Meggie moon
Meggie was found behind a bin in Totnes High Street and rescued by three teenagers, one of who was my oldest son Taran. We immediately came to her rescue, she had hairs, sodden newspapering gum wrapped around her tiny claws and it took a fair while to gently remove them. Meggie was a very young chick so we had to administer food to her through a special veterinary syringe and when she was weaned and strong enough to fly she spent a few weeks in our outdoor aviary. When we deemed she was ready we opened the hatch and whoosh she was gone! It is both a truly sad and gleeful time when we release our corvids, you cannot help but form a bond with every one of them. Meggie chose to return to us about two months later, she began tapping on our window and we would let her fly inlet, rest and play with us and then she would leave. Then one day she began bringing other jackdaws with her and we would feed them also. Then one day I awoke to the sound of a hundred jackdaws chattering! I looked out into the garden to see them all perched upon our fence waiting for seed cake! We would feed them every day and Meggie would visit us often, she was their jackdaw Queen and they followed her every where! She are into a might fine jackdaw and soon paired up with Jack, who would also come a tapping on our window for food. I was sad to leave Meggie and her jackdaw clan behind when we moved back to Cornwall, and on returning back to Totnes some time later I found out from my neighbour that the day we left not one jackdaw returned afterwards, they knew! Meggie remains deeply embedded in our hearts, she was such a feisty and loving character, and where ere she be now, I know for sure she will be the bird in charge!
Darn Lucky
I remember the day my familiar, Darn Lucky was brought to us, it was the eve of the Summer Solstice. A friend named Carla who lives in South Devon rescued him from a nearby park with two other siblings. Lucky had a broken foot and soon developed a virulent infection and his two siblings alas passed away. Carla tried asking so many people for help, the vets she approached said his infection was too advanced and that he wouldn't survive, and the crow rescuers she asked agreed with the vets decision, no-one would help her try to save his life. Carla finally asked us, and after viewing the photo of his foot I wasn't sure to be honest that he would survive, but both me and my husband agreed we would at least try to help him. I cancelled my plans for the Solstice and booked Lucky in with our vets in Penzance and the following morning we drove him there and collected anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories and pain relief. The moment I held this little bird in the palm of my hand I felt an immediate bond, a bond that has strengthened daily ever since. Our vet warned us that if his foot didn't fall off within ten days he wouldn't survive so for ten days we administered his meds alongside lots of tlc and magic. It was a tough ten days, we were both on tender hooks, he was so little and fragile but he had a good appetite, and somewhere deep in my heart I knew he would survive, and he did! He has been my constant companion ever since, he loves hopping around and busying himself and really enjoys us taking him to the beach and the woods. He has wing damage so cannot fly at all and I carry him when we venture out and about in nature. They say a witch should have a familiar, well Ive finally been reunited with mine! I reckon we have been together in many lives and I'm the Darn Lucky one to have found him again in this one.
LOKI THE ROOK
Loki was brought to us by a woman from Devon when we moved back to Cornwall. She had been knocked over by a car and after a trip to the vets and much tlc, meds and a tad of magic she miraculously survived. Loki lived both indoors and outdoors and was interested in everything that was going on. Rooks are very sociable birds and during her times in the outdoor aviary our garden would be filled with rooks who were flying down to see her. Loki had wing damage and couldn't fly high so she really appreciated her rook clan coming to visit her each day. She became a surrogate mama to Darn Lucky when he first arrived and would help to feed him and teach him. Alas Loki developed a brain tumour probably due to the impact from the car that initially hit her, and very sadly she passed away, we were all with her right up to her last moments and she died very peacefully. Loki was a pure joy to be around and I miss her very much, she remains deeply embedded in our hearts.
Narnia and Caspian the ravens
Narnia and Caspian now live with us permanently, although Caspian can fly Narnia cannot. They were given over to us by a sanctuary in Berkshire and Narnia's story is incredible. As a young bird she was shot by a farmer and managed to drag herself to a nearby house for help. After contacting the sanctuary funds were raised to try and save her life. She underwent four operations and contracted severe infections but miraculously survived it all! Narnia is a magnificent bird and we have adapted our outdoor aviary so she can hop around outside and have easy access to her indoor house. We knew it would take a long while for her to trust us due to the intense trauma she endured but we have all the patience in the world and now after a few years of love, care and understanding she is finally hopping out of her aviary and joining us in the garden. She is still very afraid of other people and will retreat into her safe house when anyone visits but when we are on our own she happily plays around us. It just shows that real love, care and support can help heal even the deepest of wounds. We were told that Caspian may have suffered slight brain injury from having meningitis, but as he could fly well we wanted to give him the opportunity to fly wild if we deemed he would be safe enough to do so, and we will need to be absolutely sure before ever attempt releasing him back into the wild, watch this space folks!
Odin the raven
Odin's story is one of loss, depression and love. We were initially asked to visit a wild bird sanctuary in Devon as bird whisperers as they had been given a raven and he was showing signs of depression and anxiety. I remember standing with the owner and watching the very first interactions between Odin and my husband, they immediately bonded with one another. It was amazing to watch, prior to meeting my husband Odin had shown no interest in any of the toys scattered around his coop, he was very stressed when ever anyone entered his safe house and would peck at them, and here he was playing catch the tennis ball with my husband after only five minutes together, twas remarkable! After several months of visiting Odin, Karen, the owner decided it was in the birds best interest to come and live with us. We built him a sturdy aviary and Odin lived happily with us for five years and even though he could fly he chose to remain with us. That is until we moved back to Cornwall and real some raven magic occurred. One morning I awoke to some pretty primal sounds coming from our back garden and I spied a female raven conducting a courtship dance on top of Odin's aviary, whilst her male consort sat watching and croaking in our oak tree. I was always told that ravens mate for life but Odin has now proved this to be an untruth. At first Odin wasn't interested and then this persistent female began courting him daily and simply wouldn't give up! I remember the day Odin decided that he wanted to fly off with her, we were both joyful and very sad indeed but we always put the bird's welfare first and this would be a fantastic chance for Odin to learn the ways of the wild and possibly mate with her. So my husband beckoned him out of the aviary and for an hour he perched upon his arm, preening his eyebrows as he liked to do and then whoosh, he was gone! We observed the female and two males fly off together and for a month we saw them fly over our house at dusk and at dawn. Then one morning we spied the other male in our oak tree and we knew Odin had won her heart! Now Odin and his raven love fly over twice a day, Odin circles our house and croaks continuously to let us know he is okay and he is wild and free, how amazing is this! So we have proved that a female can choose another partner if she wants to and that ravens don't necessarily mate for life. We are so happy for him and we can tell how happy he is by his continuous daily croaking. As for the other male no doubt he would either have searched for a new partner or joined a posse of single males, as is the way of the wild, so dont worry! We have now located Odin's nesting tree so are regularly visiting with treats for him and his family, what a raven love story this be! I do love a happy ending!
Pica the magpie
Pica was brought to us as a new born and she was such a playful bird, she immediately bonded with me and loved sitting on the top of my head. She had an incredible appetite and her favourite treats were definitely wax worms! Pica had no injuries and as soon as she was strong enough we opened the hatch and off she flew. She returned several times to visit us, but we had swallows nesting under our eaves, and on her last visit they all ganged up like fighter pilots and drove her away to protect their newly hatched fledglings. Some time later I met a woman in my village who told me a story of a magpie that one day swooped down into her garden and landed on her husbands head, it was Pica! Knowing she was thriving in the wild and hearing this update brought great joy to my heart.
Floki Maloki
Floki was brought to us as a very young fledgling and we had no idea that she would choose to stay with us as she was able to fly. Floki immediately showed an interest in my familiar Darn Lucky and for a year and a half she remained with us and fully bonded with Lucky, he really lives up to his name! During my recovery Floki began to mimic my laughter, and hearing her cackling really helped me to laugh through my pain, I was still very confused back then and both her and Darn Lucky were my constant companions and helped me to keep that precious spark of hope that one day I would walk and talk again alight, hope is a such powerful and healing magic. Floki chose to leave us when Darn Lucky decided he wished to be single again and I was so sad to say goodbye to her. She often flies over our house, her caws are very distinctive and I hope that one day soon she will visit us, although I dont think Lucky will enjoy that. I thought he would be heart broken when she left, but no I was wrong, he loved having his space back and being my number one crow, it seems that even crow love has its limits!
During my recovery Floki and Darn Lucky were my constant companions, they both helped me laugh through my pain, I may not have written my book if it wasn't for the love and support I had from my family, close friends and feathered friends x
The four amigos
The vets in Penzance phoned us and asked us if we had room for three jackdaws and a crow and of course we said yes! They stayed with us for about eight weeks and when they were ready to leave we opened the hatch, I managed to film the moment they all flew free, the jackdaws didn't fly far mind, they have now made their nests on our roof and visit our bird table every day. Howard the crow hung around with them for a while and then flew off to find his own clan. I love waking up to their excited chattering! Jackdaws are really good at adapting to habitats where people congregate, they are fearless! I love these three amigos, actually there are four now and we are hoping next year to see their chicks sunbathing on our roof and visiting our bird table.
Darn Lucky loves a trip to the local beach, he likes foraging for shells and pebbles and dropping them into rock pools.
These are just some of the many birds we have rescued over the years, and having lived and interacted with so many corvids I now fully understand their ways. Corvids are extremely intelligent birds and deserve much more respect than most people give them, and they are certainly not a symbol of evil, that is absolute poppycock! Like witches they too have been demonised and have had so many lies and untruths told about them. We are all a part of the cycle of Life and we are all equals in the eyes of the One Consciousness. I am proud to be a crow witch and to have so many corvid friends, I have learnt so much from our daily interactions with them all, and I for one would now like to see a turning of the tides and the absolute reverence brought back to our corvid friends. Blessed Bee to this!
Me and my crow poppet Morwen at The Dark Gathering, Boscastle, All Hallows
