I see and hear crows quite often when I am walking about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Frequently there are large, noisy flocks of them moving about as a group. In my area, there are two types of similar-looking crows—the American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and the Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)—and I reluctantly admit that I have not yet learned to tell them apart.
This past Wednesday, which happened to be Valentine’s Day, I spotted a single crow all by itself atop a broken-off tree. Apparently it had not been able to get a date for the special day or perhaps, like me, it preferred spending some peaceful moments alone.
I was happy to be able to capture some details of the crow’s eye in this shot. Quite often the eye blends it with the dark feathers and looks like a black, featureless hole.
Have a wonderful weekend.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
This is a beautiful portrait. I love crows and I appreciate how successfully you have captured the details not only of the eye but also the feathers.
Thanks, Laura. Crow are surprisingly difficult to photograph–birds that are all white or all black require careful attention to the exposure to ensure that details don’t completely disappear into the highlights or shadows respectively.