Our constant companion

 A crow occasionally comes to the platform feeder farthest from my house, taking advantage of the bread and peanut offerings. It really ticks off the mockingbirds who persistently divebomb the invader.

             In the mockingbird world, a crow is a predator.  In our world, a crow is just a bad guy. Well, that's his reputation, anyway. He's a scavenger and a wily opportunist. And he shows up in all of those horror movies, starring as a harbinger of doom. No, Hitchcock didn't start this. Hitchcock just made him a film star. Cave dwellers drew crows on their walls. Noah relied on a crow to find land. Later, crows picked up a literary agent and everybody from Shakespeare to Stephen King got in on the action.
               So crows have been prominent in our lore down through the years. And there's a reason: They follow us around; and they follow us around because we leave stuff behind. That's right. Crows like to eat things we offer. From the stray French fry in the parking lot, to the newly planted corn in the field, crows are there to forage.
               This is not to say that crows rely totally on humans for food; they eat almost anything they can get their big black beaks on. The mockingbird knows that the crow may raid its nest. And crows have been observed eating anything from large insects to small reptiles.
               But crows have expanded their range and population with humans.
               I like crows. I admire their intelligence, playfulness and beauty. And they have never raided my feeding station in such numbers that I would consider them pests.
               Most of the crows around my place are Fish Crows. I know this because of their calls. The Fish Crow and the American Crow look so much alike, it is hard to tell the difference any other way. But the American Crow has a vast range in North America. They can be seen in almost every state in the continental U.S.
               If you hear the familiar "caw" around your place, there's a chance you can get a crow to your feeding station. Try leaving out chunks of bread or a few peanuts. Corn works too. But not too much - you might get more crows than you want.
               Then judge for yourself. Good guys or bad guys; like 'em or not, crows will always be our constant companions.
      No crows today, but here’s what I did see in the feeding area:

AM, Cloudy, 79 degrees, 20 minutes
 House Finch
Carolina Wren
Northern Cardinal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Brown Thrasher
Common Grackle
Blue Jay
Red-winged Blackbird
Mourning Dove