For the past few weeks, crows have been visiting the yard quite often. They come with their usual ruckus and nosiness. Even a single crow can throw the whole place upside-down because of the incessant cawing. All of the songbirds go into a frenzy. The Critter Neighborhood Watch Group get themselves all tied up in a tizzy trying to scare the crow away or, at least, let everyone else know that a "wicked" bird is in the area. (like the other birds could not hear it on their own).
While I like crows, I do not like some of their actions. There is only one reason for the crows to be lingering about the place. Nope, they are not wreaking havoc on my cornfield because I do not have one. These birds are here to raid the songbirds' nests. They will steal the eggs and even the baby birds. The same goes for squirrels' nests. Baby squirrels are not overlooked by the marauding crows. This saddens me but I understand that it is all a natural occurrence so I try to not interfere...too much.
The single crow visiting today was high in the top of a dead oak tree. With the branches being leafless, the crow could see the entire yard. It had that "bird's eye view" of any nearby nests. When I heard the bird cawing, I set out to shoo it away from the wrens' nest. Perhaps, I could save her little ones. The crow only stayed a few moments before flying across the Bayou but not before I got a few photographs.
Once viewing the pictures, I realized that I had a name for this particular crow. This was Dot...male or female. Dot was named because the bird had a single white dot on its face. Whether this was a marking on the feathers or simply something stuck there, I will never know. It is most likely a tick that has attached itself to a "safe haven" on the bird's face as it is a difficult spot for any bird to preen. Thankfully for the crow, if it is indeed a tick, there will be no long term ill effects. The tick will eat and when full will eventually drop from the bird. Even predators have predators, I guess.
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