NSCAD Halifax Canada – Coroocoo –

I am now in Halifax, I gave the talk, which was a very rewarding experience, and the installation at the Anna Leonowens Gallery is up and I am pleased with it. Even better, it has extended my creative process, as exhibiting should but does not always manage. So, food for creative thought.

I have stayed in three different settings here including the NSCAD artist’s apartment in downtown Halifax near the harbour, Barbara (Lounder) and Bob (Bean)’s place in Dartmouth across the harbour, and finally with Cathy (Busby) and Garry (Kennedy) here in the North End. I have felt so welcomed, people have been most generous and supportive.

And the main birds observed – as expected crows, seagulls and pigeons. The pigeons are of course Columba livia, the seagulls are Atlantic gulls – Larus argentatus – plus others I am not so sure of – and the crows are the American crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos – a new species for me. The crows are numerous and noisy. They have a rolling ‘r’ to their call, similar to Corvus corone in the UK, and the call is a higher pitch. Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are numerous here too and sing outside Cathy and Garry’s – a huge variety of tuneful trills and whistles, a real chorus.

After my talk last Monday, a student, Carolann (Broome), told me about a crow phenomenon up near Mount Saint Mary’s University here in Halifax, where thousands (literally) of crows gather between October and April. Professor Fred Harrington met Cathy and I up there for a tour the other evening, and what an extraordinary phenomenon. I have never seen so many crows in one place – certainly safety in numbers. We are returning tonight to get an extended audio recording.