Spot the claws

We think we have a crows’ nest on the roof. In any case, for the past week they have been very agitated, croaking loudly from morning to night. In the middle of the week we started to get falls of rubble and soot through the ventilation grill in our downstairs toilet. A-ha! we thought; they have built their nest at the top of the chimney. And then we saw some birds’ droppings on the floor. Oh no! we thought, superman will have to climb up on the roof and break up the nest. So this morning I was studying the grill in the way supermen do, prior to doing something stupid. As I was pondering my next move, I heard a scrabbling noise just above the grill. I unscrewed the grill and took it away and there I could see a pair of claws, perched on the top of a grating behind the grill (see the photo). So I toiled for several hours and eventually, having wrecked the toilet, was able to free a young crow. He must have been there for the best part of a week but seemed to be none the worse for his experience. I told him what an idiot he was and took him out into the garden and then something happened that made the whole experience worthwhile. As I released him onto the lawn, two crows called out from a nearby tree. He flew up to the nearest tree to escape me and the two crows joined him. They were clearly his parents. (I don’t want to exaggerate but their caws sounded pretty joyous to me.)They perched there in the tree, mumbling to each other. I pointed up at them and said ‘You owe me one!’ Then went back in to repair the big hole in the toilet ceiling.

A lucky crow