Fig's Mom and Dad have been acquainted with me since the very first day she fledged at around 4-6 weeks of age, and fell from her 12th floor nest due to an injury she suffered in the nest. They have seen me out with Fig over the last two years at parks, and on walks, and they simply know who I am, and that Fig is with me. It does not matter what I wear, even a hat, sunglasses, a bicycle, or an umbrella cannot sufficiently disguise me. They usually spot me when I am walking my son to school in the morning, and when I am walking around my neighborhood in the afternoon. It used to be that only Fig's Mom really cared to say anything to me, and it was usually a long scolding along the lines of, "You! I see you! I know you! You have my daughter!!! Hey everyone, over here, here he is, the kidnapper!!!"
But recently there have been some big changes in the way the parents interact with me. Recently the mother does not scold me, she just says, Hi in a usual way, anouncing herself to me. The father also greets me, and he never used to say a word if Fig was not with me. They both now follow me for two or three blocks, and their body language is very relaxed. They fly high above me in relaxed gliding circles. Then they perch in separate places, creating a triangle of the three of us, and call, at me, at least I assume it is me because they are both facing me, but it isn't scolding, it's just calm, intermittent greeting. "I'm here." "I see you." "Hey!" Sort of a thing.
Another interesting development is that they are now not only following me when they happen to see me around, but they are actually looking for me at specific times of my usual schedule. They know where I will be, and when I will be there. They have known these things for a couple of years, but only recently have they started to use the information to locate me. It's as if finding me has become their hobby. I'm a living breathing Where's Waldo for two Crows! They know when I am on the way to school, and show up consistently. They know when I am picking up my son from extra curricular activities, and they show up there too. Just the two of them, not any of Fig's brothers or sisters. I'll see brothers and sisters sometimes, and they'll talk to Fig, or say, "Hey, it's that guy!" but they take a very short interest, even if Fig is with me, and soon move on. In contrast, the parents linger with me at parks, whether Fig is there or not. They have become my lonely in-laws.
Their attention is not the least bit bothersome, but it is a total curiosity because I did not do anything, other than caring for Fig, to invite it. It is not like I asked them for their friendship. It just seems as though they have now extended it to me, because I am caring for Fig, much like you would expect in the human realm. One just doesn't expect this of birds. TIt's not like I'm out living with a pride of lions on the grasslands in a loinclothe. Thankfully, they don't make enough ruckus that anyone else would notice. I'm the only person who knows who they are, and why they are circling around over me all the time. No one else has any clue if Fig isn't with me that I am being shadowed by a pair of wild Crows who are "related" to me. They just think two Crows are doing their usual thing.
These are welcome developments. They have decided, all on their own, to accept me as Fig's human sugar daddy. I am no longer a kidnapper, a threat, a bad guy. It makes me wonder, with a little trepidation, however,...what's going to happen next?
But recently there have been some big changes in the way the parents interact with me. Recently the mother does not scold me, she just says, Hi in a usual way, anouncing herself to me. The father also greets me, and he never used to say a word if Fig was not with me. They both now follow me for two or three blocks, and their body language is very relaxed. They fly high above me in relaxed gliding circles. Then they perch in separate places, creating a triangle of the three of us, and call, at me, at least I assume it is me because they are both facing me, but it isn't scolding, it's just calm, intermittent greeting. "I'm here." "I see you." "Hey!" Sort of a thing.
Another interesting development is that they are now not only following me when they happen to see me around, but they are actually looking for me at specific times of my usual schedule. They know where I will be, and when I will be there. They have known these things for a couple of years, but only recently have they started to use the information to locate me. It's as if finding me has become their hobby. I'm a living breathing Where's Waldo for two Crows! They know when I am on the way to school, and show up consistently. They know when I am picking up my son from extra curricular activities, and they show up there too. Just the two of them, not any of Fig's brothers or sisters. I'll see brothers and sisters sometimes, and they'll talk to Fig, or say, "Hey, it's that guy!" but they take a very short interest, even if Fig is with me, and soon move on. In contrast, the parents linger with me at parks, whether Fig is there or not. They have become my lonely in-laws.
Their attention is not the least bit bothersome, but it is a total curiosity because I did not do anything, other than caring for Fig, to invite it. It is not like I asked them for their friendship. It just seems as though they have now extended it to me, because I am caring for Fig, much like you would expect in the human realm. One just doesn't expect this of birds. TIt's not like I'm out living with a pride of lions on the grasslands in a loinclothe. Thankfully, they don't make enough ruckus that anyone else would notice. I'm the only person who knows who they are, and why they are circling around over me all the time. No one else has any clue if Fig isn't with me that I am being shadowed by a pair of wild Crows who are "related" to me. They just think two Crows are doing their usual thing.
These are welcome developments. They have decided, all on their own, to accept me as Fig's human sugar daddy. I am no longer a kidnapper, a threat, a bad guy. It makes me wonder, with a little trepidation, however,...what's going to happen next?
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