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Balancing on top of a spinning log in water? That's how these crows roll

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BARRINGTON, N.S. -

Seven-time world log rolling champion Darren Hudson loves the outdoors.

You'll often find him training or teaching at Wild Axe Lumberjack AXEperience, his lumberjack theme park in Barrington, N.S., and the world champion lumberjack has taught many people to 'log roll.'

Now, he can add crows to that list.

"Never in my imagination did I think something like this would happen to me," Hudson said.

Hudson works in dangerous tree removal and about two weeks ago, when a tree came tumbling down, he noticed a nest of crows. 

"I was hoping the mom or dad would show up and they didn't," Hudson said. "I was actually working that job site for two days, and I just took them under my wing."

He's been integrating 'River' and 'Vic' into the wild ever since. The pair likes to hang out at Wild Axe where they took to log rolling.

"Birds have incredible balance and these guys already like to go for rides on my hand, so I just took it from my hand, set it onto the log, and sure enough I gave it a spin and they stayed right on top," Hudson said. "Incredible to watch."

Family and friends enjoy coming out to see the birds roll, too.

Hudson's mother comes from a long line of log rollers on the Barrington River, but she's never seen anything like this before.

"I just thought, 'He's at it again,'" said Patty Hudson. "Yes, we're never surprised with what Darren is going to be coming up with next. But crows, I didn't envision."

Darren expects the crows will likely fly away any day now, but until then, this is how they roll.

"I hope that in passing on the tree tops and flying around -- and one day, if I could be out paddling in my canoe and they land on my gunnels and say 'hello,'" Hudson said. "That would be incredible, an incredible moment in life to share together, but they're wild and free, and that's the way they're meant to be."

And, if the old counting crows superstition has any truth to it, these two crows have certainly brought a lot of joy to Darren's life.

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