Gabi Mann was your average, ordinary eight-year-old from Seattle when she made headlines in 2015—with one exception. She had befriended the birds in her garden in an extraordinary way. Gabi became known for feeding the birds that came to her yard. Unlike most people, however, the gifts she gave were reciprocated. Gabi has a storage container filled with the “gifts” the crows have brought to her over time. She, with the help of her mother, has catalogued each gift, writing down where in the garden it was left, when it was brought, and what the item was. The birds have brought her everything from Lego pieces, to beads, to paper clips. The container is filled with individually-wrapped pieces of foam, earrings, buttons, and small pins, all from Gabi’s flying friends.
When Gabi was just four years old, in 2011, she was known for being clumsy, dropping food on her way out of the car. The birds began to gravitate to her in hopes of foods. When she started attending school, she would share bits of her school lunch with the birds as she walked to the bus stop. The birds began to learn her routine, and would wait for her bus to arrive home each day. With her mom’s help, Gabi created a bird feeder in her backyard, leaving everything from peanuts to dog food for the birds to enjoy. The gifts began to appear in her garden from time to time. Some, like a rotten crab claw, went right to the trash, while others, like a rusty screw, have remained amongst Gabi’s favorites, cataloged in her container.