aaaand just now heard the crow "asshole alert" and looked out to see a coyote trotting along, hoping for handouts from the person down on the first floor who throws out bread bits twice a day. her ideal is to feed the ducks, but most of the time she feeds squirrels, crows, and coyotes... I don't think it was Scruffy; it was scruffy-looking, but not in the same way that Scruffy looks scruffy. might be a new visitor to the territory!
@emanate mostly it's experience, just having the window open and checking what's going on when they're making noise. I can make out the "hey it's me" and alarm calls, and I *think* I can tell the difference between "danger on the ground" and "danger in the sky" calls. putting out food for them regularly is a good way to keep them in the area--not too much, just like once a day, otherwise you'll be flooded with them constantly. XD