Sonja

Thanks Betty. It was rather close on a stinking heap of lakeweeds and shells and unconcearned abot me, focussed on what it likely would call a song, however it was in the fog. I set up contrasts of the shot quite a bit, but it still lacks most detail.

Marvin, what you got are American Crows ( Corvus brachyrhynchos -- a fright to spell, I know).
It is rather similar, but for a birdwatcher keeping a life list it is nifty, that they are seperate ticks. ;o)
Generally Carrion Crow is supposed to be l bit less shiny than American Crow, but I could not even verify this in a big naturehistorical museum staring at stuffed corvid specimen of the world in the same glass box, so I guess it's either academical or the belated birds where rather dusty. The Carrion Crow in there was the bigger and stockier of the two, but of course corvide can have wide individual size differences within one species, some of our Carrion Crows in less hot habitats with lots of food get as big as Chihuahuan Raven, others are smaler.
What they are easy to to be be told from American Crow, but you can here of course not see, is the rougher voice.