This is the first fledgling crow I have seen in Salem this year and unfortunately it was not doing very well. I ran to the lab to get a George Bush mask so that when I picked it up and the parents spotted 'me' they would not associate my face with the handling of their chick. You can tell it is a hatch year crow because the eyes are cloudy blue and the mouth is pink. When the mouth is closed you can still see a pink gape flap at the base of the bill. The naked patch on the lower abdomen and relatively large legs and feet are also typical. The resting on the wrist joint is also typical at this stage and the youngster in fact can not yet walk. Although this youngster could flap a bit it can not yet fly. This is very common among crows that they fledge before they can really fly and it is important that you leave them alone so the the parents can continue to feed them as they get stronger and develop the leg and wing muscles to truly escape. It can be a week on the ground for these early fledglings and the most successful ones stay hidden under bushes and in thick cover with the occasional contact call to their parents. In the few minutes I photographed this crow and moved it to safety a flock of 9 crows starting mobbing 'George.' This is the first time I have worn a mask during something that the Willamette University crows would treat as an enemy. George Bush had been a neutral mask in our experiments with benevolence over the last year, but now his reputation is made!
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