Why I Don't Watch the Nature Channel

Just down the street from my house is a very large tree.  Some of the neighborhood crows built a nest in the tree earlier this spring.  I have to admit that I’ve never been very fond of the crows.  They’re noisy, annoying and they’re fond of chasing away all of the other birds.  I used to work on the ground floor of a mirrored building.  The crows there would see their reflexion in the glass and fight with it.  Jamming they’re beaks into the glass so hard I was sure they were going to break the glass and their beaks.  When that goes on for 10 minutes at a time, all day long, it’s really annoying!

Here’s a picture of the tree that they’re nesting in.  It’s hard to get a good picture of the nest because I don’t have a long enough lens for my camera and the nest in on the back side of the tree, but you can see a dark area close to the top.

Early this morning about 30 crows started squawking and flying around the tree and my yard.  Because I wasn’t dressed yet, I didn’t get a chance to get a picture of the commotion, but Mr RK went out to see what was happening (but didn’t take the camera).  Apparently, a hawk had raided the nest and was eating either the eggs or the baby crows.  There is no way of knowing which but I’m glad I didn’t see it.  I can’t watch that sort of thing without crying.  I know it’s the natural order of things but I just can’t watch it, or want to know about it, or think about it.  This is why I don’t eat animals, or birds.  

What was really amazing to me was the way all of the crows that live in the city seemed to have heard what was happening and came to help try and scare off the hawk.  They seem to know better than to attack the hawk directly but were trying to get it to leave with lots of noise and commotion.

Since then, a few crows (I’m assuming the owners of the nest) have been returning to the tree and other trees in my yard to express their distress.

I’ve told them how sorry I was for their loss.

Am I crazy or is there a strong resemblance between the crows and my Director of Pest Management?