#cornacchie

Stamattina faccio una corsetta…

…E incontro passeri, codirossi, cornacchie, gazze, garzette e perfino un elegantissimo airone cenerino. Tipica ricchissima fauna di quando non ho con me la fotocamera.

Al ritorno, un’ora dopo, c’era solo l’airone. E, sull’asfalto, una serie di gusci di noce rotti.

Oh wow I didn’t expect someone to be curious about this!

I take a lot of walks with my dogs. Where I live there is a lot of green and a lot of birds, and of hooded crows, who always caught my attention because they’re bigger and like all corvids they’re incredibly smart, and social. They remember faces and communicate to the others in the group who’s a threat and who’s ok for example. 

Since I was an ok person (=they didn’t fly away when I walked by) I started ‘accidentally’ dropping peanuts, in a way they noticed it was me but not throwing the peanuts at them (they would think I was threatening them) then I would leave. Soon after they started watching me so I threw the peanuts (or other treats) kinda close to their direction and lingered a little more, giving them space though. Some got more curious and bolder, coming towards me hopping and stopping in front of me (first on their side profile, then right in front of me which means they’re comfortable) and waiting for treats. I would reward those who came closer (but also the others lol) and eventually they waited for me in the usual spots. 

It’s going to be 2 years in July, some came and went away when they mated and found a different territory, others stayed. I swear I always forgot anniversaries but I’m not forgetting mine with Zampone (=big leg), my first crow, he’s a male and he’s so smug, he wants to eat first and more. 

I was friends with his wife Piccolina (=tiny girl), but since they had babies she became less sociable. The babies instead (now they’re 1) were soo cute and used to me, I even got to touch one and to see parents feeding them, then taking my treats. (Pics don’t give them justice, also because some are still a little afraid of the phone lol)

There was one I called Scherzetto (=tricky) because he came super close and poked my dogs all the time, and he made faces! Like “watch me” before doing so, he was hilarious. 

And he would fly over me brushing my head with his wings, very sweetly. Btw if a crow is angry at you/doesn’t want you near you’ll know cause they caw at you and even dive against you. Scherzetto tolerated my sister when she came along. But he would make a territorial gesture for her to stay somewhere else (When male crows don’t want others near their place they do a series of bows and click-like sounds, and they get all puffy, basically when they’re angry they look cuter lol) and he would try and poke her all the time. We also had a special game where I sat on a bench and called him and he’d hop on it for treats.

He left months ago and I was really sad, then I’m not sure if he came back or someone else got really friendly but I call this one Blu, just in case. He’s very friendly, comes super close and looks straight in my eyes all the time, and he loves the bench game. 

Now it’s funny because Zampone is his rival kinda and he too wants to do the bench game, even though he wants me to not sit hahah I love that they all have different personalities and quirks and there are many, young and older ones and I can tell most of them apart from those quirks. 

There is Aluccia (=little wing) who has a wing hanging kinda limp-ish but who flies perfectly

Emma, I’m sure she’s a girl, she’s super slow and cute and pigeons bully her a lot

Lungostecco (=longstick), who catches treats without them falling on the ground, Avanguardista (=vanguard) who always wants cookies, and more. And they know where I live and what road I take so they wait for me and follow me around, more or less discreetly cause they might hop behind me or just fly from branch or lamppost to another until we get to the spot where I also leave them water (especially not it’s hot and they are thirsty) or they fly around my head. Which, if you’re scared of birds, might unsettle you but I noticed that it’s their way of saying hello (while pigeons, for example, fly back and forth).

Since people are dumb and complained tho so I take walks at ungodly hours so I’ll meet less humans. On the other hand some weeks ago I was asked ‘how did you even train crows?And your dogs to stay so put around them?’ hahah

They don’t let me touch them though, as crows are wary, but I’m very patient (with animals lol) and I respect their spaces. Besides they have ways to show interest, with their body language for example. If they are comfortable with you they stand straight and look at you, if they’re less comfortable but kinda ok they stand on their side profile and might get closer. At first they take their treat and eat it somewhere else, then they eat it right there and watch you. Some kinda open their beak and close it quickly to mean they want a treat. The younger they are the more awkward they’ll fly around and perch on the most random things to be noticed even though they’re scared of every new thing at first. Like there was a dog tag on the bench and Blu was super scared. Or he was scared of a mini muffin the first time I brought him one! Zampone is never scared of food instead. THe best part was when my mom gave me leftover spaghetti and he ate them with the family. 

I think that if I didn’t have to make sure people won’t see too much thus they won’t complain I would have succeeded in touching one already, so now I’m currently trying to get the crows into my garden. I succeeded partly, as they’re territorial and they’re still more comfortable in the park. Or in the street right outside my house lol, while I hope neighbours won’t see anything.

We communicate. They come on the porch and call me for treats (I can tell it’s a slightly different caw, more whiny lol, while they have calls for fleeing or for calling friends cause there’s food, and so on) or when I’m late or they are hungry they do let me know

They also ‘warn’ me of things, like I was going out and one landed on the gate and cawed looking at me, then I saw a cat had come into my garden. Another time a lot of them were cawing when I was approaching a black abandoned garbage bag (don’t ask, even my dogs are afraid of those xD).

And! They bring me gifts! They place them where I give them water, like pebbles, rocks, pieces of wood. They also left small pinecones and branches with dried flowers on my porch where I put peanuts, and they left in my garden an aluminium sponge and a small plastic bag full of smaller plastic bags. Oh and a broken orange ball. I have (almost) everything in a box.

But like they come on the porch and call me for treats (I can tell it’s a slightly different caw, more whiny lol, while they have calls for fleeing or for calling friends cause there’s food, and so on) or when I’m late they do let me know

I also put a water bowl for them, which is actually a frying pan (it’s more resistant and I had a spare one and I didn’t have a bowl) so it’s hilarious. 

I’m aware I might be considered a weirdo hahah but I don’t care also I saw on instagram there are ppl like me all around the world and the . I started feeding crows when my head was in a very bad place. Then I recovered and I kept coming to see my feathery friends and when bad things happened and I found myself completely lost and depressed, if it weren’t for them and my dogs I don’t know if I’d find the motivation to go out and do things. Or to exist. Whenever I leave when I return they’re all waiting and when I can’t meet them I feel like I’m missing something, cause they make me smile everyday, and it’s more than some humans do. 

And, on a kinda philosophical note, I learned a lot through them. Like not focusing on myself and my needs and wants, in order to focus on theirs, cause befriending wild animals means observing them and making them comfortable no matter what I want. Leaving them their space. Being content with the little things. All this was useful through a painful breakup, not to suffer less but to put things in perspective and not hate the person. Who, incidentally, hates birds and had the guts to tell me to do yoga and meditation to get through the bad times. F*ck it and f*ck that person tbh, crows gave me more than him for sure.

Febbre Nilo: a Ottana virus in animali

In zanzare e cornacchie, da test Istituto Zooprofilattico Teramo

L’Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Teramo, centro di riferimento nazionale per l’accertamento della malattia sugli animali, ha confermato la positività al virus della Febbre del Nilo in zanzare rinvenute nel territorio del Comune di Ottana nel corso delle attività di sorveglianza messe in atto dal Dipartimento di prevenzione…

Attacco di #cornacchie a #Torino proprio come in un celebre film di #AlfredHitchcock

Chi non ricorda l’attacco di cornacchie del film “Gli uccelli” di Alfred Hitchcock? Bè, forse qualcuno non avrà visto la celebre pellicola ma di sicuro ne ha sentito parlare ed è un po’ quello che sta accadendo a Torino.

Cosa succede a Torino

Durante questo periodo i pulcini delle cornacchiesi allontanano dai loro nidi per effettuare i primi voli. Ma, proprio come un bambino che impara a…

È che a dirlo adesso…

(foto di poetella)

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È che a dirlo adesso il cielo stamattina presto ovatta sporca grigia danza di cornacchie solo un gabbiano

a dirlo adesso questo slargo d’azzurro quasi quasi sembrerebbe

una bugia. … … …

(by poetella)

(foto di poetella)

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No, non credo tu possa fare altro che andartene

credimi, non m’interessa

il risvolto drammatico d’ogni tuo pasto

che mi pensi, al risveglio

quando vedi un’alba

ed un tramonto pure

Quando cogli le bestie simpatiche e dolci, guardarti.

Mi interessano il giusto, ecco

le tue lacrime per i film d’amore

e per le nostre canzoni d’una volta

- e per quelle che cose sarebbero potute essere nostre e non…