Happiness is black

When I go for my morning walks, I usually have the most ridiculous (but very genuine) smile on my face. Even though I feel somewhat self-conscious  - sometimes even worried - when I stand in the middle of the park,  all the crows flying to me, creating a real ruckus as only they can. Meeting a bunch of crows in the park makes me happy, harms no-one (as most return to their territories after I leave), and is an impressive self-esteem booster. These birds TRUST me. And they are clever enough to know that:

My 'murder' during one of our morning 'meet ups'
(24/04/2021)

1) I am not every human (they genuinely know who I am); and 

2) my treat offerings are safe (so they eat them).

Even though I have been visiting my corvid friends consistently for a year now (every day without a miss!) some people can still be terribly nasty and unkind when caught in the middle of my bonding time with these very intelligent birds. Not many understand this kind of friendship. Others just want to spoil the moment.  

Unfortunately this happened a few times before - enough times for me to want to block people in general out of my sensorial perceptions, especially when I am living the present moment and enjoying every second of it (some people call this mindfulness). My headphones are the enabling tool for this - they feature in most of my videos and pictures with the crowd. Most times than not the music is off and I am just blocking the opportunity of interaction with others. I found out that headphones are an effective deterrent of social engagement and have never left the house without them.

In the video I have my earphones (rather than the headphones).  After the crows eat everything I bring for them, they then align behind me to get a peanut each (some get more, depending on their bravery and there are two I know reasonably well, so those get some extra peanuts too). Sometimes they all surround me in a circle,  me in the middle of it. I feel safe, protected - it is not unheard off crows protecting their resources like guard dogs - to them I am a resource. They certainly trained me well because if I miss one walk I am scolded and ignored, they all stay perched high above in the trees and won't come down during my following visit.

I get the silence treatment when I miss a visit...

A lot of people ask me if I know them all - I don't. Sometimes I have 20, other times I have 30 birds, it really depends on the weather, the season (nesting/ not nesting), and the number of crows who had no proper meal the day before. But in the photos I took from all of them, I can identify different expressions, the different shapes of their beaks and head, and yes, they are all different individuals in their own right - just like humans, no one crow is the same, and they have their own personalities too (i.e. look at Cronus and Perses, two amazing, dedicated crows who live for their family and demonstrate every day bravery, loyalty, respect). 

It's just plain beautiful to see the group together, and I can't understand how some people in this world can kill such amazing, smart and bold birds. But they do, because human kind has gone really wrong...