Semi-colon or colon?

Question

I'm writing a descriptive piece, and can't figure out whether this is grammatically correct, or whether I ought to place a semi-colon between "entry" and "crooked": "As I walked in using the cobbled path, a squadron of pigeons nestled upon the roof observed my entry, their heads crooked towards me like a sniper’s gun is crooked on an enemy fighter." My only line of thought was that, perhaps, in the last clause, rephrasing it to "their heads *were* crooked" would make the clause independent whereas without "were", as it is presented above, the clause is dependent? Kind regards,

Answer 1

"As I walked in using the cobbled path, a squadron of pigeons nestled upon the roof observed my entry, their heads crooked towards me like a sniper’s gun is crooked on an enemy fighter."

If you were to say "their heads were crooked towards me," then yes, you would have a complete thought, and would need a semi-colon after the word "entry." As it is, you're just fine - it is, as it stands, a dependent clause.

I would recommend removing "is" in the second clause.

Happy writing!