I saw 6 baby Crows on the park the other day. Definitely Crows, black beaks and that self important strut with a full nappy! Original ‘There have been some baby Crows on the Park, 6 in total. Not Blackbirds? Nope. Black beaks and that loitering walk that suggests walking with a full nappy!’

This morning I saw the remains of a baby Crows’ feeding tactics, a very small and on inspection (I had to get close) de-headed grey mouse! Not eaten, just ripped off!! Ug. They’re practicing.

The bottom of my sock is threadbare. I hope my soul is not too.

Why does a very large flag spread out on a football pitch look like a sodden period towel? (St Georges Flag, red middle stripe with water patches).

These are troubling me today.

I think these are all babies (above). They look a bit surprised, whereas the adults look arrogant, but I have managed to become friends with the male on the park. He has a tremendously fluffy head in the mating season, which makes him look a bit like he has an overly large black hard hat on, with the peak missing, perhaps actually a badly fitting leather pilots head gear!

He struts a lot. And I mean A LOT! He never seems to stand still. They are very nervous birds, and anything new or different, or someone they don’t recognise and off they go! 1 caw for hmm, 2 for I’m getting wary, 3 for are you not listening to me? I need some help! 4 caws for dire straits and I don’t think I’ve ever heard 5 caws, they’ve usually either got one of their friends attention, and they’ve flown off to see them – top of a nearby church is a good place, or top of another tall building. And when the church is used, it is one of the four highest ornate tips of the square tower! I think this is where they cross over with their cousins the Raven. Another bird I love, but that’s another story – literally!

Once they know you, they will get close up, 3 feet away is good. My friends dog is a particularly favourable friend for the male, he hops on his back for a little ride around the park! I am not sure if this was a good thing. The dog is still with us, but has become ill. His fur faded from a jet black with a wisp of grey in his tail, to a chestnut brown. The Crow no longer hops on his back. There are loads of stories of them knowing when someone is going to die… You might say that that is connected to Magpies, yes, they are corvids too, along with Jackdaws, Rooks etc.