It seems like common sense … to slow or stop the car if you see an animal on the road. But, in recent weeks, I’ve had several incidents where birds were clearly in harm’s way and people refused to either stop or take even 30 seconds off their commute to let an animal exit the…
10,000 Crows and Counting
This is what it looks (and feels) like when you’re standing under 10,000+ crows, coming home to roost. I shot the video well after dusk, so I had to crank exposure up in iMovie, causing pixel issues. Still … you’ll get the idea. This occurs every dusk in Bothell, Washington, when crows from Seattle, Snohomish…
An American Crow in Seattle
Maybe this photo resolves the American Crow/Northwestern Crow conundrum, once and for all: I suspect that any Pledge of Allegiance here is to Corvid Nation. Check out my post Crows on Cairns for a short discussion about what really constitutes “American” or “Northwestern” when it comes to corvids. Photographed at the Ballard Locks with the…
Crows on Cairns
A group of young American Crows or Northwestern Crows (or American-Northwestern hybrid crows) foraged around these cairns along Seattle’s waterfront … like sentries in their own Norman towers. Click for Larger Image I don’t know if I’m looking at American or Northwestern Crows when I photograph these corvids in Seattle. The distinction for me —…
The Crow Patrol
Our apartment sits above Interbay in Seattle — what used to be a thriving salt marsh and tidal flat, replete with shellfish, marine life and waterfowl. It was a foraging ground for Native Americans of the Shilshole tribe, who made their home in present-day Ballard, just north of Interbay. At the turn of the century,…
The Caching Benefits of Jays
Disclaimer: As you can see, this Steller’s Jay is grappling with a few almonds, all of which were left out for the jays who are probably nesting nearby. In other words, this particular food was not foraged from local tree sources. At this point, the jay had four or five almonds stuffed into its expanding…
The Benefits of Anthropomorphism
If you work with or care about animals, the nonhuman ones, eventually, someone will say something like, “shouldn’t you care more about what happens to people?” That question doesn’t faze me anymore. Given our predominantly anthropocentric world view, I’d actually be surprised if people didn’t ask it. I have plenty of answers for why it’s…
Crow Casting a Pellet [Almost]
Sometimes, if there are no birds or wild animals in the vicinity (which is often the case in the heavily-populated parks near my Seattle home) I’ll just sit and take in the scenery …. with camera ready in case something unexpected happens. In Seattle, I can almost always count on crows showing up, even if…
On Double-Banded Knee
Seattle crows are among the most famous of modern crows, owing to studies by John Marzluff which are featured in A Murder of Crows. This PBS Nature episode looks at Marzluff’s University of Washington (UW) research projects and the crows’ ability to recognize and remember human faces. I’ve seen a few UW-banded crows around town,…
You Thinking What I’m Thinking?
I saw a huge group of crows scrounging for grubs and snacks in a vacant field near the Seattle waterfront. Since it was raining when I left home, I packed nothing but my rain gear and a point-and-shoot … just in case. I guess I’m hard-headed because I should have learned by now that Seattle…
