A Murder of Crows ( actually it’s a Parliament of Rooks – my mistake!)

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The Crows Fly Home Before Nightfall

“The sun falls
Daylight shatters.
They spill across the air
A stream of shadows
Poured into some branched and woody vase
Stripped leafless in the winter air”

an extract from a poem by Elizabeth Liechti

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Have just been told by my friend Caroline ( she’s a vet ) that these are rooks not crows… DOH !!

What do I know! not much about birds obviously 😉

My other blog 1500 Saturdays is here

Tags: 365, 366, birds, crows, Photography, poetry

26 thoughts on “A Murder of Crows ( actually it’s a Parliament of Rooks – my mistake!)”

Caroline Warnes on January 28, 2012 at 8:31 am said:

The poem is gorgeous Helen, I must look it up to read the rest. Although crows are not sociable, and these are rooks 🙂 Artistic licence?

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hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 8:39 am said:

Oh !!!! No complete ignorance on my part Caroline !! I’m sure I shall be severely berated now by all and sundry ! Ah well What do I know ! not much about birds obviously haha 😉

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- Stevie Gilmore on October 28, 2015 at 3:20 pm said:
  
  FABULOUSSSSSSS xx
  
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  - Helen Cherry on October 28, 2015 at 5:21 pm said:
    
    Thanks Stevie 🙂
mimo khair on January 28, 2012 at 10:16 am said:

beautiful poem and image!

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Louis on January 28, 2012 at 10:59 am said:

These are superb shots – and I don’t mind whether they’re rooks or crows!

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- hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 11:42 am said:
  
  Thank you Louis.. I shall check a little more carefully next time ( they were taken with my 55-300mm lens so were quite a distance from me!)
  
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scillagrace on January 28, 2012 at 1:06 pm said:

A parliament of rooks or a storytelling of rooks…. I had to look them up. They don’t live on this side of the pond. Thanks for expanding my vocabulary of nature!

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- hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 1:17 pm said:
  
  Oh !! that would have been even better, Scilla !! A Parliament of rooks would fit very well with the last photo!
  
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Caroline Warnes on January 28, 2012 at 1:24 pm said:

I should have said before, they are great pictures, whether they are rooks or crows 🙂

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- hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 1:41 pm said:
  
  Thank you Caroline…and you know me always willing to learn and admit my mistakes too 😉
  
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totsymae1011 on January 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm said:

Crows have never looked so beautiful.

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bananabatman on January 28, 2012 at 2:16 pm said:

A Parliament. That’s interesting, though it may be somewhat unkind to the poor rooks. Good shots Helen, and I’m also learning.

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Stuart Hyde - shpics on January 28, 2012 at 2:54 pm said:

The challenge ….1 rook poem ….
GO!
😉

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Caroline Warnes on January 28, 2012 at 3:05 pm said:

Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed
The speculating rooks at their nests cawed
And saw from elm-tops, delicate as flowers of grass,
What we below could not see, Winter pass.

Edward Thomas

My favourite rook poem 🙂

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- scillagrace on January 28, 2012 at 3:12 pm said:
  
  Well done, Caroline!
  
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- hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 5:38 pm said:
  
  Oh lovely poem Caroline…thank you so much for rising to Stuart’s challenge and posting it 😀
  
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  - Stuart Hyde - shpics on January 29, 2012 at 6:19 pm said:
    
    Yes that really is lovely … and after a frosty and cold day it has lifted my winter mood.
    Thanks
    Stuart
Caroline Warnes on January 28, 2012 at 4:32 pm said:

Thank you Scilla 🙂 I am not really a walking poetry anthology, I just happen to particularly like that poem. I first found it written out beautifully in a calligraphy book by Margaret Daubney.

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- hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 5:38 pm said:
  
  and Scilla, Caroline is a whizz at Calligraphy I believe ?
  
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drawandshoot on January 28, 2012 at 6:00 pm said:

I am always in awe of birds suspended in various movements of flight. Amazing!

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hellenjc on January 28, 2012 at 6:04 pm said:

Me too Karen.. I love that these birds look black and you think they are just black but as you can see, if you click on the middle photo in particular, they have lots of blueness too..

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eof737 on January 30, 2012 at 10:21 am said:

That is quite the gathering of crows…

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- hellenjc on January 30, 2012 at 5:59 pm said:
  
  Or rooks as I’m told they are Eof 😉
  
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Sallyann on May 15, 2012 at 7:38 am said:

Wow ! there must be hundreds of them, nice catch. 🙂

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- Helen Cherry on May 15, 2012 at 9:53 am said:
  
  Thanks Sallyann.. there were hundreds and I was fascinated by them
  
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