This afternoon, like about 2 pm, I went and walked Loki. I'm up in da mountains, and there's a little trail next to a creek. I usually let Loki off his leash because there's rarely any people and he has a very reliable recall.

Anywho, Loki is sniffing something ahead of me when I spot a crow on the ground. He's kinda bouncing around, like birds do when they're not flying. I thought nothing of it. When we got closer, he was now trying to get away from us, and then the wind kicked up. It knocked him about, and I noticed his left wing was all gimpy. Loki hadn't noticed him, and I'm so thankful he didn't cuz I think he woulda hurt him more. Or pissed him off some. Loki went about his business and followed me when I went off the trail. I put him in a sit-stay as I took my jacket off and approached Russell Broken Crow. XD

As I got closer, he stopped trying to get away and just sat still. Loki broke his stay and came by my side, curious, but I wouldn't let him near the crow. I could see the crow's wing was all dicked up, but it wasn't a fresh wound. Prolly happened last night or so. There wasn't too much blood but he couldn't move it at all. I wrapped my jacket around him and picked him up. He didn't threaten me at all, which I thought was kinda weird.

Loki and I went back to the house, and I found a little box to put him in. I wrapped another towel around my jacket and he hung out. It was so cool being so close to a wild crow like that. His eyes were soooo pretty, too, a lovely copper brown. Never seen a crow blink, either. He did open his beak at me once when I was putting him in the box... that was kinda cool, too... lookin' at everything up close like that. He had a purple tongue. XD

I didn't wrap his head up in the towel, I didn't want him over heating and he seemed pretty calm anyways. He watched like everything I did, very calmly... almost curious. So I called up the US Fish and Wildlife people, and they were really helpful. Though they said they weren't sure what they could do for him... kinda worried me. I didn't want them to just put him down, ya know?

So B comes home. B doesn't like crows/ravens. Says they're just rats with wings. I disagree... I mean, sure, maybe the city crows aren't as healthy, but we're up and away from the city. Dun think it counts. Anywho, he starts asking me how my day was and I go, "OHHH DON'T BE MAD AT ME!" kinda jokingly. He starts asking what I mean, and I lead him over to the closet, where I left Mr. Crow in his box. I remove some of the towel and he goes, "A CROW. A CROW IN MY BEDROOM!!! WHYYYY IS THERE A CROW?!?!?!" I put my best puppy-dog eyes on and start telling him how I found him. He goes, "ooooooooooooh okaaaaaay fine, as long as you didn't ask if you could keep him." (yeah, I know it's illegal to do so, that's one of the reasons why I called USFWS).

He goes and tells his roomies (cuz he thinks it's kinda funny) and they all say the same thing. He also asks me why I didn't just shoot it. You can hunt crows, there's no limit on the numbers, either. But it's like... gah... I love corvids... why would I want to shoot it?

The USFWS lady shows up to pick him up, and also notes how docile he was. Even though he bit her when she was closing the box, haha. I told her all the details of how I found him and she lets me know that sometimes, all they need is a little TLC for a couple days and they're able to fly again. Or if they can't help it, they place him in a sanctuary with other birds who can't fly and it's all groovy. I'm glad he's not beyond help and stuff. :3

I wasn't even sure if I should pick him up or not. Whether I should just let nature take it's course or not. But I thought about the dogs I see sometimes down there and definitely the kids I see. I figured they'd hurt him more with rocks and sticks and I couldn't let that happen. D: