The Crows’ Nest
by Darren Bigelow
I was living in Japan when I wrote this story. The plight of a family of crows came to my attention when a nest was removed from a telephone pole directly across the street from a school I was attending. A phone company employee was about 30 feet up on a cherry picker where he plucked the nest that had been sitting on the pole. The crows were squawking loudly in protest because the nest and eggs were then disposed of. The crows natural habitat was disappearing rapidly with all of the development that was going on in the suburbs and countryside. Crows are intelligent and resourceful birds that can adapt to many types of environments, including a big metropolis like Tokyo.
High in the sky, well above the millions of people passing by, but far below the dirty air, and the skyscrapers everywhere, sat the crow’s nest.
Made of twigs and branches, the nest was pretty sturdy, but a bit of a mess, for it was constructed from a little rubbish, and even a man’s checkered vest.
The nest had no eggs, and that you can surely say, for it housed only crows on the lookout, staffed there 24 hours a day.
Soon the army would come, and they probably would be carrying guns. The soldiers would quickly line up in organized rows, and try to shoot the irate black crows.
But the crows weren’t going to stand idly by, because those crafty birds had prepared a battle plan that would make any general beg for mercy and cry.
So where and when did it all start, this fracas between the crows and humans? Let’s go to the beginning to help you understand. First, you must learn something about the animal called the crow, and its adversary, man.
Crows have cunning eyes, and long black feathers. They are crafty birds, with loud voices that can always be heard. If you ever got in an argument with one you can be rest assured that you would never get the last word.
Some people say these birds aren’t so friendly. Maybe it’s because a long time ago sorcerers and witches saw them as trendy.
Crows on occasion will dive bomb someone’s head, and maybe even put them on the run. These birds aren’t trying to be mean, and are only protecting their young.
Crows don’t act anything like seagulls, because they like to perch on high places and act kind of regal.
Crows used to live amongst the rivers, and mountains, surrounded by a lot of fresh breeze, but men and women came and cut down all the trees.
The people then made houses, condos, and high-rise apartments made of concrete. One day the crows had a home, the next day it had become a paved street.
The crows were forced to move to the cities, which put them in a bad mood. They didn’t want to go, but the birds were starving and homeless– they needed a place to live and some food!
Crows are scavengers, which is sayin’ they eat food that they find. In the wild, they’ll munch on everything from berries to nuts, and even dead porcupines.
In the city these delicious morsels don’t exist, but there are many other tasty eats to pick and choose from, like discarded cookies and half-eaten hamburger buns.
In the city humans dump piles of garbage, so trash day is always a big feast—the crows stuff their mouths, and just eat, eat, eat!
The crows punch through plastic bags with their pointed snouts. When they discover something scrumptious they rip it right out.
The crows sometimes leave a lot of trash lying about on the ground. It makes people angry, so they scream, “Those birds are ruining our town!”
Sometimes it’s not food the crows are after, because they collect rocks that are very tiny, or watches that are shiny. Do these items make crows curious? Who knows? Crows sometimes place their hard earned bounty on train tracks, and it makes conductors furious.
In the wild crows build their nests in trees, high up where there is lots of breeze. In the city, crows build their nests in all sorts of unusual places, from telephone poles to buildings with empty spaces.
People complain by saying, “Hey, don’t build your nests anywhere you please. If you do, I won’t be able to watch TV!” For the nests sometimes interfere with the cables, which can make the airwaves pretty unstable.
But look who should be complaining. After all, it’s the crows who have suffered from most of the maiming.
It was the humans who took away the crow’s nature. The birds had no choices because they had lost some of their stature.
Enough of the background story! It’s time to see if the crows will meet defeat or glory.
The crow problem got so bad that the city the city council assembled for a meeting. There were so many people that not everyone got seating.
There were complaints, gaffs, and a lot of mean talk. It was all directed at the crows, those black birds that go squawk, squawk, squawk.
The mayor, a portly man with a noticeable hairpiece, took the podium and sucked the tiny food particles from between his teeth. He organized his notes, and grunted like a pig to clear his throat.
“We have a pest in our lovely city. It’s noisy, troublesome, and not very pretty,” the mayor began. “The crows must get kicked out—for that there is no doubt,” he added, as sweat on his head made his hair matted and gritty.
The people all stood up and cheered, they thought that the end of the crow was very near.
But he crows had a meeting of their own. There was a lot of cooing and cawing, but mostly they just wanted to be left alone.
“We used to live alongside nature,” one crow said, as he ruffled his plumage on top of his feathery head.
Another crow stepped forward, grabbed her hips, and snorted, “We can’t leave because we have nowhere to go!” She was so angry her face was contorted.
Well, that’s part of the tale-the people versus the crows. Who will win, and who will fail? Do you want to find out? Ok then-here’s the rest. Let’s head over to the crow’s nest.
The crow’s nest was next to a small city park. The birds had taken refuge there in the daytime as well as the dark.
It was not safe in the city now because the army was out in full force. This info came from the lookout, the crow’s information source.
“Here they come!” came a warning from the crow’s nest. The lookout had just seen the fighting elite, the army’s best.
Another crow shouted, “There’s a helicopter, and a tank just over that hill!” The army’s assault on the crows was becoming overkill. But the crows weren’t scared, because they had a plan-they were prepared.
As the helicopter flew close, some of the birds got ready. They picked up a cardboard box, and the crow leader shouted, “Steady!”
Just when the helicopter was directly overhead, the crows tossed up a bunch of feathers, which surprised the chopper pilot named Fred.
Up, up, up the feathers went, and into the turbines they were sucked. Then the engine stalled, and the helicopter dropped like a freight train filled with trucks.
Fred wasn’t really hurt, only a little scratched and bruised. He even thought the crows were pretty smart–he was amused.
The army sent in their biggest gun, and one look at it made most of the crows want to run.
But the crow leader stood his ground, “That’s enough!” he shouted. “I’m tired of fooling around!”
For their next plan, they gathered a bunch of sticky tape, which the crows had snatched from the trash of a stationary store, in some old wooden crates.
The crows took the tape and stuffed it into the big gun’s barrel. This made the bombs stick to the inside, which put the weapon in peril.
“This fighting must cease!” the army general said. So, he shook the crow leader’s wing, and the two adversaries made peace.
The people and the crows got together and decided that the city was going to stop the division. There was going to be a big change. You could even call it a revision.
The army tore down several old buildings, a condemned baseball stadium, and a dilapidated college dorm. The city had become better—it had really transformed.
The new space was used to make many parks, with trees and brooks. The crows were happy with their city’s new look.
The mayor complained and said, “This wasn’t promised in my campaign!” Because he didn’t have anything to do with the city’s resurrection, the mayor was voted out of office in the next election.
Six months later, many new crow eggs hatched—the little ones were a lot of fun. The city folk watched in awe. They just loved the black birds tons.
The End
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