beware the coughing crow

We heeded the siren call of Krause Berry Farm on Saturday morning, happily luring our, "new to Langley" friend to join us for lunch. The corn pizza was as deliciously smokey as ever, and their milkshakes thick and fruity.
A couple of crows were loitering on the railings of the sundeck. They knew as well as any waiter, who was sitting where, and what they were eating, and were poised to strike any plate left unattended. "I think that crow is nervous, look how it's yawning," My husband pointed to a crow just a few feet away on the railing. It bobbed forward now, its mouth gaping. That crow's in trouble, I thought. Its mouth opened wider and it stuck out its slender tongue as it jerked forward. "It's choking!" Is there a Heimlich maneuver for birds, I wondered desperately, and watched in horror as that wretched, retching crow coughed up an indigestible wad. Ewwwwww, ohhhh, awwwwhhrrrgg, we all chorused in unison. We looked at each other and at our unfinished milkshakes in dismay. "I'm glad I never looked," our lucky friend gloated, keeping her eyes averted. That crow recovered much quicker than the rest of us did.