{"id":62285,"date":"2020-01-02T05:45:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T12:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=62285"},"modified":"2024-01-22T09:13:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T16:13:10","slug":"my-first-birds-of-2020-american-crows-in-a-grocery-store-parking-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/02\/my-first-birds-of-2020-american-crows-in-a-grocery-store-parking-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Birds of 2020 – American Crows In A Grocery Store Parking Lot"},"content":{"rendered":"

My First Birds of 2020 are…<\/h2>\n

\"AnAn American Crow on a fence rail \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I always get excited about what the first bird will be that I see at the beginning of the new year and for two years in a row now my first birds of the year have been American Crows. In 2019 I saw the American Crows at Farmington Bay WMA to start off my year and for 2020 I wanted a cheese bagel from my grocery store bakery and saw three American Crows in the parking lot before I went into the store. It was gloomy because of the thick clouds overhead and the dark plumage of the crows stood out from the snowy parking lot. Had it been a little brighter I might have spotted the Ring-billed Gull next to the crows first but as dark as it was the gull’s white plumage blended into the snow that surrounded it.<\/p>\n

Now some people believe that whatever the first bird you see in the new year sets the tone or theme for your new year and quite frankly I can’t wrap my mind around that but if I did believe in that seeing a crow as my first bird of the year might mean a year filled with intelligence, flexibility, destiny, life, magic, and mysteries. My life is already filled with those things each and every year though.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Crows in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

For a couple of years in a row I have asked my Facebook friends to tell me which birds they saw at the first of the year and yesterday my post about it rapidly filled up with common and not so common birds from North America and around the globe. You can check out the responses on my Facebook timeline here<\/span><\/a>. I had so much fun seeing what the first bird of the year was for my friends this year. It was an interesting and varied listing of first of the year birds.<\/p>\n

Oddly enough there haven’t always been American Crows at my grocery store parking lot, the crows started hanging around there in early 2019. We don’t have a lot of American Crows in Utah during the breeding season at all but during the winter American Crows from up north do come to Utah for the winter.<\/p>\n

I might need to do a little bit of bird sleuthing to find out where the crows I see in my grocery store parking lot roost at night and then perhaps I will be able to photograph them before they leave their roost in the morning or when they head to it before night falls.\u00a0 I’d rather photograph them at their roost than in the parking lot but I have thought about taking my bird gear to the grocery store to get photos of them there. Just birds being birds where they want to hang out.<\/p>\n

So friends… what was the first bird you<\/strong> saw in 2020? Please let us all know in the comments below!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Crow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I always get excited about what the first bird will be that I see at the beginning of the new year and for two years in a row now my first birds of the year have been American Crows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5967,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[5969,8187,3194,5968,5970,1051,834,10795,3983,4064,4094,3996,4095,373],"class_list":["post-62285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-crows","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-american-crow","tag-corvid","tag-corvids","tag-corvus-brachyrhynchos","tag-crow","tag-crows","tag-fence-rail","tag-first-birds","tag-frost","tag-ice","tag-marsh","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-0527.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-gcB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":74862,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/24\/i-am-never-not-looking-for-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":62285,"position":0},"title":"I Am Never NOT Looking For Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, I am never not looking for birds.","rel":"","context":"In "American Crows"","block_context":{"text":"American Crows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/jays\/american-crows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Cooper's Hawk portrait, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-close-up-fence-rail-mia-mcpherson-2253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-close-up-fence-rail-mia-mcpherson-2253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-close-up-fence-rail-mia-mcpherson-2253.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-close-up-fence-rail-mia-mcpherson-2253.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108524,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/07\/urban-birds-parking-lot-american-crow\/","url_meta":{"origin":62285,"position":1},"title":"Urban Birds – Parking Lot American Crow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The fog was so thick yesterday morning that I decided to stay near home and focus on urban birds. My first one of the day was an American Crow in a parking lot.","rel":"","context":"In "American Crows"","block_context":{"text":"American Crows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/jays\/american-crows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban American Crow, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-crow-parking-lot-mia-mcpherson-5544.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-crow-parking-lot-mia-mcpherson-5544.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-crow-parking-lot-mia-mcpherson-5544.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-crow-parking-lot-mia-mcpherson-5544.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51117,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/02\/american-crows-feeding-on-fish-at-farmington-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":62285,"position":2},"title":"American Crows Feeding on Fish at Farmington Bay","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago there were still numerous American Crows feeding on the carcasses of the carp at Farmington Bay and some of the crows were close enough to allow me to take frame filling images of these pure black birds.","rel":"","context":"In "American Crows"","block_context":{"text":"American Crows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/jays\/american-crows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Crow feeding on a dead Asian carp, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-fish-mia-mcpherson-5342.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-fish-mia-mcpherson-5342.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-fish-mia-mcpherson-5342.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-fish-mia-mcpherson-5342.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110165,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/11\/murder-of-american-crows-calling\/","url_meta":{"origin":62285,"position":3},"title":"Murder Of American Crows Calling","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"To my delight, I heard and saw hundreds of American Crows at Farmington Bay WMA on my visit there early yesterday morning. The crows were great company.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "American Crows"","block_context":{"text":"American Crows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/jays\/american-crows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Six American Crows in a tree, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-crows-in-a-tree-winter-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-crows-in-a-tree-winter-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-crows-in-a-tree-winter-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-crows-in-a-tree-winter-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120011,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/22\/american-crow-nictitating-membrane-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":62285,"position":4},"title":"American Crow Nictitating Membrane Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing three portraits of an American Crow, two of which include the very pale, nearly icy-blue nictitating membrane that these crows have.","rel":"","context":"In "American Crows"","block_context":{"text":"American Crows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/jays\/american-crows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Crow nictitating membrane, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-nictitating-membrane-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2337.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-nictitating-membrane-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2337.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-nictitating-membrane-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2337.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-crow-nictitating-membrane-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2337.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56011,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/10\/american-crows-on-ice-and-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":62285,"position":5},"title":"American Crows On Ice And Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At the end of January I had a few opportunities to photograph some American Crows in nice light on snow and ice at Farmington Bay WMA. 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