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Comment by tanseydavid | Hacker News Reader

I have befriended and am giving daily treats to a family of three crows for about 6 months now.

They are fascinating. Gaining their trust and "interacting" with them has been very meditative.

I'm trying to befriend crows. When I go out for a walk, I started to get into the habit of putting a biscuit on a post. Crows fly off when you get anywhere near them. So I kinda hope that the crows spot me putting the biscuit down.

It's interesting to think about. For the first few times nothing much seemed to happen. So you never really know if the crows are doing stuff by blind luck, or they've twigged that there's a connection between me and biscuits.

I think they're catching on, though. A couple of days ago I approached the post, and the crow dispersed. I put down a biscuit, and I reckon the crows saw what I was doing. I carried on my walk. I had to get some way away, and then a crow went to the post and nabbed the biscuit. I think it bought a friend.

So I reckon that the crows now know what the system is.

One day I shall be King Of The Crows.

My mother does the same with ravens

What kind of interactions?

They come by at roughly the same time of day. They make a lot noise to let me know they have arrived. They wait in the tree above the backdoor while I take the nuts to the railing of the shed (to give them some room). They swoop down to the railing of the shed and chow down almost as soon as I am headed back in the other direction. (they act as if they know 'the routine')

This level of "interaction" took some patience and some time. But it has been worth it.

That’s great! Some species seem to be very vocal. They are magnificent creatures and sometimes it feels like “who is observing who?”

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