Hold that peanut!
I haven’t been able to honor the Crows with a post for quite a while. My present work location doesn’t afford likely encounters as the Crows in downtown Chicago tend to favor the lakefront parks. There are likely a couple nesting pairs on LaSalle Street and Franklin, but I can’t seem to find them in the colder weather. So these are Crows from Sunday morning’s outing. They have temporarily edged out my planned post about the Gull Frolic two weeks ago.
Unlike photographing a bird I’ll likely never see again, the Crows always offer themselves up as subjects and I am so caught up by their behavior I forget what I’m doing until I look at the photos later. Sunday was a nice day that started out a bit cloudy, as in the shots above, but there was some sunshine a little later which helped show off these shiny black birds at their best.
These peanut parties are always fun.
I managed to walk down to the Columbia Yacht Club to see if there were any close waterfowl and a couple Red-Breasted Mergansers obliged.
Then it was back up by the south end of Maggie Daley where a wrought-iron fence still encompasses what used to be a miniature golf course and restaurant but seems to have remained a maintenance area after the construction.
I found my way to Lake Shore East Park where I used to spend many a lunch hour. Although it was a nice day, the wind was a chilly reminder that spring has a way to go yet. I got out of the cold and visited with my friend Tess. When we went back outside, the Crows were there to greet us, and we obliged with peanuts, of course.
Someone had left corn cobs on the lawn for the wildlife and the Crow on the left, below, had something to say about it.
I’m looking forward to visiting the lakefront Crows again soon, as the days get longer and warmer.
In the neighborhood, birds are starting to sing again. I have hope.
Wow! You’re back with your friends the Crows! You must be happy now…no? Just 5 minutes ago I look through my window and see a gorgeous Cooper’s Hawk perched on the deck’s handrail. Didn’t have my camera ready… the bird was there for a couple of minutes and flew off. He was a beauty! All your Crows look strong and healthy. Nice captures Lisa. 🙂
Thanks, H.J.! I feel your pain with the Cooper’s—that’s how I usually see one in my yard. Yes I was happy to hang with the crows and even happier to see the lakefront. Looking forward to migration season.
The crows are good but your header picture is even better.
Yah I couldn’t bear to change it. 🙂
Thanks for the update on the crows!
Thanks, MaryLee! I am just glad they still recognize me as a faithful peanut provider. It’s hard to get a handle on the local population at a distance. But maybe I’ll get lucky this spring and see many more.
When it comes to peanuts, those crows don’t hold back! We were happy to see some crows in our back garden for the first time ever. When we lived in West Rogers Park more than 20 years ago they were very common, then they seemed to disappear.
Wow how great to have crows in the yard! I keep dreaming they’ll visit mine but while I am certain they are quite aware of me, I don’t think there are enough crows regularly hanging out in the neighborhood to ease their caution. It’s all I can do to get one Blue Jay on occasion. I know, before West Nile, crows seemed to be everywhere, and indeed they were. I can remember seeing crows all over the lawns in a ritzy suburb, before I got into birds. Perhaps it was the expansiveness of the lawns. They don’t like to be cramped in small areas, they’re big guys. Don’t know if they’ll ever come back that strong, although in the Pacific Northwest the populations are huge in cities.
We haven’t seen them around lately. Wonder if they were just passing through.
Hard to tell with crows. They’re always up to something. 🙂
The crows really do like your peanuts! I like when they do try to put more than one in their mouth. And I, too, am noticing more and more bird song in the air every morning. Yay!
Thanks, Donna! Yeah, the crows are always trying to improve their cache-and-stash prowess. I’m just remembering now that we also had a single crow earlier who was following a squirrel so he could steal its buried peanuts.