The crows were making such a commotion that Leah Wilson stopped to find out why.
They were circling a house and swooping toward its roof. One of their companions was trapped in the gutter, and the people nearby did not have a ladder tall enough to reach it.
Leah noticed firefighters a couple of blocks away and asked whether they could help. They brought their ladder, freed the injured bird, and gave her the chance to get it to a wildlife rehabilitation center.
During the drive, something happened that stayed with her. The crow gripped her finger and held on.
A few days later, Leah learned that the bird had recovered and been released. That could have been the end of a small neighborhood rescue.
Instead, her morning walks began to change.
She told CTV News that a crow flew down while she was walking her dog and dropped a bundle of feathers at her feet. Other objects followed: sticks, moss, and even a small bird's nest.
Leah understood them as little thank-you gifts. We cannot know exactly what the birds intended, but her delight in the encounters is easy to understand.
She said crows began accompanying her and her dog along their route. Among them was the bird she helped rescue, recognizable by the rehabilitation band on its leg.
For Leah, who is Métis, the friendship also reflected something she had grown up valuing: a relationship with the natural world.
One decision to pay attention had turned an ordinary walk into a daily meeting with familiar neighbors. These neighbors just happened to have wings.
