Thursday 2 March 2023

Crows

 

Crows

We live in Crowthorne, in Berkshire, UK. It is home to two well-known institutions, Wellington College and Broadmoor Hospital. The former is a fee-paying co-educational school for pupils from 13 to 18, which opened in 1859 as a national monument to honour the Duke of Wellington. The latter is a maximum-security psychiatric hospital, one of three in England, and has housed some of the most dangerous criminals in England. It opened in 1863. Is there a sinister link between the two? (insert wink emoji)

The Crowthorne badge, top left of the sign, shows a crow on a branch or thorn. The village is named after a local landmark, the Crow Thorn
There are many crows in the area, as might be deduced from the name. These clever birds are noisy, bold and entertaining. They quickly recognise food sources and follow dog walkers who carry treats.

Several years ago, we used to feed two crows we called Bill and Beatrice, and subsequently their two offspring. They were opportunistic feeders and would switch their allegiance readily from us to others. The ground where we walked in Crowthorne Forest, more properly Swinley Forest, was open and the family could easily see the biscuits.

There are many small ponds in the woods, very attractive to dogs and ducks, and we used to throw biscuits in for the crows. It was amazing to watch them dive down, almost submerge and then flap up and away with the prize in their bill.






Simon’s Wood, where we walk at present, has thick layers of leaves, rotting beautifully into a rich, aromatic mulch. 
There is a fairly large pool which hosts a variety of water birds – Canada geese, little grebes, coot and mallard among others. The crows do not dive for biscuits here.


It is apparent that the crows have territories in which they are comfortable, for when we reach the boundaries, invisible to us, they no longer follow us. At present, we have another family of four to feed. They seem to recognise us, or perhaps it’s the dogs, or the treat bags we carry. Maybe they just watch to find out if they’re going to be lucky.

Crow 1:‘Oh, there’s a human. Let’s follow him for a while and see if he’ll feed us.’

Crow 2: ‘Watch out for the dogs. They’ll steal our grub.’

Crow 1: ‘Children alert. They often drop food.’

Crow 2: ‘Look, more dogs. I wonder if they’ll have treats?’

One of the current family has a degree of leucism, only clearly visible when she flies. Unoriginally, we call her White Wings. She can easily be mistaken for a magpie from a distance.

We also have crows in the garden. A few years ago, when Jenna, our little black Labrador, was very young, one of the crows used to sit atop one of the arches and bow to her. I think he must have been an immature male to have mistaken a four-legged dog for a two-legged crow and start courting her. At least, I think that was what he was doing. I’m not an expert and am willing to be corrected.

Crows can be extremely vocal, particularly if they feel threatened. A crow will chase away a red kite, even though a kite is substantially larger than a crow.

Aesop was a Greek slave and story-teller who lived around 620 BCE. He recognised the intelligence of the crow and illustrated it in his fable of the Crow and the Pitcher.


Is this crow engaged in trickery or is he about to burst into song?
'Me and my shadow . . . ' 

15 comments:

  1. In my area of our country we have ravens and it is hard to imagine them diving into water. It seems like they are less aggressive than crows as our ravens are bullied by other smaller birds. Not many people are keen on their mournful calls especially when they are in a flock. They are though, rather interesting birds to watch.

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    1. I would love to see wild ravens. The only ones I have seen were at the Tower of London and they're definitely not wild!

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  2. I love crows and we have some here in Australia although the South Australian ones are actually "Little Ravens" but I call them all crows just as I call all magpies "Maggie" when I talk to them, I am always polite and never get swooped upon. Your crow photos are absolutely beautiful.

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    1. We always say 'Good morning' to the crows. It's only polite.

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  3. Crows are intelligent birds who mate with one female and stays with her. A "murder" of crows is creepy.

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    1. Sensible birds! Why cope with more than one partner if you don't have to?

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  4. Super photos - I've never seen them, diving before.
    xx

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    1. It's always a little worrying, thinking they might not manage to rise from the water . . .

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  5. There is a row of lime trees along our lane and in front of our house a lone pine which holds aloft a crows nest. We have supported generations of this family of crows in our garden - the original being a 'grandma' with only one leg. Some became so bold they would sit in front of the garden seat as we ate an outdoor lunch. Some generations grew up on cat biscuits strewn about the lawn. I was cycling through Southwark park in London one day and spotted a crow collecting chips from a discarded takeaway meal, and hopping across to a big puddle to dip the stale chips and soften them up a bit for consumption. No flies on these guys.

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    1. They are so intelligent. We were talking to one this morning in the woods and had it not been for the dogs, it would have come even closer to us.

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  6. Birds are fascinating. I love watching them. So much personality.

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  7. They certainly are fascinating and lead such extraordinary lives. Some mate for life, others have several partners and nests.

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  8. Hi Janice - lovely stories of life near you - I grew up at West End (just west of Chobham) - and Crowthorne was a tiny village then.

    I expect you've seen the film on The Surgeon of Crowthorne and read the book by Simon Winchester - I have yet to see the DVD ... it's on the list - but the book is great - Simon Winchester brings the story of the Oxford English Dictionary to life ... if not, please get!

    Cheers Hilary

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  9. I haven't seen the film, but I have read the book.
    Crowthorne is ever-expanding. It's changed a lot since we moved here with more and more land being taken up for housing. Now the Derby field at Wellington College has been sold and will soon host a new estate of 'executive' homes. Sad! Lord Derby will be turning in his grave.

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