Nice crow story! I'm hoping mine turns out as nice. Too bad your Grandmother isn't close by, she'd be getting a crow on her doorstep! As I'm typing this, Junior is flapping his wings and cawing, OMG she is so cute! Com'on Mom and Dad, get over your instincts and come take care of your baby! It's really hard for me to watch. She's back down in the box again. I can't stand anything, especially a baby, being hungry!
Nina
Jen Meyer wrote:
When my Mom was a kid, her Dad and brothers used to bring home baby crows as pets (obviously not encouraged now-a-days)! They would keep the baby bird inside until he learned to fly, and then release him into the outdoors where the crow would usually wake my Grandma up early in the morning (with loud "caws" outside her bedroom window) to be fed...and then would hang around as long as the kids were outside! The crows would follow my Mom to school and even wait for her until she came back out again. One of my favorite stories is when my Mom was baby...one of their crows used to "guard" her in her stroller! I even recall a story about a little girl who wasn't well liked by the other neighborhood kids (she just wasn't a nice person to be around)...well, she soon learned that she had to avoid walking down the street in front of my Grandma's house...if she did, one very confident crow would dive bomb her head until she got to the other end of the street! The crows usually only stuck around for one summer, then would fly south for the winter...
But, man, these birds are such amazingly intelligent little guys! A few years ago, one of my uncles brought my Grandma a baby crow who had been abandoned. I would go over to her house every now and then to visit "Bozo" (the birds were either named "Bozo or "Ozob" :) )...I had never been that close to a crow before! They are absolutely beautiful...you can really sense their intelligence in their eyes! My Grandma would go outside and call him down from the trees and Bozo would either come right away or caw at her in defiance from above (crows have some serious attitude! :) ). He'd keep his distance from anyone he didn't know well, but once he got to know you, he was a real sweetheart! He loved having his head scritched just above his neck...You could hand feed him, and whatever he didn't want, he'd hide in little nooks and crannies either in the ground or on you! I was pulling all kinds of treats out of my pockets after he got finished with me! All of the neighborhood kids knew Bozo and it was good to know that he was making sure they got to school on time! :)
Both my Grandma and I, of course, realize that we live in a different world today and to tame crows is not a good idea, despite the fact that they do fly off to lead their own lives come winter. But I am so thankful for the chance to really get to know one of these creatures for just a short period of time...just witnessing the relationship between Bozo and my Grandma was nothing short of magical for me! I can't help but think I've got a special little connection, now, with every crow I see...even if he wants nothing to do with hiding treats in my pockets! :)
Jen
