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Crow Babies: Day 1

March 25, 2019 belen schneider Leave a Comment

Nest Watch in New Orleans, LA

I already have a soft spot for crows and other corvids, so finding a crow’s nest in our friends’ yard made my little naturalist heart explode with joy. I knew this was going to be an exciting week.

Each year, we stay for a week and change with old friends who live on ten acres on the West Bank of the Mississippi River in New Orleans, LA. It is a never-ending stream of birds – migrating, courting, mating – and it’s always great fun to take the week to immerse myself in nature.

I was surprised by how close to the house these crows built their nest, with acres of trees to choose from. On this first day of nest watching, my first goal was just to figure out what I was actually looking at. I felt sure I could woo these lovely birds into friendship this week, and that I would leave my friends with crow companions and wee babies as the spring progressed.

The crows here are very people-shy and my most worthy friendship offerings – bacon and peanuts – have been left untouched in the sun. – West bank, New Orleans, LA

It turns out these guys are tough nuts to crack. But my hours of observation gave me some ground to start from. There is Mama & Papa, plus a helper. They are all in high-patrol mode, chasing off anything entering their air space.

A few vultures gathered in the back trees (after a dead bunny in the ditch, I would later learn), but the crows were having none of that, and after lurking menacingly nearby, this one hopped over and poked the turkey vulture in the butt. – West bank, New Orleans, LA

After much prowling around the yard, trying to get a non-leaf obstructed view, I finally realized that we were WAY past Mama on the nest. These little ones already had their eyes open, but hadn’t yet gotten to the point where their fear instinct had kicked in, making them lay low while their family was away. I’m guessing they are about 10-12 days old.

By the end of the day, I had enough evidence to guess that there were five babies in all. – West bank, New Orleans, LA

They are still so wee, and don’t really keep their heads up except for feeding time. They remind me so much of infants who can’t hold their heads up, swaying and falling over like little drunkards.

Hello, little ones…I’m so happy to meet you! – West bank, New Orleans, LA

I’m excited for the week to unfold, and to find the best spots to get photos and videos, the best time of day to get reasonable light, and to watch what a week of baby crow development looks like. Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Connection, Love & Babies, NOLA Crow Nest (2019) Tagged With: American Crow, babies, birds, crow, mating, nest, New Orleans

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belen bilgic schneider is an amateur naturalist, geeky girl, a very curious creature. who's that girl?

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