Trust

Crow on a barbecue grill in Walsingham Park

This morning I finally got out on the front patio to do a little post winter clean up and trimming of some of the plants out there.  Things were either a little overgrown or had a lot of dead leaves.  While I was out there I changed the water in the hanging bird bath.  It needed to be changed.  Bad. 

I had gone back to trimming leaves when I heard our favorite crow caw from nearby...  very nearby.  I looked up to see one of the crows was sitting about 10 feet from me up in the crepe myrtle.  

For the last few years, we've had a pair of nesting crows visit the bird bath, often bringing bits of food to dunk in the water to soften them up.  We know they've seen us through the windows of the dinning room, always keeping an eye on us from the edge of the bath.  

This time I wasn't in the dinning room, I was staying outside next to the front door.  

"Well" I said, "Go ahead.  I'll stay right here."

The crow cawed a few more times and jumped down to the bird bath, now about 8 feet from me, and about 4 feet off the ground.  He, or she, kept a close eye on me while helping himself to the now clean water of the birdbath.  I didn't move.  I barely breathed.  

I love these crows.  Up close, they are really big birds.  We haven't figured out where the nest is, but it's somewhere north of the house.  We've been watching them gather twigs for the last few weeks, always carrying them north once they've collected them.  I'm sure we're one of their regular stops, and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them.  They've already been by three more times this afternoon.

Research has shown that crows are smart enough to recognize faces, and know who is safe and who to avoid.  Edward and I both think they have figured out we're not a threat, although I'm not sure they want us to get much closer.  Having one of them visit while I was standing out on the patio was a really neat experience.  Perhaps he'd noticed the bird bath water had been changed.  Or perhaps he was just stopping by to say 'Hi', and let us know that we are people they can trust.