Isabella

That's lovely!

No!!!! That's amazing!!!

I've been feeding crows peanuts - only when I see them! - for the past few months. There are five resident families in the local park. Each family has its own way of responding to me. The Flying Two get my attention by flying around me, though they won't eat close to me. If I have wandered off their territory, they fly around me again to get me to come back and one will land where he wants the nuts. The Fluffy Heads eat close to me and call for more nuts.They have fluffy heads... The Playground Pair watch me from on high and fly down very acrobatically. The female always takes her nuts away, but the male will eat them if I'm not TOO close. If they are on the ground, the male walks over to me. I am being very gender stereotypical here in assuming the male is braver - but he seems a little bigger. The Top Two are often on the ground with their adolescent, Cool Dude. She is the most fascinating crow of all. She seems to be in and out of her family. At first she was always with her parents, but always the bravest. Then she started going it alone. But she'd get dive-bombed by one of the Flying Two or told off by the Fluffy Heads if she was too close to their patch. If attacked from above, she rolls over and kicks with her feet. Then stands up and shakes out her feathers before eating more nuts. If it's the Fluffy Heads, she will come closer to me than they dare come or will go on the other side of me - she uses me to protect her from the other crows. One time, when the Flying Two attacked, her parents rocked up and chased them away. Cool Dude opens the nuts and buries them. When she's done, she asks for more. This is incredible as she is demanding them not because she wants to eat them, but in order to save them. Then there's the Feisty Gang - a family of five. They bicker with the Flying Two and the Fluffy Heads - stealing peanuts from everyone. But I don't see them as often. The young ones are quite brave. Finally, the Driveway Duo. These two wait for me when I am leaving the park and then make their presence known by perching in an obvious place. If I don't see them, they fly around me. One of them was on a lamppost in a heavy storm. I thought s/he was waiting for me but in fact she was staring upwards into the rain. I wondered if s/he was drinking, but the beak was closed. Maybe s/he just liked it? That day, s/he wasn't interested in the nuts. They amaze me - they certainly recognised me almost at once - after the first lot of peanuts. One thing, I always go with my dog. One day, I went alone - and that day, the crows were suspicious!