Crow Stalker has been in a Baby Crow drought or famine. Kind of left me sad and wondering about my crow mojo. What is a birder to do?
But today, I got more than my fill of baby crows. My walk around Arbor Heights started by going towards the pond that was owned by King County Water Land Resources Division.They have punched a new road through to the pond from 106th and I was curious about what they were doing.
As I started out, not more than two blocks from home I found my first baby crow. He was on the power lines crying and the main picture of this blog is him. See how his mouth has a pink/red poofy look? That is a sure sign of a baby crow, pink mouth. An adult crow has a black mouth, so it is a true give away.
Then in the gully that I cut around the edge of, I heard another baby crying. It is pretty common that I will never see the baby. Even after watching and standing in different places I never saw the little guy. I did get a picture of his home though for you to see how hard it can be to pick them out.
I got down to the pond construction site to find it scraped out. Gone is the Red Winged Blackbird and cat tails that gave it a rural look. Not sure what it will look like after they are done but not the same for a long time. This also explains why we had a Red Winged Blackbird visit our feeder. I was very surprised since we are not near a marsh. They were displaced and seeking a new home.
Here are two pictures from Christmas 2013.
However, at the edge I found these two little guys. See the pink mouth.
Madrona trees near Puget Sound are great nurseries. I have written several articles about the baby crows in my madrona forest. On this walk behind some houses (far from the water) was a baby crying. He was in a madrona tree waiting for mom or dad to return.
As I wandered through the neighborhood towards Fauntleroy Park I came to this little blue house that was for sale.On the roof was a baby and parent doing the feeding thing. When I approached to take a photo, mom sent baby into the tree. I could hear him up there every once in a while but the real show was mom giving me the what for. They are a protective parent and that is why you hear people talk about crow attacks. They are like mama bears with wings.
Last is this baby. He looks just like an adult to the untrained eye. I knew he was a baby by his voice and his clumsy ways.
One other thing I encountered today but didn’t get a picture was a baby in a large fir tree.This tree is in the yard of a distinguished bird researcher. He passed away several years ago but his legacy is several banded crows in the neighborhood and of course his top notched research. This little guy was talking to himself. He clucked, chattered and in general was practicing his vocal cords. Not a bit of the cry baby mama mama sound. Mom came along but I could never catch a glimpse of him. But I was delighted by his chatter. A big thank you to Toni who came out and talked to me a little about the crows and her family. Crow lovers do exist everywhere.
Crows of Arroyos 
I’m still grieving over the death of my little crow baby from the nest in a tall spruce tree in our front yard. He was out of the nest one morning and laying beside a big rock, I didn’t think he would make it but he was a fighter. I notice he had a bad limp and couldn’t much but crawl around. He sleep in the shrubbery around the rock for a couple nights. Then he limped across the neighbours yard to a cedar hedge. Some kids saw him there and that night Mama moved him across the street to a little rock with a lot of trees and shrubs. He stayed there 3 nights and then started moving around but limping very badly. Mom and Dad were very attentive, feeding him and watching over him. By the 8th day he could fly a bit but not very high. I worried about him constantly, spending a lot of time in the front yard scoping him out and making sure he was ok. We live on a busy road and I had to scoot him across the street several times. By the 13th day he was flying pretty well and starting to wander around behind his parents learning to forage. But unfortunately he was hit by a car on the 13th day while flying low across the street. I miss him and see Mom and Dad sitting in the tree by where he was hit, looking forlorn. Last year one of this couple’s babies was hit by a car also, we took him to the Wildlife Rescue cause he was still alive, but they had to euthanize him. I feel so sad for these parents. Tough world for crows.
Oh my – they do become dear to us. I have lost several over the years. Some I documented on my blog with sad photos and some I have just bite my lip. A friend of mine, not really a crow lover said a to me once… if they all lived then we would be knee deep in crows. True but it is still sad to see a young life cut short. Cars are one of baby crows biggest enemies. They have no concept of the danger. Hang in there. May we all care so much about our fellow creatures. r
We are enjoying watching eight baby hooded crows bopping around the area as they’ve grown. Fascinating to see their antics.
They are goofy little things for sure. I loved the one talking to himself yesterday. That made my day. r