What Good is a Crow?

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Sometimes in the winter, the extra high tides peak just when extreme winds blow the waves towards the beach and up over the edge of the road. Sand  churned up in the shallow water of the beach is deposited on the pavement as the waves retreat. At its most furious, the storm makes the road impassable due to waves carrying logs and sand, crashing on the pavement.

Something had to be done.  Why not use the logs that keep washing up on the shore to build a breakwater?

The only drawback was that access  was limited for people wanting to  spend time on the beach. Only a few pass-throughs allow access, but this is a small price to pay for keeping the beach material off the road. On the left foreground of the photo below, you can see the root system of a tree used in making the breakwater.

It makes a great perch for this crow to survey the beach and assess the possibility of nabbing a bite to eat.

Closer to the bluffs where the spit begins, people are enjoying the sunshine in spite of the cold brisk breeze.

Apparently they have brought some picnic food, and our crow is on the alert. See him in the foreground (below), keeping an eye on the people?

Those pebbles can twist a crow’s ankle. He hops up onto a better stand while he talks to us.

My name is Corby, I’m a crow,

A useful bird, I’ll have you know.

I clean up beaches, parks, and schools,

‘Cause people are such messy fools.

“A scavenger,” they say and sneer,

But really I’m an engineer.

A sanitation engineer,

Patrolling beaches without fear.

I’m much despised for baby theft

Of eggs and fledglings, moms bereft,

But on the beach and in the park,

With my intentions not so dark,

I use my observation perch

And beady eyes to scan and search

For chip bags, Ding Dongs, peanut shells.

I simply follow kiddies’ yells

For fast food wrappers, greasy hits

Of french fries, ketchup, burger bits.

I hop-skip over, spear a fry,

And poke some Cheezies with a sigh.

I fly up high, and watch, and call,

My cawing soon assembles all.

The local corbies cruising by,

Spy the garbage as they fly.

They’ve come to lend a helping hand

To clean the litter off the land.

They caw, “We are the cleanup crew,

Don’t look at us with eyes askew.

Don’t throw those rocks to chase us off,

You need us still,  you silly toff.

As long as you mess up the land,

Be thankful for the crows at hand.”

 

50 thoughts on “What Good is a Crow?”

  16. Nice photos and love the poem. Is that the road you use to get off and onto the island?

    Guess what? I woke up this morning and got confused. I thought it was Christmas. It’s snowing!! In April!! It usually doesn’t stick this late in the year, but we already have an inch or two. Ugh.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Oh no! I’m so sorry for you. Actually, it wasn’t much better here a couple of days ago when the rain turned to sleet. I wasn’t sure which way it was going to go. The road in the picture is on a spit – a finger of land that fizzles out. There’s a small “army” (Dept. of Nat. Defense) base at the end of it, mostly used for training cadets in the summer. There is no road to the island. We would have to take a ferry (2-hour ride) to Vancouver if we wanted to go to the mainland side. It’s quite expensive so we don’t go very often. But Vancouver Island is pretty big so we don’t usually need to go anywhere else.
      Don’t go shoveling that snow. It will melt soon.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Yeah, the snow is already melting, but that’s because it’s now turned into a light rain. Blechy day.

        Thanks for explaining about the geography there. At least Vancouver island is big enough to where you have all that you need there.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

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