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Walnut Stories: Part 2

Walnut Stories: Part 2

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American Crow

American Crow Visitor

The year 2020 continues to deliver difficult challenges. For those of us on the West Coast, we’re dealing with fires and smoke, either directly or indirectly. I hope the continuation of this story will bring a moment of joy for you during these times.

See Walnut Stories: Part 1 for the first portion of this story.

Day 3: Morning

A single crow was waiting on the gutter, just below my window. They are getting bolder. I told it to retreat to the roof of the nearby building. Interestingly, it obliged and I tossed the walnut piece onto the graveled roof. The crow ate part of the walnut, then flew to a nearby tree to finish it off. It then returned to the roof and sat on a fat pipe for a while before begging again at the gutter below my window. However, I’m limiting the crows to one walnut a day. No need to get spoiled here.

Day 4 and Beyond

I’ve been feeding the crows for several weeks now and have watched with interest their behavior towards each other. The smaller one is the more cunning of the pair. It started to come by on its own in the morning, cawing at my window. After getting a walnut piece, it would either eat it immediately or stash it. Later, it would come by with its friend. I would throw them each a walnut, so now the little guy gets two pieces! This went on a for a few days.

Then the little guy started a new behavior. It would show up with its friend and beg at the gutter. When I opened the window, the larger friend would fly to the roof, but the small one would stay at the window watching me. I would toss out two walnut pieces, one at a time. The little guy would quickly collect the first walnut, watch me intently, and then dart after the second piece. The little crow nabbed both pieces and left its friend with none! That cunning, small crow was figuring out ways to get more goodies. I wised up to this behavior and can now manage to throw both pieces at the same time onto the roof of the nearby building.

It’s been fascinating watching the crows interact and scam each other for food. Their intelligence and strategies around getting a piece of walnut is really fun to observe. Next time you see a crow in the neighborhood, watch it for a while and see if you can find anything unique!

Walnut Stories: Part 1

Walnut Stories: Part 1

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American Crow

American Crow Visitor

I have a bag of walnuts. I don’t particularly like walnuts, but I got them from our CSA (community-supported agriculture). I remember reading that crows liked walnuts, and there an idea was hatched.

I live high in an apartment building tucked between commercial businesses. From my window, I can see the top of a medical building, which sports a maze of pipes, gravel, and a constant water drip from a cooling unit. It’s the perfect playground for crows. Last summer I watched a pair and their young play in the water drip and use it to wet crusty bread. This summer, a larger and smaller crow have come to play in the pipe maze. I decided to see if the crows would take a liking to locally grown and organic walnuts.

Day 1: Afternoon

Two crows were on the roof of the medical building cawing, unaware of my peering at them. I tossed open my window, which startled the smaller one. The larger one seemed to look at me inquisitively. I tossed one walnut piece onto the roof, which cemented the fear in the smaller crow who immediately ran away. The larger one, however, ran up to the walnut, grabbed it, and proceeded to parade around the roof with the walnut in its mouth until I lost track of it.

I threw another piece to the smaller crow. It eyed the walnut suspiciously for a few moments before deciding it was safe. The crow cautiously slinked towards the walnut, nabbed it, and immediately flew to another spot on the roof to gulp it down. So far, success!

Day 2: Morning

The smaller crow was on the roof by itself. I opened up the window, which did not seem to startle it this time. Instead, it watched me with curious eyes. I threw a walnut piece, and the crow grabbed it, shoved it between its toes, and picked at it for a while.

After a few nibbles, it walked around with the remainder of the walnut in its beak. Then, to my surprise, it stood in front of a brick that was holding up pipes, and the crow placed the walnut remains into a crevice. It then grabbed a few gravel pieces, covered up the walnut, and flew away. It stashed it for later use!

Check back soon for a continuation of this story!