Corvid Sky
One of many, many, trees around 16th and 250th that was filled with crows
They’re viewed as pests by some; as natural marvels by others. Cunning, highly social, and omnipresent, crows evoke strong imagery by their presence. They are commonly used in literature and films. I’ve been told about a Hitchcock thriller in which crows turn violent and turn on people; since then I’ve had the occasional nightmare including such imagery. Crows act as Saruman’s spies in The Fellowship of the Ring. Ernest Thompson Seton writes of a wise old crow named Silverspot, who led a band of crows for years before being murdered by an owl, and in The Secret Garden, Dicken had a pet crow, I do believe.
I once observed two crows making out in a cottonwood tree, to the best of their ability (we are far better equipped for that). This is one of several moments which impressed on me how little removed we really are from the rest of nature, and how much we have in common with all life, and how interconnected everything is.
The night I took this picture, the sky, in places, was black with crows. Hundreds of thousands swooped and perched and cawed in this area of southern Aldergrove. Their presence changed the very mood of the area. A few moments ago I heard a beautiful birdsong that perhaps will kick off a low-key winter dawn chorus, but the sound of many crows together is harsh and raucous; it sends chills down your spine and makes your hair stand on end. Crows have a mystique, a stigma about them that many people dislike, but which I find fascinating. This night the trees were weighed down with crows, it was as if they had gathered here for a grand congress, the entire crow family coming together to meet and talk and elect leaders and draft policy. I have no doubt there is meaningful communication going on at these gatherings.
For a rare moment, humans were not the predominant, overriding presence on the landscape. These black winged animals drowned out the human presence. They flew in from all corners of the region, they blackened the sky, they were a reminder that we must yet cooperate with nature and live within its limitations.
