SCENES FROM THE BEACH | by George Thatcher / JAN. 17, 2015

The carcass of a catfish washed ashore at high tide, attracting several gulls to the feast. However, a fish crow has now appeared and shoulders the gulls out of the way to claim the fish as his prize. Fish crows are the bullies of our beach, and they are smart too. Having developed a language of their own, they are said to be able to count to seven. We distinguish between them and common American crows by their calls. Fish crows cry, "ka, ka, ka," and American crows call, "caw, caw, caw." -- Diary, winter 2015

From the diary of beach walker George Thatcher / Email: fishcrow@aol.com

Collections of Mr. Thatcher's observations are available from Quail Ridge Press (www.quailridge.com or 1-800-343-1583).

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "SCENES FROM THE BEACH | by George Thatcher / JAN. 17, 2015 ."