The Powwow Guy

I've always had a love of crows. Growing up in the coal region of Pennsylvania, crows were the most common bird. Now that I live in South Central Pennsylvania, crows are just one of the bird types that live in my neighborhood, but they are definitely the most active and the noisiest!

My home is in a valley, of sorts, surrounded by steep hills and a lot of trees and nature. Some of the trees on the hills tower well above my house. And in the tops of those trees are the sentinel crows, the lucky few who guard the territory and warn the other crows when someone or something enters the area that doesn't belong here.

Because the sentinel crows basically surround my property, I feel like I have an extra ring of protection.

Today I was sitting out on the back steps, enjoying the Spring weather, when I noticed a large hawk fly into our area. I knew this would be trouble for the hawk and, within seconds, I was right. The two sentinel crows came swooping in to harrass the hawk and chase him out of the area! But, being stubborn, the hawk came back and landed in another tall tree behind my garage. Bad idea, Mr. Hawk... bad. idea.

The sentinel crows returned, this time with a few friends, and the taunting began. They all landed in the tree and cawed at the hawk, hopping from branch to branch until they were all in a tight circle around him. Then the hawk took off and the crows chased! They nipped at him as he tried to fly away. They bullied and cawed and chased him until they were all out of sight. In about five minutes, all the crows came back and resumed their positions in the trees. The hawk was gone.

The protective nature of crows may seem bully-ish at first, but it's a really good system they have. The sentinels warn of intruders and the rest of the murder swoops in to attack. 

As a folk magician, I see the inherent value in having a murder of crows protecting my property. It is believed in folklore that some witches can use animals, such as birds, as their familiars. If you have a murder of crows on your side, then that's one less thing to worry about!!!