Indian River County
Courthouse Crows
June 5, 2008
page 1 | page 2

The big surprise today was to find that the nest is empty.
But the birds had not gone far. One adult, circled at top, and three of the young Crows were all in the palm tree right next to the nest tree. Here one of the young birds, circled at bottom, pleads for recognition and a meal from the adult bird perched above. When the adult failed to respond, the young Crow, seen here at right, hopped up to confront the adult face to face to no avail.
Tired of the endless entreaties for food, the adult flew from the tree to perch atop one of the nearby flag poles for a little peace and quiet.. The three young Crows observed can all be considered fledglings now for they all flew with ease back and forth between the two palm trees. Here one of the birds has returned to the nest where it poked around the sticks making up its old nursery..
The fledglings all have a spindly, awkward appearance in their juvenile feathers. Here one of the young Crows investigates a palm frond. The question arises as to what happened to the fourth nestling? The fourth bird might have been present but hidden in a nearby tree or something tragic might have happened to it.
The view from street level looking up at the now empty nest. From the street a whole new perspective on Crow activity could be observed and heard. Most amusing was the difference in the booming cry of the adult Crows versus the squeaky, but no less noisesome, cry of the young Crows. From the street came another surprising discovery in that the fledglings were not only flying between the two palm trees, but also across the sidewalk to the row of oak trees that line the road. Here can be seen one the young Crows after alighting on a branch in an oak tree.
One of the fledglings in its disheveled suit of juvenile feathers jumps from the oak tree to make the short flight across the sidewalk and back up into the palm trees.
The appearance of the young Crow as it passed overhead indicates it still has a lot of growing to do before it resembles an adult. Although they are no longer in the nest, the fledglings are still fed by the parents regardless of the young birds' location. Above can be seen one of the adults, at left, feeding one of the fledglings in the oak tree.
The adult Crow flies off. One of the fledglings heads back to the palm trees.

The young Crow lands in the palm tree where it can be seen almost in the center of the image below with the Courthouse looming behind it.
Images & text by Bob Montanaro.  
 
 
All images and text copyright Pelican Island Audubon Society.
E-mail: piaudubon@bellsouth.net