Some of us always read the manual. Others do not (except in the direst emergency.) It would seem that our little Anna’s Hummingbird falls into the latter category. From everything I’ve ready about these tiny little birds, they meet most of their liquid needs from sipping nectar — from feeders or flowers. I have a …
Continue reading Novice Hummingbird
Well, I’m not sure if they did it by guile, by force, or by consulting the Office of the Housing Ombirdsman, but somehow the Northern Flickers have regained occupancy of their nest. As you may recall, it wasn’t looking good for them in the last post, Battle of the Nest. The Starlings had moved right …
Continue reading Conflict Resolution
When we left our happy Northern Flicker couple in last week’s post, they were making great progress with their plum tree nest building. Much sawdust had been mined and the pair were looking pretty pleased with themselves. I check their progress every time I walk the dog so imagine my surprise when I witnessed a …
Continue reading Battle of the Nest
Sometimes you need to listen as well as to look to know what’s going on in the neighbourhood. This was the first sign that new tenants had moved into the ornamental plum tree on our street (one tree down from the current chickadee nest.) The dog stopped to check his social media messages at the …
Continue reading Tap, Tap, Tap ….
Nesting News April 07 2019, 0 Comments
If you feel your day is too hectic, just stop and watch the ceaseless industry of a pair of nest building chickadees ...
Crowflix February 03 2019, 0 Comments
Sometimes the best way to tear yourself away from binge-watching the TV is to drag yourself outside and tune in to the always entertaining Crow Channel. I’d planned an archival Ken Burns-style documentary for this blog post, going over everything that’s happened with the local crows since I last did an update last fall. After …
Continue reading Crowflix
I thought I was actually going to be documenting the sudden and violent demise of Marvin this past Sunday. I was at Make-It! Market for most of last week, but I took an hour or so off on Sunday morning to mail some online orders. On the way back from the post office, walking down …
Continue reading Sudden Sky Drama
Crow Therapy November 25 2018, 0 Comments
It’s been a busy week, starting on Monday when I was interviewed by Gloria Macarenko on the CBC Radio One’s show — On The Coast. You can listen to the interview here. The subject of our chat was my City Crow calendar in particular, and “crow therapy” in general. I must admit that when I first …
Continue reading Crow Therapy
Pretty much every day is a bird expo around here, in its own little way. But last week I had the great privilege of being part of the Bird and Nature Expo at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It was an event that combined, for the first time, three important gatherings: the 27th meeting of the …
Continue reading Memories of Bird Expo
Crow Welcome August 20 2018, 0 Comments
Ideally, when your long awaited visitors arrive, you and your home are looking their spiffy best. As we know, this often does not work out exactly as planned, but it’s important to make the best of things and make the guests welcome anyway. This week, bird scientists and activists from around the world are arriving …
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In our local Crowlandia we’re ricocheting between serenity and stress. Suspense is the name of the game as eggs and hatchlings start to fill the nests. Most days it’s seems really very peaceful. The crows maintain an uncharacteristic hush behind leafy screens, quietly guarding their nests. In April, it was possible to see a pair …
Continue reading Nesting News
Special Days April 25 2018, 0 Comments
Some days there are ravens. Some days, there are even mountain bluebirds. When such things miraculously appear in my own urban neighbourhood I tend to (if at all possible) just drop everything and follow them. I’ve been ridiculously lucky for the past two weekends. It was the raven the weekend before last. She hung around …
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The weather forecast says it’s going to be WARM next week. Can it be true? At our house we are skeptical, a bit like wet West Coast versions of the winter-traumatized Canadians in this video from the Rick Mercer Show. But the robin in our garden seems to be getting ready for something special, so …
Continue reading In Anticipation of Spring
Snow Birds February 25 2018, 0 Comments
Already it seems as if we might just have dreamed it. Once upon a time, one Saturday morning in February, we woke up in a crystal palace. A thick and flawless blanket of snow had fallen silently through the Vancouver night. The sun had come out. Everything looked like a fairy tale. The landscape itself …
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Crow Stories January 19 2018, 0 Comments
This post will have stories … about crows … eventually. But first, I wanted to share a few thoughts that have been rolling around in my head about the idea of “story.” Mostly I look at the world in a visual way. I’m a photographer, so I’m always looking for shapes, colours, light, shade, textures …
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Crow Gossip November 10 2017, 0 Comments
Just in case you tire of human news, here’s a “celebrity profile” of a different sort. I’m not sure “who” this up-and-coming power couple are wearing this fall. Their lives seem to be pretty scandal-free, although you’d have to listen to the roost rumours to be sure of that. Politically, I’d say they’re pretty apathetic …
Continue reading Crow Gossip
It’s taken me a ridiculous length of time to get to this simple little blog . I’m just trying to update you on the WHO, WHAT and WHERE of the local crow families. But it’s complicated! I tried writing it all in words and it was confusing even me, so I decided we needed a …
Continue reading A Puzzlement of Crows
Owl Wrestling September 22 2017, 0 Comments
Let me be clear. Actual owl wrestling is definitely not something I’d recommend. However, it does feel as if I’ve been metaphorically getting to grips with owls for the last few weeks. One particular owl, in fact. Since the wonderful day a few weeks ago when a barred owl appeared in front of my house, …
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Cloud Mystery September 12 2017, 0 Comments
The clouds this morning made me really, really happy. I was so happy, that I had to question what it was about them that made me feel so darn chipper. Perhaps is because they made such a spectacular change from skies that have been either blue and cloudless or filled with sepia smoke for the …
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Night Owl August 19 2017, 0 Comments
Just a short follow-up to yesterday’s post, Owl Dreams. At 8pm last night, the barred owl was still in the tree in front of our house, sleeping peacefully. We took Geordie for his evening walk and he was still there when we got back, but his behaviour was changing. There was much more head movement …
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Owl Dreams August 18 2017, 0 Comments
Some days just don’t go as planned, but in a good way. Today, for example, I had a number of studio tasks set out for the morning, all of which seemed very important — until the crows started going bonkers outside. I always try to go see what the crows are on about. It’s usually …
Continue reading Owl Dreams
Watch for the last few seconds of this baby crow self-grooming video. I think he’s auditioning for his own show on Comedy Network. It has been a bit quiet in the neighbourhood of late. That’s all changed with the advent of the corvid triplets. They do not keep their feeling to themselves. When hungry …
Continue reading Noisy New Neighbours
I didn’t realize it was going to turn into a saga, but now I’ve accumulated about a hundred photos of our local Northern Flicker family, chronicling their ups and downs over the last few weeks. I kept meaning to post some as things unfolded, but it turned into such a roller coaster, I didn’t …
Continue reading Flicker Family Saga – Part One
I didn’t realize it was going to turn into a saga, but now I’ve accumulated about a hundred photos of our local Northern Flicker family, chronicling their ups and downs over the last few weeks. I kept meaning to post some as things unfolded, but it turned into such a roller coaster, I didn’t …
Continue reading Flicker Family Saga – Part One
