Monday, June 6, 2011

A Sad Event

Something crazy just happened out back, in a neighbor's backyard. I came home from getting my parking permit to hear the sounds of many crows cawing out back. They were extremely distressed, so I went out to see what may have happened. A large tree trunk had split, and crashed down onto the neighbor's yard!



A couple neighbors came out and together we surveyed the damage. We were surprised that the huge tree that had fallen had seemed to miss everything important... it missed the nearby trees, the fence and any homes. The distress of the crows increased, and sounded very intense. We thought maybe a nest had come down with the tree and so looked through the branches, while all the birds were flying overhead, crying out.


Then I walked around to the other side, where the trunk had landed on the ground, and I saw it: a crow had been crushed by the tree and was pinned under the trunk. It was dead, however, and regardless, there was no way that we could have moved the trunk. The section that had fallen was as large as a full-grown tree. The interesting thing is that as soon as we found it, and stood around the dead crow, the crows above stopped their intense cries. They seemed to calm down once we made the discovery.


I didn't photograph the grisly scene. I feel terrible for the crow that was crushed, as well as for the comrades he/she left behind, who clearly care what happened to their friend. They're still out there now, though the tone of the caws has changed. It sounds as though they are now just letting all the other crows know what's happened. 


I've always liked crows, though not everyone does. The neighbor lady, who was very nice and sympathetic, admitted that she didn't care for crows, however she felt terrible about what had happened to the unlucky one pinned by the tree. They're extremely intelligent creatures, actually, which is one reason I'm fascinated by them. Now I also know that they care a great deal about the members of their flock. They're mourning the loss of one now, and it makes me very sad.

5 comments:

LenoreNeverM♡re said...

Oh my...
RIP, they must have lost a family member~ all animals are beautiful in my eye! Thank goodness no one else got hurt!

shari said...

All animals are beautiful to me, too! You're a lovely person, Lenore.

Yes, I'm glad no one else was hurt.... but I wish that the crow weren't hurt, either. :-(

Anonymous said...

That's so very sad Shari, it gave me goosebumps when you described how the other crows were calling out. Poor little things. :-(

Heidi Ann said...

Oh, that IS sad. I'm sorry you had to see it. I love birds - I am fascinated by them, also - like in the way you noticed their caws changing. It was as though they were paying tribute to their fallen comrade. I am sorry to hear about this.

Brandi Hussey said...

You know what strikes me about this story? It sounds like the crows just wanted someone to know what had happened, wanted someone to acknowledge their loss. Poor little birdie...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...