Life Through a Crows Eye

It's a beautiful day, crows cawing, and I just returned from a crow walk. With final exams approaching fast and spring break soon after, this will be my concluding post for the time being. Coincidentally, I also finished my one pound bag of shelled peanuts today! After class today I decided to walk down the street to see if I could find any crows, and low and behold, I did. I stood on the same corner I fed those two crows a couple days ago and threw a peanut out for a crow sitting on the roof of a house nearby. Immediately, the crow nearby noticed and came to sit on a power line above, and not long after it swooped down to collect the peanut. I was super shocked at how quickly I saw results today, and because of that, I think this could have been one of the same crows I was feeding the other day. After a few seconds the crow came back for another peanut, and I continued to throw down peanuts for it progressively closer to where I was sitting until the crow was about 7 feet away fr...

I didn't see any crows this morning when I went to leave food out, but I did carry peanuts with me on campus today, and I actually got to feed a crow this time! It's funny because yesterday when I saw a crow on campus and left some peanuts in the area, I wasn't really acknowledged by them in any way. Today, however, I encountered a crow a block or two from my house and immediately noticed that I was of interest to them. I threw a peanut down, and after a couple minutes I had two crows sitting on telephone wires near me waiting to swoop down for the peanut I threw into the street. It took a minute or two, but finally one of them came down and grabbed the peanut and took it to a safe place nearby to eat. After a little, the crow came back for more, and the other one had already gone off with the other peanut I left out for it. I ended up standing in the street feeding these two crows for about 20 minutes! I think, since this was right near my house, these crows recognized me...

Today is the second day of me carrying peanuts for the crows in the event I see one. Yesterday I was really excited and actively looking for any crows in the area. I think I was too focused on the outcome and how I wanted to control the situation, and because of that, I didn't see any crows yesterday. Today, I was pretty busy, and it was also raining, and so I kind of didn't expect to see any crows and was not super focused on it today. I carried peanuts in my pocket anyway, but I had let go of the idea of seeing a crow today, and guess what… I saw a crow! It's funny because in letting go of the idea of actually befriending a crow, suddenly I am having more interactions with them than I did before. I was at the library and I noticed a crow in a tree nearby. Our interaction was not super significant, but I was excited to leave a peanut for the crow. Even though I didn't see it actually eat the peanut or leave from its tree, I was happy to be prepared for our encounter.

Today I decided to carry peanuts with me on the way to school in the event that I saw a crow in the wild. I have noticed that most of my crow sightings have been when I am out rather than around my house. Even though the crows have been eating the food I leave out for them, leaving food does not leave a lot of room for interaction between us which is something I was hoping for. I think if I carry peanuts with me, I will be able to foster more of a direct relationship with these animals, but regardless of whether or not that happens, I have really enjoyed this experience. Today I carried peanuts in my pocket all day and did not end up seeing any crows. 

Today I did not leave food out because it was a little bit rainy, but then I saw a crow right after I left the house and realized I still should have! Even though I have started to let go of the idea of actually fostering a relationship with a crow, I have still really been appreciating noticing them in nature. They have been a reminder for me to stay grounded, and I hope anyone who interacts with this page also shares this experience.

It's funny because when I had the idea to befriend a crow, I thought it would be a good way to demonstrate how humans and nature are connected in our day to day lives. Now that I am thinking of it a little deeper and actually giving it an attempt, I am starting to think that my wanting to befriend a crow is actually a good reflection of how society already interacts with nature, and it's very much human centered. My idea to befriend a crow came from my human desire to foster that connection, not from an actual mutual relationship that would exist in nature. I had this desire, and I thought that as a human, I would be able to have some kind of control over this situation to get what I wanted. I think maybe I need to let go of the idea of befriending a crow and focus more on just appreciating the nature around me and being thankful I get to observe these crows in nature. 

There were no crow sightings this morning, but I did leave food out for them again. Today I went to the library to do homework but ended up studying in a garden instead so I could be outside and closer to nature. Pretty quickly into my time at the garden I realized there were crows in the area after hearing one caw. The caw of a crow is something that would not have even registered with me before I started leaving food out for the crows near my house, but now, I noticed this caw and actually took a second to pay attention to it. In taking this extra second to be present, I think I heard these crows communicating with each other. There was one right near me who would caw every so often, and then in the distance I could hear another one respond immediately after. I looked into it after the fact and it turns out they do communicate with each other this way! I am very excited that I got to witness this and thankful that I could be present enough in the moment to catch on.