12:00a.m. 3rd November 2007

| By Alan Lander

A breeding pair of crows have built a nest on this construction crane at RCQ (formerly Reed) Construction’s KarmaSea building complex at Alexandra Headlands. Photo: Barry Leddicoat. 170158d

The good thing about being a crow is you can get a million-dollar Coast view for nothing.

Well, for a while, anyway.

The only real drawback is that one minute your home is facing north, then it suddenly swings south, or east, or west.

One particular crow couple – let’s call them Russell and Sheryl – chose to nest on a crane at RCQ (formerly Reed) Construction’s KarmaSea building complex at Alexandra Headlands in September, to hatch and raise their chicks.

The crane is in operation six days a week, so the family has ever-changing views in a safe, predator-free environment.

But they are now seeing their little family begin to stretch their wings and test their aerodynamics at the edge of the nest, in preparation for their flight to adulthood.

The timing is perfect – and the flap is on.

“Crows have an uncanny sense of how long they know they can stay,” RCQ project manager Len Coyte said.

He should know – just about every time RCQ erects a crane, Mr Coyte has to negotiate rental terms with the local avian community.

“They have a sixth sense – they can pick when the crane seems to be on the move,” he said.

“The young ones have been practising moving their wings – it’s only a matter of time before they take off.”

Just as well, because RCQ is ahead of schedule on KarmaSea, and the crane will be taken down within weeks.

But Russell and Sheryl are busy working out their flight schedules, while the crow-ettes busy themselves contemplating life beyond the, er, sticks.

Not that the parental pair are unaware of their charges – our intrepid snapper, Barry “Attenborough” Leddicoat, had them hovering a mere one metre above his head the whole time the toddlers were being digitalised for posterity.

It’s not a bad arrangement between man and bird – most of the time, anyway.

“We have only ever had to remove one family, when we had a crane up for only a short duration,” Mr Coyte said.