Living in proximity to so many other species of life allows me to see them in so many ways that I never had the privilege of witnessing before. Their ‘humanity’* is so much clearer to me now than ever before. I am a life-long Animal lover and thought I have been very aware of Animals’ sentience, intelligence and emotions. That may still be true, but these past months have shown me how naive my thinking has been. And how deep and rich and thoughtful all life, all species of Animals and Plants actually are. Humans are not superior in any way and in fact may be living shallow lives thinking only about ourselves and missing so much of what the world has to offer. I believe Thich Nhat Hahn said something like “Life IS the miracle” and I am seeing that, knowing that, feeling that truth much more clearly.

Our dining table is in a sunroom that was added to the back of the kitchen. It is glass on three sides and my husband and I have eaten every meal there since we moved in. There are about two acres of grass with a few Trees behind our house surrounded by many acres of Woods on three sides. There are many other species living in those woods and we are often privy to the comings and goings of many others simply living their lives and making their livelihood. Some of them clearly know that we are here and watching them and they appear to also watch us. Others seem to be less aware of us unless we are outside or make loud noises. We also have a camera that records events we might miss and can capture events that happen overnight.

I worry sometimes that my witnessing is unethical – I would not like to be watched without my knowledge and then I wonder – how much am I really watched by my non human neighbors and what do they think of me? My watching has led me to a far greater respect and even awe at the other people who live on this land than if I didn’t witness so I think I will leave it at that.

I refer to all living beings as “people” as I believe there are human people and Dog people and Tree people and Turkey people and Butterfly people. I think this makes sense all on its own but when I consider that the U.S. legal system considers corporations to have “personhood status” and affords corporations constitutional protections but living non human beings do not have that protection. I am outraged by this discrimination.

I have also recently spent some time considering the idea of the phrase “human rights” and now find that phrase wholly inadequate to describe what is happening on earth. I believe the idea of “human rights” gets a bit of respect and understanding among the general population (though still not nearly enough) but the idea of “Animal rights” and “environmental rights” are both generally poorly understood and easily and horrifically violated all the time and these violations are protected under our legal system. I often experience that when I try to bring this concept up for discussion, my assertions are often dismissed as being naive, labeled “bleeding heart” or hopelessly impractical. Western society has somehow made the decision that everything on Earth is a “resource” for human use and exploitation and that exploitation is fully acceptable even if just for individual wealth building. In other words, humans do not simply take from the world what is essential for humans to live, we take much more in the name of economy and prosperity even to the point of causing massive suffering to other humans and the non human world. I am looking for a new phrase – perhaps “Life rights” or “Living rights” that would encompass the idea that all living beings have the right to life, liberty and even the pursuit of happiness in whatever way makes sense for them and that respects all others to the extent possible. I ask the reader to contemplate what this might imply.

There are three Crows who spend a lot of time in the back yard. I have yet to figure out the full nature of their relationship – a couple with an adult child? Three siblings? Friends? Two couples where one has been lost? I don’t know and am not sure it matters though I do find myself wondering about it.

They tend to hang out in a Tree about 100 feet behind the house.  They are so much bigger than most of the other Birds and easy to recognize.  They are very charismatic.  I have so many Crow stories to share. For example, they tend to show up a bit late in the morning, not at dawn but maybe an hour or two later.  They come in from nearby woods and I often hear them. I do not know where they actually live.  The Crows spend hours a day in the area near the house and have a specific Tree they like to hang in.  They spend a lot of time walking around on the ground acting as if they own the place – which they do.  They are the local guardians or (mostly) benevolent security forces.  They keep track of everything that is going on. They raise alarm when something out of the ordinary happens.  They will defend the area if danger is perceived.  They also have many relationships and interactions with the locals.  The locals are those who spend time here regularly and seem to be quite comfortable in the space and with each other including a large community of Wild Turkeys. I have seen more than sixty Wild Turkeys at a time. There is also  a community of Deer, around two dozen Deer although usually a group size is 3-6.  There are many species and numbers of other Birds who spend time here as well as Foxes, Gray and Black Squirrels,  Chipmunks,  Rabbits,  Raccoons, Skunks.  In additiona, there are abandoned and umhomed Cats. We don’t know if they are fully homeless or share human homes nearby.  We know there are many Mice given the holes in feed bags.  There is a  Stream that bisects the property so we assume Frogs, Toads, Snakes and Fishlive near it  -and of course many, many Insects.  We wish our Tick population was lower but everyone needs a place to thrive.

More than once, the three Crows have taken to the skies screaming and flying in circles above the open area behind the house, clearly upset.  It takes a couple of minutes for a Hawk to show themselves and the first time I saw this, to land in their Tree.  The Crows are obviously unhappy with this situation and all three of them land in the same Tree continuing to voice their objections to the Hawk’s presence.  I am not positive but think at least once, this was a Coopers Hawk of unknown gender so will refer to them as they.  The Hawk seemed unperturbed by the Crows and it was obvious that they are much larger than the Crows and this was the first time I saw the Crows as vulnerable.  The Crows courage was palpable.  They were not going to back down or give in to the potential violence the Hawk might bring.  The Crows began to swoop around the Hawk to force them out of the Tree.  I felt like I was watching a real life action film in which lives were at stake – which they were, their own and others. I really thought about what this means, that the Crows would protect their community in this way even when in the current moment they may be at risk themselves.

This realization reminds me of the open rescue in which I participated April 18, 2026 in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin.

Crows seem to understand the responsibility to act in care and defense of others. They don’t seem to talk about it all day, or plan for it in advance, they simply move into action, speak up and do what they can to assure other community members will be safe.  The idea that Crows act in defense of others makes me pause in considering the very idea of humans’ sense of superiority – human exceptionalism.  I wonder how much of our ethics and morals are actually shared by individuals of other species?    I doubt that many non human individuals would protect something as intangible as money as the police did at Ridglan Farms.  Or that other species would protect one species who is actively torturing  another, as the police also did at Ridglan Farms.  

We miss a whole lot of wisdom when we don’t see what is actually happening in front of us.  And we miss a whole lot when we assume we are the superior species.

Notes

• Second photo: One of the three Crows here, photo by Anne Mitchell 
• Third Photo: One of the Crows and the Hawk, photo by Anne Mitchell
• I am using the term here as described in the Merriam-Webster dictionary online,
  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humanity 
  :  humanity
  noun
  hu· man· i· ty hyü-ˈma-nə-tē  yü-
  plural humanities
• 1
  : compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition
  : the quality or state of being humane
• Interactions between Crows and others tend to happen very quickly and the limited photos I have are not the best quality.   Crow photos credit to Anne Mitchell.  
• *I have included the Cardinal photo as when I reached out to a photographer friend, Richard Bennett, to see if he had any great Crow photos I could use in this article, he said: “I don’t have any photos of Crows. They’re very aware when the camera comes out and haven’t been cooperative in the past.” If this isn’t evidence of  Crow sentience and intelligence, I am not sure what would be! He did offer other photos and I chose to include the male Cardinal as he appear s to me to be scanning for any possible threats in his community.