Hekyll and Jekyll

I can’t swear to it, but the same visitors from last year have returned to our balcony. Last year we thought it was cute that the crows, who we named Hekyll and Jekyll, visited us at the beginning of the pandemic. It was nice to see something alive while we were cooped up inside. This year we find them a bit annoying since we have coco lined planters hanging from the backs of the seats. The crows are stealing bits and pieces from the liners, and are also hiding things in the baskets. They seem to show up in the late morning and then again around supper time. But I have a feeling they are hanging around in between. And they have no shame. I can’t tell you how many stare downs I have had with them. It’s almost scary how they look you right in the eye and don’t even move. My husband prefers to leave them alone, but every time they show up and I see them there I open the balcony door and ask them politely to leave. They usually do after I stop asking politely. Then, he flies to the next balcony and keeps watch from there or from the building across from ours - waiting for me to go inside and cawing so that I can hear his displeasure. We are used to seeing crows flying about and hanging in the upper branches of the trees, but seeing them face to face is a bit unnerving. Hopefully they will find other places to bother. In a way it’s nice to have the company - but there is something about crows. 

Hekyll and Jekyll

At first, we welcomed the company and it was a source of entertainment while we were confined to the house since March. The crows would land on the balcony rails and promenade. That was before we put out a couple of hanging planters. Then we discovered that some of the mulch was missing and the plants looked disturbed - only to discover that the crows were storing their stash and making a mess. When we sit outside on the balcony, you can hear them jeering at us, and flying back and forth landing very close to where we are. One day, one of the crows landed about three feet from me. It was a weird stare down. Within minutes, the other crow was sitting right next to my husband’s head. Did you ever see the movie “The Birds?” It was the oddest feeling to think the crow would attack. This week, one crow was sitting on the railing “eying” a bag that we put our cloth masks in to roast in the sunshine. If I didn’t open the door and scare him off I think he would have taken it. We are starting to call them Hekyll and Jekyll. Though I don’t know for sure, they are a consistent pair that roam the balconies of our building. You can watch them flying from one end to the other “hiding” things, then returning to eat whatever it was. As long as they keep their distance I don’t mind. But it’s getting a bit too personal.