Begging, begging, begging

Ever wonder why you don't see "baby" crows? They just suddenly appear fully-fledged, without that fluttering, bumbling stage like little song birds.  But you can still pick out the youngest crows, because they're constantly begging from the adults in the group.

The crows in our neighborhood been making a ghastly, gagging noise lately that sounds just like they're strangling each other.  That's the big babies demanding free handouts and getting food stuffed down their throats. Crows are "monogamous cooperative breeding birds," which means they breed for life, and the entire family helps raise the kids.

Crows are very social and mated pairs form family groups of up to 15 individuals that stay together for years. Crows have a long "childhood," which might be one reason why they're such intelligent birds.

The early mornings have been beautiful and sunny this summer.  We usually wake up to a marine overcast that slowly burns off during the day. Not this year.  Before I get up and start doing all the things that need to be done, I drink my coffee in bed for a few minutes and listen to the chirps, trills and squawks in the overgrown corner of the yard. The racoons have usually finished their mischief for the night and gone off to bed, but sometimes I'll still hear them rustling around. 

The dark red Oriental lilies are the last flashy flowers of the summer, not counting the dahlias of course, which are just getting started. The weather is hot so they won't last long, but right now the amazing fragrance drifts in the bedroom window.