The Little Owl appears again -- and a look at Carrion Crows

Good news: the young Little Owl at the Round Pond is still living in the dead tree where the nest was. This morning Richard Oxborough got a picture of it peering out from the back of the hole where it's usually seen.

He also took this picture of a Grey Heron in the rain on top of the Henry Moore sculpture.

Herons have taken to congregating in the sculpture enclosure, and on the grass on the other side of the path ...

... partly because people feed them there and partly, I think, because there's still an active nest on the island and its owners chase other herons away. The youngest herons, although they can now fly and are seen in various places, are still returning to the nest to be fed, as can be seen in this picture by Joan Chatterley.

The roofs of the two small boathouses are neutral territory, just far enough from the island. This picture of a heron scratching is by Virginia.

Neil got this shot of two young Black-Headed Gulls flying down the Long Water. They're so common that we tend to overlook their elegance.

The same might be said about Great Tits. I hope to be back soon feeding them in the Flower Walk, one of the great experiences of the park.

The male Mute Swan is still occupying the Italian Garden, tolerating visitors sitting next to him for photographs because he knows he will get fed. I hope he eats a lot of algae in the ponds to compensate for all that unhealthy bread. Thanks to Joan again for this picture.

Ahmet Amerikali got an action shot of an Egyptian Goose coming in to land.

A fine head-on view of a Common Darter dragonfly by Nick Abalov.

Today, a look at another bird that is so common that people ignore it, the Carrion Crow. But the more you watch them, the more interesting they are. Among the most intelligent of birds, they have a theory of mind, a rare thing in animals. When you have fed one, it will fly round the back of you and come out from behind a tree because it knows you will think it's a different crow and feed it again. And I'm sure they recognise their reflections as being of themselves.

The largest concentration of crows in the park is on the Vista next to the leaf yard. They used to live in the northwest corner of the park by the Diana playground, but moved down when people started feeding the Rose-Ringed Parakeets at the leaf yard so that they could steal their food. There is always a mob here, poking around in the grass and occasionally scuffling with each other.

Sometimes fights get personal.

At other times pairs sit side by side in friendly conversation.

Young birds often play with things they have found, but crows continue to play as adults. Here one toys with a feather ...

... and another with a plastic cup it has pulled out of the lake.

Their diet is varied. They dig up worms ...

... and poke for insects in the rotten wood of fallen trees.

They like pulling out the contents of rubbish bins and going through them for anything edible.

A rotten dead fish provides a tasty meal. Crows aren't fussy about freshness.

The Feral Pigeons killed by gulls and Sparrowhawks are always welcome when they can get a chance.

Sometimes they take matters into their own claws ...

... and sometimes, regrettably, seize goslings.

The Dell restaurant is another source of scraps ...

... washed down with a drink from the nearby pool.

However, eating too much bread ...

... has consequences. This young crow in the Rose Garden has white patches on its wings. Growing birds need more protein than adults, and if they don't get it, it shows in a lack of black melanin pigment. With luck, when it is fully grown its next set of feathers will be all black.

A crow has a quick wash at the top of the Dell waterfall, shakes itself dry, and flies off.

They have another hygienic ritual, anting.  A crow will dig up an ants' nest and lets the ants crawl all over it. It's thought that the formic acid released by the angry ants helps to remove parasites from a bird's feathers. Other birds practise anting as well.

Crows gather twigs for a nest.

When the young emerge they follow their parents around begging to be fed. At first they do get fed, but as they grow up their parents expect them to find their own food. Sometimes the young actually grab food from their parents.

There is a deep enmity between Carrion Crows and Grey Herons. I've never understood why it's so intense. Often crows will attack a heron for no reason at all.