To be scared that I’m still marked by the crows?

[ChoccyOrangeYum]

A couple of years ago I walked the dog on a local field. I know nothing about birds but I was later told it was their breeding season.

Anyway we must have got too close to their nests as they suddenly started flying around irrationally, making a hell of a racket screaming etc and then started dive bombing the dog. The dog thought this was fun so started chasing the crows. All hell broke loose basically and we were suddenly surrounded by crows going mental. We made a quick exit!!

I left it a few days then took the dog back on the field but after speaking to locals about the crows I stayed away from the back of the field (where they’re breeding) and kept dog in lead. As soon as we stepped on the field the noise started up again and the crows appeared and started dive bombing again! There was someone else on the field with a dog who the crows were totally ignoring!

We left and after a bit of research I found that crows remember faces and don’t forgive easily 😬 so we didn’t go back on.

A whole year later we went back on assuming the old crows won’t be there anymore but we were on there 5 minutes before it all started again. These birds are not bothering anyone else on the field, just me!!

Anyway my neighbour has suggested we go for a walk in the field tomorrow morning but I’m shit scared of the birds. Will they still go for me if I don’t have the dog?! Will they ever move on from the incident 2 years ago or am I banned from the field for life?!

There was a story in the news recently where somewhere in europe where they are getting rid of guard dogs in a prison and use geese again.

Have you considered putting on a fundraiser / public apology festival for them? All proceeds for levelling up crow infrastructure, you can do a daily keynote speech voicing your regret at current circumstances and commit to a process of deescalation

I have a few old oak trees in my garden. Every autumn you can see the crows flying out of them every couple of minutes with an acorn between their beak. They always fly across the road and then over the field in exactly the same direction with every acorn. Do they have a special acorn depository somewhere or are they taking them to smash on a known rock somewhere? Does anyone know?

that's amazing @HundredMilesAnHour i was watching a quarrel of sparrows in my garden this afternoon

Not corvids, but very clever, inquisitive and noisy little parrotlets, who bring so much light into my life. One is missing because she was sat behind me wanting no part in the rest of their theiving ways😂.

@PossumintheHouse do you mean you literally pretended to be a chicken along with clucking?

Off to Google possowary...

Edit: cassowary. They do look scary

I still have one of these, it sits on a windowsill overlooking the garden, now slightly concerned what the local bird community make of it 🐦‍⬛

Fair-do's.
I probably deserve it.
Can you give me a head start though? I'm a crap runner and my glasses will get steamed up as soon as I step outside. Plus, I might slip on a parsnip.

But good to hear you take pride in your appearance, even when you're taking care of business. Old fashioned standards, like wanting to wear your best knickers in case you get hit by a bus.

I love sparrows!

The little cock sparrows squabbling with each other look exactly like a load of curates out on the lash from the theological college.

(Language not quite so blue, though 😄)

Aw they're gorgeous.

Ds has 8 budgies that are his true love. They've all got their little personalities.

A kindness of Ravens is my favourite.

"unkindness" surely?

<off to google>

Have just spent far too long reading 21 pages of this thread and am horrified the OP has not checked in to tell us she is safe.

What with most MNers being locked up due to that dawn woman reporting us all to the Met, will there be enough of us left to send out search parties ?

Aww 8 budgies, I would love that! I also have two budgies @MargaretThursday they are very sweet, but my two budgies and two out of four of my parrotlets were rescues, they were very scared little birds when they came to me, the budgies are still wary, but the parrotlets climb all over me and let me handle them, took well over a year though. They do have their own wonderful little personalities, birds are just amazing and I love them.

Some crows drop nuts on the road so that a car will crack them open.

Crows are very clever, every spring when I filled up the bird feeder they took great delight in unhooking it and flying off with it, they would drop it on the lawn or patio so it spilled out and they could eat the contents, this year DH tied the feeder to the feeder stand with tie wraps and once they realised they couldn't get it they have dtopped trying. They are also fearless, a crow stole my dog's bone while he was lying in the garden chewing on it 😃

I wish I was a cassowary
On the plains of Timbuctoo
I would eat a missionary
Cassock, hat and hymn-book too

I wish. That image is immense. 😂

I basically stared it out. It got confused and backed off. Was really pissed off though.

I had a cockatiel that would run up to me, squeak and then put his head down inviting me to scratch his neck. He also used to snuggle up to me for a nap and groom my eyebrows. I love birds.

<applauds>

👏👏👏

Do we start phoning hospitals after 12hrs missing??

Fabulously interesting thread.

I hope my favourite poem from "Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow," by Ted Hughes, is not too tangentially risqué:

A Childish Prank

Man's and woman's bodies lay without souls,
Dully gaping, foolishly staring, inert
On the flowers of Eden.
God pondered.

The problem was so great, it dragged him asleep.

Crow laughed.
He bit the Worm, God's only son,
Into two writhing halves.

He stuffed into man the tail half
With the wounded end hanging out.

He stuffed the head half headfirst into woman
And it crept in deeper and up
To peer out through her eyes
Calling its tail-half to join up quickly, quickly
Because O it was painful.

Man awoke being dragged across the grass.
Woman awoke to see him coming. Neither knew what had happened.

God went on sleeping.

Crow went on laughing.

12 hours?

You'll be lucky if there's so much as an earlobe left . . . 😢

WHAT HAPPENED TO @ChoccyOrangeYum we need to track her down she is likely held hostage by crows 😳😵‍💫

This thread just reminded me I'd been meaning to change my username for a while