MR. CROW'S BOOTY

Dedicated to Gerlinde Hallermann

Mr. Crow perched on my fence today.

Eyeing small birds flying my way.

Feathers gleaming, an oily sheen,

Eyes piercing; he really looked mean.

Tapped with his beak, shook the contents.

His stance was firm on my wood fence.

He opened his beak, cawed and cawed.

The fledgling dropped on a loose board.

He seemed to brag that he had scored.

Other crows copied, they too cawed.

His mate swooped down, a sign of glee

From her lookout, the tallest tree.

They'd spotted robins, an exposed nest.

Poor Mr. Robin had had no rest.

Two other fledglings chirped and chirped.

Such a sad sight; it really hurt.

                                                              July 26, 2018

                                           Revised  July 11, 2019

A/N So far this summer there have been noticeably fewer

migrating song birds and perching birds in our area so the crows

have been very competitive. The widespread forest fires that

ravaged our part of western Canada over the last two years have

had a devastating effect on the bird population, destroying much

of their habitat. It's so sad.