FENCES AROUND THE WORLD

This is my contribution to Gosia's Fences Around The World.  Thank you for hosting Gosia.  As I wasn't able to take any fence photos to share, I thought this one would be okay.  It was when I was in England a few years ago.  

If you would like to see other fences around the world, or join in with your own, you can go here.  

Thank you for visiting everyone and have a great weekend.  See you on Monday!

DECK CAMERA VIDEOS

Only four short videos for you this time.  I lengthened them a little bit to 10 second segments.  A crow, squirrel, dove and squirrel and a female Cardinal.

I can't guarantee what other films are advertised at the end of each video.  I have no control of that so won't recommend any.

Hopefully you have enjoyed the birds and squirrels I have shared today.  A little microcosm of what goes on in my backyard.

CROWS FROM THE DECK CAMERA AND INTERESTING FACTS

I was wondering when the crows would turn up.  Did you know that researchers have found them more intelligent than chimpanzees?  I have often heard that they are a very smart bird, but did not know that interesting fact. Crows, so I read, have a very developed forebrain, which is where most intelligence is stored.  In fact, the anatomy of their brain is very similar to humans.

Here are a few more facts about them.  

Their scientific name is Corvus brachyrhynchos.  Try saying that one fast!  

Crows first appeared during the Miocene Period, around 17 million years ago, in Oceania and Australia.

They can be found on every continent except Antartica.

They are omnivores.

A group of crows is called a "murder".  

Crows are monogamous.  This means they have only one mate for their entire life.

They look out for one another.  When a female crow is incubating the eggs, other crows, whether they are her mate or not, will watch for danger and protect the female.

Both the female and the male crow will help take care of the offspring.  The offspring are also known for staying with their parents to take care of the new offspring.

Apart from being very intelligent, crows are social birds as well.  Each murder will develop a specialized dialect so each crow knows what murder it belongs to.

I learned of the above information, and much more at this website.  More interesting facts can be found here.

A CROW AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Our company has come and gone.  We had a great time with them and it went far too quickly.  They arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday, and we spent the rest of the day at home just chatting.  

On the Sunday before they left for home we drove to the cemetery to visit with our loved ones.  It is always a little sad but as we often do, we talked about our memories of these special family members.  They made us smile and even laugh a little.  

I took this photo of all the headstones and a crow flew into frame.  This same crow landed next to the open window on the driver's side of our car, which was parked not too far away.  We truly thought it was going to hop inside but, not finding any food I guess, it flew away.  

The cemetery was busy. An open-air bus made its way down the road full of tourists.  I wonder if they noticed our small group, with some of us sitting on the grass as we shared our memories?  It was warm but with a lovely breeze to cool us down.  

About 3,000,000 tourists visit Arlington National Cemetery every year.  Here is an interesting link if you would like to take a look.

We had traveled there in two cars and said goodbyes at the cemetery, with promises of meeting up again soon.  

BIRD D'POT, NATURE NOTES, WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY

Another one from the archives.  I remember this crow, raven perhaps?  He was watching us very intently as we stopped at one of the many sites during our trip of the Southwest.

Linking with the following, with thanks to Anni, Michelle and Stewart for hosting these fun memes.

Anni at Bird D'Pot

Michelle at Nature Notes

Stewart at Wild Bird Wednesday