Went shopping in Gisborne today, and when I returned to the car, I saw a young crow sitting on the nature strip in front of my car. It just sat there quietly, and wasn't bothered when I approached to about 1m. I was worried about the little fellow, in case he was sick or had had a run-in with a car. He was in the middle of very busy traffic! I parked the car and watched him for a bit. He stood up after a while, stretched his wings, and walked a few steps, only to sit down again. There seemed to be nothing wrong with his legs or wings. I stayed there watching him for a while, and called the wildlife line. They told me the bird was probably a fledgling who just landed in a bad spot to practice his flying! I couldn't agree more. They felt it was best just to leave it there, in case the parents were around. After watching a while longer, the little crow made it's way across the side road and onto a table on the sidewalk. There, he proceeded to eat whatever had been left on a plate, and took off with an enormous piece of bacon - what a prize! Again, he just perched himself on the nature strip and wrestled with the bacon piece. By then I figured he could look after himself, and I couldn't spend my afternoon mothering crows! I did go back later and saw him again, in the same place, narrowly missing a car. On another driveby, he was gone, I hope to a safer place!
I can't tell you how much time I could spend watching any animal, wild or domestic. :-)
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