet.

To see a picture of a blue jay and to learn more, please click here.

Sources:
A. Carpenter, Wisconsin Natural Resources, Feb. 2003, What Color is a Blue Jay? http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/2003/feb03/jays.htm

National Geographic, Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/blue-jay/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds,  Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/id

Wild Birds Forever, Learn About Blue Jays, http://www.birdsforever.com/bluejay.htm

eNature.com, Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata, http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recnum=BD0026

Day Dreams of Grand Forks

It's been over 9 months since I left Grand Forks.  And lately, I been thinking about it...and the crows that lived there.  I was so excited when I found out Grand Forks had crows, as I had been deprived of them for so many years in South Dakota.  Then- BOOM, all of a sudden I was in Grand Forks, and there they were.  Although they were quite different than the crows in upstate New York, I was just happy to be around them again after many years.

Before my life got crazy, there were those Sundays when I'd listen to them talking outside my door.  Those were precious times.  But with work and grad school, those times disappeared.  Now, they are just a memory.  For 3 1/2 years, I had them back in my life.  Now, they are gone again and I miss them so.