By Marilyn Kays
As I was walking along the Des Moines Marina sidewalk next to the fishing pier, as usual I popped my head over the railing to see what was happening below. Starfish, crabs, perhaps a seal.
But this time, something else captured my attention. I am used to seeing crows dive-bombing other birds to steal their food. But I had never seen two of them tiptoe.
The crows were tiptoeing very slowly toward a seagull who was eagerly ripping something apart and gulping it down.
I was curious about what they were doing. Were they working together or just separately drawn to a food source? I continued to watch and thought about raising my camera for a picture. But my instincts said no. Birds are wary of any movement, and I did not want to take the chance of scaring them away.
Their movements reminded me of lions in the bush, hidden by grass stalking their prey, moving one paw at a time softly to the ground until the moment was right for the chase.
Credit: Scott Schaefer
I stayed quiet, and the two crows separated. One started edging toward the water and the other circled around their targets’ back. I was waiting for the gull to react. It stayed fixed on its meal. As the crows continued to advance, they were working together.
Suddenly the seagull sprang into action, not by flying away, but flapping its wings vigorously, screeching and threatening with its beak. It was not about to leave its food. Whatever their plan had been, the seagull had put an end to it.
I am puzzled by how the crows approached the gull. Rather than the direct attacking behavior I usually see, these two chose stealth.
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