Puzzle solved

Dog food puzzle, ordered to entertain two crows, Blacky and Blackette, who were regular visitors to our garden earlier this year.

We used to have regular visits from two crows, we called them Blacky and Blackette. They came almost daily for a month or so, and then disappeared.

Blackette, drinking at the water we leave out for the birds.

To entertain them while they visited, I bought a food puzzle designed for dogs, where I hid seeds, nuts and suet for them to find. Everyone knows, crows are smart! They’d eat the food in the puzzle, but also bring their own food to soak in our water bowl or to leave as gifts. Soggy bread crumbs, crisps and cat food marked their visits.

I kept the puzzle out for weeks after Blacky and Blackette disappeared, but the food wasn’t touched. Until one day, the food was gone again.

Our new crow visitor on top of the chimney near our balcony

Unlike Blacky and Blackette, our new visitor was shy, quickly flying off when he saw us peering through the windows.

The mystery solved!

Except that it wasn’t. While my daily offerings of food were being gobbled up, the water bowl remained clear. No telltale crumbs of bread. Plus we never actually saw the visitor again.

Yesterday I decided to hang out on the terrace for the afternoon to find out what was going on. This is what I saw:

Wood pigeons, I’ve learned, are smart too.