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Jackdaw in the Morning

@fred_ernst

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Professional photographer 30+ years. 2019/2020 I portrayed the jackdaws at my home for 600 mornings in a row. Jackdaws are kinda cool.

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For World Animal Day I tried to make an instruction series for the mostly new jackdaws (I recognise only 2 of them) with the new camera (I had to buy yesterday) to see if they now how to catch cashew and if the camera nows how to catch pictures if jackdaws. I ended up with a pretty high score of decent photographs so the camera works and I still seem to function as well. It is a bit weird to see how many cashew are not taken, I at least saved 40 euros on cashews that I didn’t have to buy in the last 2 months. I din’t see more sick birds at the moment so hopefully the worst of the (probable) West Nile Virus troubles are in the past. I lost many, many jackdaw buddies and also a lot of crows that I was connected with. Happily some good old crows showed up alive and healthy again but most of the jackdaws I knew were just removed from existence. Crazy and sad days. Only one or two jackdaws dare to land for a short while so no hours long chilling with some jackdaws next to me. And it’s sort of funny almost that almost no one seems to notice what happened, funny in a dark and sinister way. Still happy to see the remaining jackdaws happy and also how some are already trying to establish their new territory. Oh well… 🖖🏼
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#jackdawinthemorning
#jackdaws
#kauwen
#corvids taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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3 days ago

In positive crow news I found another survivor in healthy state. After some weeks Stalkie showed up at his usual spot. He was with another crow but not with any kids. Not sure of the other crow was his regular partner. At this moment at least 4 familiar crows are back in normal healthy shape but only one with a regular partner and I haven’t seen any of the young’s they had. Funny story is that Stalkie landed near me just moments after my camera shutter decided it had done enough clicks for a lifetime. But on digital shutter it still did it’s job. I just had to shake the camera a bit so the loose blade was not obscuring the whole picture. I have some more camera’s but I better but a new one this afternoon, better safe than sorry. Bye!
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#jackdawinthemorning
#carrioncrow
#crows
#corvids taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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5 days ago

It’s such an unreal situation. This crow is probably the one I use to remember by name as Parkie. He is almost the single crow left in the whole neighbourhood/surrounding. There are still many jackdaws but much less than last month. Still my best guess that they fell victim to the West Nile Virus which is very bad for corvids like crows and jackdaws. I still see a lot of magpies who are also very sensitive to this virus bit they seem to be more lucky. Not sure of Parkie’s wife if and kids are still okay. I remember, sort of, that I at least saw them about a week ago, but last time without the kid. there second kid was missing a while ago. I’ll check in them tomorrow. No jackdaws land near me when I am outside which is also weird after so many years. The ones that are still active seem mostly healthy. Luckily still a lot of pairs although I spotted some singles as well. I just thought I left my depression behind after 2,5 years, we’ll see… have a good weekend!
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#jackdawinthemorning
#westnilevirus
#jackdaws
#crows
#corvids taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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12 days ago

Working on a poster to ease my mind a bit. I did another check and still almost all crows are missing. In the last week I couldn’t find Westfrankie en Westfranko, nor did I find Ricky James or Etta or their last surviving kid. Among the other missing crows that I almost meet daily are Stalkie & Dunkie (and their 2 kids), good old Jumpie & Sloofie (+ 1 kid), Voormie & Voornie, Omdehoekie and I probably forget one. Missing jackdaws are Anthonie, Camoefie, Neusie, One Eyed Jack, Sproetie and some others. I did spot Vlekkie and Pootie in good health and also Crow Westfranka seems healthy. No proof that the cause is the West Nile virus but considering the sick crows I spotted and the sudden disappearance of so many corvids, which is a first for me in 7,5 years, it seems the most appropriate conclusion. It’s very sad and also very quiet. Especially after the hot Spring and Summer which maybe only 1 young jackdaw (locally) survived. Oh well, ai will kill us all in a few years or World War 3 will find us. Have a good week! 🤖🖖🏼
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#corvidae
#jackdawinthemorning
#corvids
#westnilevirus by @fred_ernst

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16 days ago

Weird times with the jackdaws for a couple of weeks now. Not only are a lit of them missing, probably victim of the West Nile virus, but no other jackdaw dares to land near the food when I am around. Normally I am surrounded by birds but for the first time in seven years not a single jackdaw lands on the balcony when I am around. I was able to shoot some pictures after a while through the window but still it was only snap and grab and flap. Not sure about the virus but I have seen several crows that suddenly had the fitting symptoms, weak and wobbly with no clear other reason. Also many crows are suddenly missing and believe me, they show them self loudly normally. Well, have a great weekend anyways. 👽🖖🏼
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#jackdawinthemorning
#westnilevirus
#corvidae
#jackdaws taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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19 days ago

I took this picture of Westfranka this evening. A couple of days ago I noticed that Westfrankie was hurt at his paws and their kid Westfranko was nowhere to be found. Today only Westfranka showed herself. Other crows also have setbacks. My neighbour crows Ricky James and Eta James showed up for more than a week now without any kids. I am afraid their young is lost as well (but not sure). Crow Omdehoekie has payed the ultimate price as well as it seems. In the jackdaw camp I haven’t seen Anthonie, One Eyed Jack, Neusie and Camoefie for way to long. I fear for the worst but jackdaws can also surprise you. So far for my 9/11 birthday week update. Not celebrating was a choice but all those missing birds were not part of the plan. Have a good life!
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#jackdawinthemorning
#corvidae
#blackcrows
#jackdaws taken in Schiedam West by @fred_ernst

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25 days ago

I reconnected today with some old jackdaw friends like Spoornie, Haarlemie, Perronie, Glassie, Castrumie en some other jackdaws that I hadn’t seen for quite a while. It was a joy.
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#jackdawinthemorning
#jackdaws
#coloeusmonedula
#corvidae by @fred_ernst

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a month ago

Just wanted to share some pictures of a new cool crow I met a week or so ago. In that time I started to like him (best guess) a lot and he accepts me as well. I know his parents a bit for two or three years but this young is really a cool one. I think I will call him Westfrankie, not sure why that name popped up. Well, bye now!
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#jackdawinthemorning
#corvidae
#crows
#blackcrow by @fred_ernst

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2 months ago

This was an unexpected situation. When I came up to check on the birds water supply this crow, I call him Hoekie, was sitting in the middle of the water thing staring at my door. Left were two jackdaws and right two pigeons all staring at him. I guessed they were low on water so I took the bucket, got some water, took a toilet break in between and went up again some six minutes later. The situation hadn’t changed. When I opened the door the jacks and pigeons flew away but Hoekie only slowly left the water thingy and slowly and clumsily flapped onto the railing, almost within my reach. I poured the fresh water i and also on another spot. He just sat there watching me. I stayed around a bit and decided to give him some snack in the form of cashew nuts. He wobbled around and slowly got some of them but most seemed too massive for him. I slit them in two and that was a bit better. All the time he seemed to lose his balance, almost falling every step. In the end he had some cashews and started mixing them in the water, very slowly but deliberately. He ate some and then started hiding the others in my plant pots, not respecting the weeds that I have in them. He normally doesn’t come to my house because it was in Ricky James his territory last winter. But in the summer all things change so he came over last weekend for the first time. I know him well enough from situations at which I meet and sometimes feed him around the corner of my street. Not sure what is going on with him or if he is a bit ill or had an accident. He was just slow and wobbly and staying very low on his feet/paws. But 15 minutes later un the end he managed to fly away to the other street where he normally hangs out with his partner. We’ll see how this will continue, I just hope he has a temporarily issue. The last picture was just a phone snapshot of how I found him, and how the situations was the second moment I arrived. So much typing… 👽🖖🏼
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#jackdawinthemorning
#corvidae
#crows taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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2 months ago

I made new friends today…
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#jackdawinthemorning
#blackcrow
#corvidae
#corvids taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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2 months ago

Anthonie is sitting alone on my neighbours (cat) fence. Not sure where his female companion is these last few days or maybe weeks. He is not the boss of the group anymore and some other jackdaws try to pick a fight with him, frequently enough for me to notice. He and One Eyend Jack and Pootje and Sproetie and… some others, are the only familiar jackdaws around, actually quite a bunch, still. When I have cashews he eats the ones closest to me so the others won’t bother him (while I am near him). Just wanted to share that small part of life in the universe. 👽🖖🏼
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#jackdawinthemorning
#corvidae
#jackdaws taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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2 months ago

I had this thing in my head, call it an idea or maybe an anticipation, or even longing to one day take a picture from my fixed 40x60cm attic window of the moon passing behind a small crane in the roof of a building opposite my house. The trick is that the moon has to be at an approximately 12 degree angle to get the shot. And the moon had to be visible so clouds had to be absent. Today, after six years and a bit of waiting it was finally a right moment. It was fun waiting for that moment. It would also have been nice if it happened at a moment with a bit mire daylight but then the moon would be less round. Maybe tomorrow the moon passes a bit higher so I can take another picture that I grave for, with the red dot/light in the center of the moon. That should be around 01:30 am I guess but maybe the moon is a bit too high tomorrow, I didn’t check that yet. Oh well, a man can have his hobby right?
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#moon
#moonpics
#lonelylosersclub
#funphotography taken in Schiedam Volkspark by @fred_ernst

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2 months ago