CRAZY CROWS

I feed the downtown Crows usually each day. They like to perch on my bicycle handlebars. I hand feed these Crows. Others like to perch on a nearby metal container. I call these Crows “Jumpers” as they like to play a jumping game with me!

I toss a piece of bread up into the air and they all jump to grab it! They are very agile flyers! Sometimes one will miss it but swoop back down to catch it on the second try! Several dozen Crows like this game and so the competition can be fierce at times and yes the feathers do fly!

When they see me riding down the street many join to escort me to our gaming “spot”!

There is one Crow who will take a piece of bread from my hand as I am riding. I call this one “Bandit”!

Crows are very intelligent creatures. One of their greatest strengths is in their numbers! Sometimes a Crow will foolishly grab Robbie or Rita’s treat! That’s when a Crow gets beat up and a cacophony of screaming Crows ensues! They don’t call this a “murder” for nothing! It does raise the hair on the back of your neck!

WINTER BERRIES

These are “Cotoneaster” berries. They are poisonous to us but not birds.The birds wait till late winter to eat them. The toxicity is low.

WATCH YOUR 6

The Daredevil flew out to greet me & a Crow decided to attack him.All Crows hate eagles! Eagles do eat their eggs but generally Crows just seem to hate eagles!

THREE IN A ROW

HARASSED

Romeo has been harassed by Crows yesterday & today. I suspect the Crows have nested on Deadman island?

THE DAREDEVIL KICKING A CROW OUT FROM HIS PERCHING SPOT!

BEING HARASSED

WAITING FOR A SNACK?

Crows will follow a bear along the shore line. When the bears overturn the rocks,they often times do not get all the little crabs/insect etc. When the bear moves along,the Crows follow behind grabbing any over looked goodies!
If another bear comes along,they all fly off suddenly alerting the bear it has company. Kind of a symbiotic relationship.

LUNCH BUDDIES

I sometimes have lunch downtown & when I do,I can always count on my Crow friends to come around! They make sure any crumbs I leave behind are accounted for!

“I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD TASTE LIKE”?

THE DAREDEVIL GETTING PISSED OFF!

I took this on June 5th,2010.
Crows & Eagles are like cats & dogs! However…….. I have never seen a eagle attacking a Crow! Crows are far too fast & maneuverable! So,what do the eagles do…………..they attack their nests & eat their eggs!
Crow’s are very sociable creatures & as a result,part of their strength comes from their numbers! They work together!
Crow’s when they see a eagle,will automatically pester it! One will swoop down on the eagle & try to hit it’s backside with it’s razor sharp talons! The eagle uses it’s very large wind as a shield & simply raises it to protect it’s self! That Crow will than fly up high again & repeat the process again & again & again!
When said Crow is tired,it’ll perch near by,while another fellow member takes it’s turn at pestering! This goes on & on until the eagle says “I’ve had enough of this CRAP” & fly’s off!
That’s what happening here!
This is the Daredevil & he simply got tired of being pestered. He “jumped” & scared the hell out of the Crows!

Many people (usually males) have asked me how long it took me to photoshop this shot?
First of all I do not do that sort of thing & secondly I do not know how,nor do I want to know!
Besides,……why would I when Mother Nature does a much better job!

CHECKING WHATS WASHED UP?

CLEAN UP CREW

PSSSSST………….FOOD OVER THERE!

NIC’S ENTOURAGE

Bears & Crows go together like bacon & eggs! They help each other. The bear overturns the heavy rocks exposing some tasty bugs for the patient Crow’s & if another bear/animal comes along, all the Crows fly off alerting the bear he has company!

LOGAN’S FEATHERED BANE!

ROMEO BEING PESTERED…………AGAIN!

FLOCK OFF!

ROMEO & HIS PEST!

ROMEO GETTING PISSED OFF!

Eagles use their wings as a shield! When the Crows are about to hit them (from behind) they simply raise their wings to protect them from those nasty sharp talons!

ROMEO BEING PESTERED!

BEACH SCENES

Psst!…………..”who’s the big turkey”??

I didn’t get out yesterday or today. I would of posted something last night,but a large wind storm took out the power!
Today was clean up day in town.
I didn’t shoot anything today,so I thought I’d put up something funny tonight. I took this last Monday.(Jan 23/12)
We had some snow and I was out looking around for things to shoot. While I was down at 4rth St. dock,I noticed a small murder of Crows with a big old Gull sticking out like a sore thumb! All the birds were on a local Fish Farm company’s fence (Mainstream). They’re always hanging around waiting to gobble up any spilled fish feed.
I laughed when I first saw it. I wondered if anybody else had seen it?
I thought the old saying went……”Birds of a feather flock together”! Someone needs to explain that to our fine feathered friend!
Lets pretend for a moment,that Mr.Gull was somehow brought up by the Crows & has always thought of it’s self as a Crow! Just a bit bigger & whiter! Wouldn’t that make a interesting book? ( anyone takes my idea I want 3% royalty’s!)
I bet the other Gull’s would look down their beaks at him!!

Another Frontal system is upon us, so the light looks poor for tomorrow. If the waves get up & It’s blowing out,I may head out to the beach?
Thursday is the day they are calling for pure sun! First thing I’m doing is heading down to visit the Lion’s! They’ve become my ongoing Winter project.

Crows

A Small Murder

Bear and Crows

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I have seen the Crows hang around the bears sometimes. The bears overturn the rocks for the crabs and when done,they move onto another rock and the Crows move in to eat up what was left behind!

The Daredevil Being Attacked By Crows

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The Crows seemed more intense tonight! They were really giving the Daredevil and Romeo the gears!
Romeo does something that is funny!
He snaps at the Crows as they go by him! He looks like a Snapping Turtle?

I had the moon as wallpaper tonight,so I filled my boots as much as I could. The weather looks poor for the rest of the week. I do not think I will be able to shoot the full moon this month? The best day to shoot the moon is Tuesday……or Wednesday?
The way the clouds look for those two days is poor unfortunately!
Now you know why I always fill my boots when I can.
The Crows must have a nest near by to pester The Daredevil so much each year, and for that matter all Eagles!
The Daredevil and Delilah live on a small Island in the middle of Tsappee Narrows. I haven’t seen their eaglets yet but will be very happy to introduce them to you very soon!

Crows Pestering The Daredevil

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With regards to the moon…………the stop watch starts when the moon rises and stops when the sun sets.
Given that parameter,Tuesday has a 115 minute time window and Wednesday has a 56 minute time window.
Tuesday is the best day this month to shoot the moon ,with Wednesday as a secondary. Wednesday has only a hour,so there cannot be any cloud what so ever to the east or all is lost! It takes the moon a good 40 minutes or so to rise above the eastern land. Which means that the sun will be setting 20 minutes later and than the sun goes bye bye for the night and the opportunity to shoot the moon goes bye bye as well for a month!
Thats why Tuesday looks like the best day to shoot the moon. More wiggle room with the time.
Go out Monday to find out where the moon is coming up in your neighbourhood. Than try to find something to have as a subject in the foreground! Shoot the moon when it is close to the horizon. It’ll be alittle pale and than get it later as well when the moon brightens.
It’s a tricky dance to do……….. trust me!
Good luck!

Romeo Being Pestered By a Crow

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You know…………I bet he’s gotten ahold of one of those nasty little buggers before! I just wish I was there to get the shot!
He always snaps at them as if he could get them! Crows are very smart and maybe smarter than my finely feathered friends?

The Moon,Romeo and Some Nasty Crows

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Crows are a bit of a coward! They only attack behind a animals back so the animal cannot defend themselves!
Eagles use their very large wings as a shield to fend out the attacks.
You can see how the moon’s exposure has changed in this shot. The moon rises very pale and will getting brighter and brighter . It’s during this transition that the moon will enter into a 15-20 minute time window. It’s during this time window that the the moon has a perfect exposure!
The Goldilocks exposure……….not too pale and not too bright……..just right!
The moon is at the very end of that time window here.
The sun went into some clouds and I lost the exposure for Romeo,but you can still see whats going on.

Romeo Being Pestered By A Crow

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I saw Romeo starting to fly towards me from Deadman Island and I also noticed that he was bringing along a nasty Crow with him!
For whatever reason ,this Crow really was taking a personal interest in bothering Romeo! He flew all the way from Deadman Island to Romeo’s rock and was content to watch and than pester him alittle more.
I have never seen a eagle attack a Crow,but i suspect that the Crows are far more maneuverable than the eagles and he wouldn’t be able to get ahold of one! It would be great if Romeo “did” get a hold of one occasionally?
Romeo could eat “Crow” than!

Moe

Moe was being pestered by this single crow. I think the crows have a nest on Morpheous as well? The Ravens did last year ,but I don’t believe that they nested there this year?

Romeo’s Bain

Romeo was trying to eat and a bunch of crows were dive bombing him from above and striking him! Crows are nasty that way!
Romeo should make some Crow Pie!!

The Visit

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The crows always drop by Frank and Frieda’s home just to bug them!
They really need to work on their interpersonal skills!

Strathcona and Ernie

or you can say ….Ernie and Strathcona?
I rode by and he was perched on top of Strawberry Island. The mountains in Strathcona looked fantastic from the setting suns warm light and Ernie was just icing to the cake!
Some crows were heading west to their nightly sleeping spots on islands.

Ernie ,the Moon and a Small Murder of Crows

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I woke up early today and noticed that we had gotten a few inches of snow over night. I went down to the harbour for the sunrise.
I found Ernie perched on this tree. I see him and Ethel there from time to time.
A few crows started to perch around him. They do that to make him nervous and push off!
I saw the moon and tried to find the sweet spot for them both.

Almond Islet Eagle

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I always go by Almond Islet on my way to Cannery ! It’s on my way anyways and have to go by it .
I think(?) this is the male and you can see a small Murder of crows were harassing him! APN! (as per normal)
Crows to a eagle are like flys to us. A bother and not a threat! The eagle just flinches and waits it out. Sometimes the Crows win and get him to take off and sometimes the Crows give up and fly away!
He was still there on my way back. The Crows were not. I stopped for a few shots and than waved bye. I continued on my way to Tsappee to visit with the Daredevil and his mate.

Honey,I’m Home!

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Frank arrived at the nest and I could see them both chirping away to each other!
There was a Murder of Crows surrounding them. Must of been several hundred Crows or more!

Frank and Frieda’s Murder

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The Murder of Crows at Frank and Frieda’s nest tree all took off to the west. They were flying out to one of the islands for the night.
Many birds do this for protection from ground predators. They probably were going over to Lennard island. That’s the only island big enough to have plenty of trees to perch in,close by.

Almond Islet Eagle and Crows

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The crows landed all around the eagle. They do that so as to bug the eagle! It’s a less strenuous method of getting a eagle to move! Crows are constantly harassing eagles! A crows strength can be found in their numbers. They are a member of the Corvid family as well and as a result, very intelligent!
I have never seen a eagle attacking a Crow or a Crows nest. I’ve have read that they do raid the nests for the eggs,which I’m sure is the root of the discord!

Romeo Crying the Blues

Romeo’s bain seems to be these crows. He was chirping loudly and no doubt objecting to the harassment they were inflicting on him!
Notice how the crow stays behind Romeo. No animal likes to have other animals behind them and it’s a way of getting him to get out without having to work at it! However,this is Romeo’s nest tree and if were Romeo,I’d be baking some crow pie for supper!

Beach Bike Ride

I saw these people riding down the beach and waited for them to come in front of the Lighthouse. The Crows looked like they were digging for a meal.(probably blood worms)

Romeo Being Harassed

I’ve never seen this happen to these guys before. A crow was dive bombing Romeo on their nest tree. Romeo seemed to take personal offense to this attack! He was biting into the air,as if to bite the crow!
Juliette was no where to be seen?

Crow Harassing Meares Island Eagle

No matter where I go,there is always a crow willing to harass a eagle. I have never seen them attacking crows nest,but they must sometimes?
Or at least Should!

Best Shot of the Night

This eagle did not mind the crows constant dive bombing and the crow would tire after a few minutes and perch beside the eagle to rest.
Than,a few minutes later continue with the harassment!

Daredevil Being Bothered By Crows

The crows are like “Death and Taxes”! They seem to be a constant aggravation for the Daredevil and his mate.
This is a small sequence I shot.

Best Shot Sequence of the Night

I can never understand these guys?
When the Daredevil jumped,you can see how all the crows were getting the hell away from him! The crows pester the eagles always,but also know that they are not the boss and be easily eaten! They just want to be a thorn in the side and get the eagle to “push off”!
This is the only nest I know of that has eagles and crows living together on the same small island! I do not know why they tolerate each other?
(Kind of reminds me of the middle east) Theres lots of places for the crows to build a nest,but not for eagles. Eagles can only use big trees by the water!
If I was the Daredevil,I would be paying a visit to my neighbors and take care of that harassment problem!
Maybe make some Crow pie? Brings a new definition to the term”Eating Crow”.
Crows are very smart . The only bird smarter would be a Raven. Now they are one smart cookie. Ravens are amazing creatures!

Crow Chasing a Raven

You can see how hard the crow is staring at Mr.Raven. He’s staring very intently at him. If looks could kill………………this guy would get a “A” for effort!
Raven’s are very smart! Some think more so than the average dog.They problem solve and not many do that! They are one of two species that appears to have toys. They have been observed to take a twig and play with it.
The other species are Dolphins that have been observed playing with their air bubbles.
They imitate other birds and humans and have insight. They use tools and have displayed very interesting behavior.
If their mate goes missing ,they will often times alter their voice to sound like their mate. This helps draw in the mate.
I cannot think of a more beautiful creature than a Raven!(don’t ask me about Crows)

Delilah Being Harassed

The crows sometimes seem to pick on her alittle more than her hubby for some reason? She tolerates alot from these guys. They live on a island and you would think that the crows would of known that before they started nesting?

Harassed

They finally bugged her enough to make her jump from her perch. There was 4 crows swooping down upon her. They just keep bugging the eagle until they get them to move further away from their nest.
It almost looks like she’s looking at me for help from this Murder of crows.
A group of eagles by the way is called either a convocation or a congregation.