Call of the Ragged Crow

I camped last night at a quiet Forest Service Campground on the East side of the Pass between Republic and Kettle Falls.  I'm taking a tour of the Northern part of Washington, a sparsely populated and Beautiful section of the State.

This morning I rise and perform my various camping activities at my usual solo camping pace:  extremely slow.  I decide to take a bike ride up a Forest Road that follows a nearby creek.  The road is gravel, fairly well maintained, and very steep.  Up, Up, Up, Switchbacking, Up, Up, Up.

My ascent is accompanied by the complex chattering of a band of Crows.  At times sounding almost human like, it seems to be an intense conversation between maybe five crows.  They make short flights between closely spaced limbs on the pines alongside the road.

The climb goes on and up.  The Ragged Band ushers my way up this steep and steady Road.  The climb is difficult, I gain 800' in elevation in two miles.  The Crows accompaniment continues all the way to the top of the Draw.  After a short break, I continue onward and down the far side of this mini-pass.

Interesting...

And the Ragged Band of Crows remain on the camp side of the pass, presumably guarding their territory.

I see and hear a slight difference in these Eastern Washington Crows.  One, they are more voiced than their Western cousins.  The cawing and rattling and clicking conversations all seem louder and much more intense.  Also, wilder.  Two,  their tails do not end in a smooth and unbroken gentle arc like crows near my home.  Each crow I observe here seems to be missing a slice of tail feathers,  a more jagged feature... again wilder.

My descent on this far side of draw is short lived.  The main road forks off making a steep climb up the side of a mountain.  My ride continues...

I retrace my route back to camp and, seemingly, at the very moment I begin descent from the crest the Crows begin their escort again.  My ride down is swift and somewhat perilous so I lose track of the Ragged Band of Crows.