A trapped crow in a rain gutter turned into an unlikely daily friendship for Leah Wilson.
When Wilson learned an injured crow was stuck in a home’s gutter, she said she could not ignore it. A flock of crows circled overhead and dive-bombed the area.
“I was really distressed,” Leah recalled. “And I knew I had to do something about it.”
Nobody nearby had a ladder tall enough to reach the bird, so Wilson went to a fire truck parked a few blocks away and asked for help.
“I was like, ‘Hey! You look like you want to save a crow today,'” she said with a laugh.
Firefighters used their ladder to free the injured crow.
“The firefighters were so gracious and wonderful,” Leah said. “My heart was so full.”
Wilson then drove the crow to a wildlife rehabilitation center. During the trip, she said, the bird grabbed her finger.
“He latched on to my finger and held on,” she said. “That was life changing.”
“I wrapped him up, got him into the car. He was scared, injured, and exhausted. At one point he wrapped his claws around my finger and just held on. I was on the phone with wildlife emergency, trying to stay calm while he wouldn’t let go. I will never forget that feeling.”
A few days later, Wilson learned the crow had recovered and had been released.
Soon after, she said a crow swooped down while she was walking her dog and dropped feathers at her feet.
“I was like, ‘Wow! This crow has given me a thank-you gift’.”
Wilson said that was the first of several gifts from crows. She said she has since received more than half a dozen offerings, including sticks, balls of moss and a small bird’s nest.
“I grew up with understanding the importance of having a relationship with the natural world,” she said.
Now, Wilson said crows regularly join her and her dog on their daily walks, flying alongside them from block to block.
“It feels so good,” she said. “It’s like visiting my friends every morning and knowing they’re going to be there.”
She said she can identify the crow she rescued because it now has a metal band on its leg after rehabilitation.
“He’s the highlight of my day,” she said.
“When we are aware of what is happening around us there is so much potential to come together and beautiful things can happen,” Leah said.
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