Ok, if there’s one way to put me in a better mood, be a bird and do something fascinating.
At lunch I went home and made a sandwich and sat quietly by myself. I inspected the progress of the yard (half the fence is up and it’s awesome) and made a phone call. As I walked back to my car I heard two crows crowing on the top of their crow lungs. The kind of crow call that can get really annoying if you don’t love crows. I looked up to see what all the fuss was about. As I suspected, the crows were harassing a hawk who was sitting at the top of a tree, trying to look all innocent and harmless. The crows know better. Not only does their marauding cry alarm all smaller creatures in the area of the hawk’s presence, it also discourages the hawk from sticking around. The crows dive at him and peck at his head, getting louder and louder still. Bird folks call this behavior “mobbing.” I think it’s kind of neat because the crows are, in a way, protecting birds smaller than them in the neighborhood. This thought makes me like them. In a few moments the Red-Tailed Hawk has had enough of their pestering and takes off for a quieter roost. And the crows, apparently not satisfied yet, follow him.
I came back to work and I visited my favorite birding site and found quicktime movies of spooky looking Barn Owls mating and preening. Owls are so cool. I want one.
And then Megan sent me a link to a live Penguin Cam. There’s a lone Gentoo Penguin there right now. I want ten of them. Ever read Mr. Popper’s Penguins? I forgot to list that book the other day. Actually, I had never read it until a few years ago. Love it.
Snowbirds Sketch ©2004 Catherine Erin Hamilton
