Young Faith said:
Do you think this can be some kind of positive/negative sign or am I just overthinking about this too?
I took a big chunk of my free time to write and review this reply for you, so please excuse the rambling involved.
In the middle of winter, on a very cold and cloudy afternoon, I had been waiting for a bus to come pick me up so that I could go to my community college and attend classes. I'd typically see a flock of starlings and sometimes 4 to 5 crows orbit the bus stop in the area. There was light traffic on the main road that day.
While I was waiting, a crow happened to be limping nearby and had difficulty taking flight, somehow it injured both its foot and wing earlier. It wanted to cross the road, so it waited for the traffic to slow down/cease then it proceeded to limp across to the other side of the road.
Unfortunately, a convoy of vehicles showed up just as it began to cross. They ONLY stopped when another crow gently hovered down, cawing as it fluttered from above. It wasn't hard to guess what the other crow was saying based on this exact context. Something like "You'll get run over!" and/or "Do you need help!?", clearly this crow was concerned about the other.
I was thankful that the closest vehicle stopped, they could have just as easily ignored the problem and hit both birds, but some people do have empathy. This situation convinced me that some or most crows are very aware of the dangers of the road. The limping crow managed to cross safely and the other crow stayed with it to guard it.
Now, if I see a large enough bird that's flying slowly across me on the road, I will typically take it as a sign of alertness. I told this to my mother one day and not too soon during the week she had such an occurrence, she took the sign/superstition seriously and began to drive a little slower and her alertness rose at that moment. It turns out there was another vehicle at the oncoming intersection that had loose breaks and it would have hit her.
With smaller birds and rodents it tends to be a different story, I don't exactly understand what goes through their head but sometimes a small bird will just quickly fly past at car height either to try to scare a potential predator (you, the oncoming vehicle) or because it doesn't perceive you as a threat (it thinks it wont get hit regardless). I treat animals as I would any other pedestrian. If there's a line of little ducks crossing the road, i am stopping and waiting.
Do crows ALWAYS fly slowly at low heights in front of vehicles? I do not think so, the story above was an exception, the superstition below it is something I personally believe. Is it unusual for the little birds to fly past you quickly when driving? I don't think its so unusual so you may be overthinking it on that front, see?
Here's a few more of my personal anecdotes to illustrate what i mean :
- I once had a thought "Are animals capable of showing thanks?" literally answered by a Lark who landed directly in front of me and stayed there until i noticed it (my eyes were closed while thinking about the question). I had buried one of its siblings the week before (this is a bird that I almost never see in the region).
- I've been warned about dangerous oncoming weather by a red crested robin (it came to me, specifically).
- I've had a praying mantis dance around me for a few minutes while i was sitting in a parking lot at 10pm while waiting for a pickup home.
- I've had a spider come down from the ceiling one day and weave a web around my hands.
- When I dedicated, another spider was sent my way to display a sign of acceptance.
Just think carefully about the context, timing, regularity, your knowledge and your relationship to the potential sign. These questions will help you dictate on its validity. Drive safely regardless.