The Ol Crow finally got me

[Canyon Hiker]

This bird is a regular at the dog park that I frequent 3-4 days a week. Usually he doesn't bother people, but on this day he decided to have some fun. Throughout the morning he was buzzing everyone's head in the park. He/she (not sure) would hoover above someone about a foot above there head. Scared some people so bad they left. To me and a few others it was cheap entertainment.
Me and another dog owner decided we would play his game. After making his rounds tormenting the local dog owners he would fly back to a fence nearby. So I decided to go wait by the fence and see if he was camera shy.
Turns out he doesn't like cameras. I was able to fire off a few shots about 20 feet from him. Then the fun was over and it was his turn to have fun with me. He flew at me and I ran like a bear was charging me. The quote I got from some of the others was "I never knew a 280ib white boy could outrun a freight train"..ha ha ha. You would have thought a swarm of bees was attacking me. A good laugh and a lesson learned for me..Don't take pictures of The Ol Crow, without a good zoom lens:wink5:
Turns out he was just looking for a friend..




He didn't like the sound of the camera from this shot


He decided he had enough and the charge was on. I was running backwards so It's a little blurry.




He ended up putting one claw on Dave's hand and then slowly turned and walked away.


A day at the dog park that stands out a bit from the others without a doubt And proof positive that birds do have a brain, even ugly ones:wink5:

Darin

[Liz]

Wow! I love this series! Awesome......great images. I enjoyed viewing your bird series - along with the interesting story. This is great real life photography and quite entertaining.

That birdie was looking for a friend....maybe you should start taking him some food - and he may follow you and your dog home!

Liz

[OldClicker]

Nice series, but watch out for wild animals that don't act wild. - TF

[Canyon Hiker]

Thanks Liz. I was filtering through one of my hard drives and these pics popped up. I figured some here might get a laugh out of it so I thought I would share the story.

Darin

[Canyon Hiker]

Nice series, but watch out for wild animals that don't act wild. - TF

That's a good point. On this day when this happened I thought the bird was ill, due to the odd behavior. Dave thought it might have been kept captive at some point. He rehabilitates injured birds and is a California Game Warden. So I trust his knowledge and instinct. This bird is still at the park every time I am there, and I have never seen it act like it did on this day, nor has anyone else. It has been a few months, and this old crow is still there. Looks like he built a nest in a near by tree recently and there have been no reports of a crazy bird in the area. So, who knows the story behind this guy? I guess the only one to know is the bird. I have to admit, every time I see it, I wonder what the history is behind him. I will never know, like all the other wild animals I observe on a regular basis. Maybe that's what keeps me going back to the places I do to observe them, and why I live in the middle of the forest were the wild roam.

[Liz]

That's a good point. On this day when this happened I thought the bird was ill, due to the odd behavior. Dave thought it might have been kept captive at some point. He rehabilitates injured birds and is a California Game Warden. So I trust his knowledge and instinct. This bird is still at the park every time I am there, and I have never seen it act like it did on this day, nor has anyone else. It has been a few months, and this old crow is still there. Looks like he built a nest in a near by tree recently and there have been no reports of a crazy bird in the area. So, who knows the story behind this guy? I guess the only one to know is the bird. I have to admit, every time I see it, I wonder what the history is behind him. I will never know, like all the other wild animals I observe on a regular basis. Maybe that's what keeps me going back to the places I do to observe them, and why I live in the middle of the forest were the wild roam.

Years ago while at the Jersey Shore, I went out for a short walk and happened to notice a small bird (sparrow? - not sure) just standing there on the ground looking right into my face. I walked slowly toward him/her. He never moved, but kept looking at me. I slowly reached down and gently pet him on the head. He let me pet him for a minute or more - and never moved. When I got up, he walked just a few steps, so I thought he may be hurt or sick and couldn't fly. Well, I didn't have much time to think about it - suddenly he just flew away.

Strange how these things happen. I never forgot that moment because I was quite moved that a bird let me touch him - then just flew away. BTW, I took the walk because I was feeling a bit down. That experience lifted my spirits - and I went home feeling great!

Liz

[Frog]

That does seem to be unusual behavior for a crow.
I wonder if it was trying to 'friendly' with those that thought it was attacking.
At my former job, I shared my lunch with two crows. Fascinating birds and one of, if not the smartest bird. Studies have shown they can actually count up to 3 or 4.
Yesterday my dog went ape because a crow landed on our roof and Sadie was barking aggressively at it until it left.
Would have been fun to see what she did with that one.

[Shebang]

I always did love picture story books.