A low tide that coincided with ‘roosting hour’ on the edge of spring (March is the beginning of the breeding seasons for crows here in the Pacific Northwest) resulted in a pretty stunning corvid encounter yesterday afternoon.
Hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of crows gathered to socialize, forage, and rest before flying over to their local island roost at sunset. For nearly an hour I watched as they greeted one another, turned over rocks in search of crustaceans and molluscs, plucked barnacles from rocks only accessible at low tide, bathed in the creek, fluffed out their wings to dry, took turns grooming one another...and generally made a whole lot of ruckus!
One young crow (identifiable by its bright pink mouth) seemed to delight itself in repeatedly picking up a piece of sea glass, dropping it lightly on the nearby rocks, and making a high-pitched yelping sound several times - as if pleased with its special (shiny) find.
After over ten years of observing, photographing, and gaining the trust of the local crows, I feel pretty lucky to have been “included” in yesterday’s event. Most of the crows seemed completely unbothered by my presence, coming within a few inches of me at times, cawing, cooing, and rattling all the while - perhaps curious at the sight of this strange yet familiar human, laying flat on her stomach, in the sand, at the low tide line, practicing her “crow-tography” skills...
The moment they all took flight and headed off to the island roost for the night
Bath time! Where freshwater meets the sea.
This little tyke seemed to be delighted with its discovery of some sea glass!
Plucking barnacles from a rock that is only accessible at extreme low tide.
Off they go!