Crow and Jackdaw are best buddies

They are still a raggedy looking pair but Jimbo Jackdaw and Carlos Crow are the very best of friends.   These two (big!) fledgelings are only showing the slightest interest in flight and they like to stay together.   They have formed a bond, which is unusual in different types of birds.  How much attached they are to each other was demonstrated to us yesterday when a volunteer accidentally let Carlos out of the aviary.  He promptly disappeared, there is long grass all around and we didn’t think we’d ever see him again.

Predators are all around, there are foxes, cats and there are sanctuary dogs who would have liked nothing better than a supper of young crow (are you listening Jack Spratt?).   We kept all the dogs on leads for their walks which didn’t go down well at all.

By evening we still hadn’t found Carlos and began to think he might have had a sudden impetus to fly and be already up and away.    I took a last walk with the Miss Whippets and suddenly there he was, in front of me.   He came walking out of a nettle patch looking a bit unsure of himself but none the worse for his taste of freedom.

How to get him back though?   It was obvious that he wasn’t going to let me catch him and although still unable to fly he was too quick for me to catch him.  The stress to him would have been very great anyway.   I told the dogs to stay and walked slowly past Carlos and went to open the outer door to the aviary.   He stood still and watched me closely.

I walked back and went round him so that I could encourage him to go to the aviary.   Jimbo gave a few ‘caws’ of encouragement.   Carlos was thinking it through, he looked at me, looked at the aviary and then he set off.   I shoo-ed him forwards very gently, he strutted ahead.   We had about 30 metres to go.   Any moment I expected that he would leave the path, become startled and duck back into the long grass.

But with Jimbo’s encouragement he held his path.   What would happen when we got to the door though?   To get in to the aviary he would have to make a right turn – very daunting for a bird who had no experience of doors and wire mesh and buildings.

I held my breath but this bird knew exactly what he was doing and made a smart turn and hopped inside.  With the outer door closed, I edged past and opened the inner door into the pen.   Carlos darted in and went straight to his best friend Jackdaw Jimbo.   They both did a little dance and touched beaks – where is the camera when you need it?    And who said our feathered friends are bird brained?