Cross Billed Crow

I try to never leave the house with out my camera.  Last week I ran out the door to do my errand orbit and looked at the camera sitting on the table by the front door. I thought to myself...if you don't take it you'll see that Black tailed Buck and the velvet should be off it's antlers by now......  

  I had too much momentum as I flew by and the camera stayed at home.

I was nearing the post office In DuPont when standing on a lawn among a small grouping of crows was a scruffy looking crow with a grossly deformed bill. Instantly I could feel the anger well up within myself, I could clearly see in my minds eye the camera sitting on the table by the door and not in my hand taking pictures of this rare bird.  I knew that there might be an opportunity to relocate it again in the future but I was not feeling very optimistic at the time. There are hundreds of crows all over the area and in every direction.  It appeared to have been eating enough food to survive to adult size but that was not much solace with no camera in hand.

With out a picture only I knew it was there, telling you about it would be rather dull for both of us.

My next orbit through DuPont I had my camera under my right elbow. Two blocks away from the post office there it was walking along in the gutter on a quiet side street.  I pulled to the curb, rolled the window down and took the following series of photos.

I have no clue as to the age of this bird. It is in a pretty rough condition. From the looks of the feet it may not be all that old.  I am sure the condition of the bill makes it difficult to keep it's feathers in prime condition. Without healthy feathers and winter approaching as well as the handicap of the deformed bill, I wonder what it's chances are.