Every time I see ravens they tell me at least one more new and amazing thing about themselves.

On our most recent trip up to the local mountain, I learned TWO new new things!

1. How To Attract A Raven’s Attention

This was my most dramatic discovery.

(For those days when my amateur raven calling doesn’t do the trick.)

I can’t really recommend this method, as I’m still recovering from it several days later.

It involves slipping on the ice, becoming momentarily airborne and landing in a heap, belongings haphazardly strewn around you.

I was in the air long enough to make the photographer’s eternal plea to the universe, “Please don’t let the camera break!”

Having landed (ouch) and ascertained that the camera was still in my hands and in one piece, the next thing I noticed was a raven standing over me.

I’d like to think that the raven was concerned but, more likely, was on the look out for snack opportunities.

I’m not sure I looked sufficiently injured to be potential carrion — but my scattered belonging probably looked somewhat promising.

Anyway, what better way to test the mechanics of the camera than to snap a few photos from my prone position?

We were still in the parking lot when I fell, and Phillip was at the far side, looking at the cloudy sunrise. By the time he noticed I was down, I was snapping pictures, so he thought I might just be after some new dramatic angle. He is used to some odd behaviour.

Meanwhile: what’s better than a raven? Two ravens, obviously.

The first raven’s mate flew in to help monitor the situation.

They must have quickly assessed the boring nature of the dropped items — mitts, woollen hat, the spikes that I SHOULD have been wearing on my feet — and, no longer interested in the dull human drama, started having a little domestic chat.

So, next thing you know, I’m filming crows from my new “downward photographer” pose.

And we weren’t even out of the parking lot yet! Luckily I was relatively unscathed and we went on to have a lovely walk, with snow (at last!) and a bit of sun, lots of clouds, and more ravens.

Here’s an abridged version of the day …

We saw wind-and-snow-sculpted trees, Steller’s jays, and lots more ravens — so (apart from the ice fall) — a perfect day.

2. A Raven Can Sound Like A Pinball Wizard

This was the second new thing I learned on this particular trip. It happened right at the end of the day as snow had started to fall and we were loading Geordie back in car to head home.

I think this was one of the ravens from the morning and he or she came to see us off. We were right on the road, so there’s a bit of traffic noise, but you can still hear this strange call; a new one for me — a combination of beak snapping and video arcade-type sounds.

A pinball wizard in a blizzard!

Every encounter with a raven or ravens is a voyage of discovery!

You may also enjoy:

• Ravenspeak (Nov 2023)
• Tell Crows and Ravens Apart (Oct 2023)
• When the Rave Knocks (Feb 2023)
• Raven Romance (Feb 2023)
• Learning to Speak Raven (March 2018)
• Raven Tutor (March 2018)

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Seeing a raven right in my very own urban back alleyway is always a thrill, and we had a couple of such visits over the holidays.

It’s also a great chance to observe crows and ravens together.

Crows rarely, if ever, venture into the mountain territory of the ravens — but ravens are pretty regular visitors to, and even inhabitants of, the crows’ home turf in the city.

I’m usually alerted to the presence of a raven in the ‘hood by the frenzied response of the local crows. Ravens are on the long and varied crow  “naughty list.”

Any creature that will harm to crows, crow fledglings or crows’ nests earns a spot in this well-maintained catalogue and will, generally, be dive-bombed on sight.

Eagles, hawks, owls, free-roaming cats, raccoons, coyotes, certain people and even their own relatives, the ravens, are on the crow “List of Infamy.”

Below is a typical scene with crows coming together to enthusiastically mob a visiting raven.

But crows are mysterious beings. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they chuck another behavioural curve ball.

The most recent raven visits were protested by crows — but minimally.

Norman and Nancy were understandably upset because this raven was, not only in their territory but, on the first visit, also taking the liberty of using their last year’s nest  as a dining platform.

You can hear Norman and Nancy in the background, making their feelings known.

Marvin, Mavis and Lucky — their nearest crow neighbours — watched the raven visit without any visible interest and certainly no moves to assist with the mobbing behaviour.

I wondered if they were engaging in a spot of crow schadenfreude, since Norman and Nancy have taken over part of their territory, including that tree,  in the last few months.

It wasn’t just Marvin and Mavis ignoring the situation.  Not one crow from the wider area came to assist with the raven-removal project, which I thought was quite odd. So it was just two irate crows vs one relatively unconcerned raven going about his/her business.

On the next visit, the raven chose this rather precarious top branch of a nearby tree. Again, Norman and Nancy protested alone.

This time, it occurred to me that the raven’s mate was probably around somewhere too, so I scanned as much of the neighbourhood as I could from the top floor of our house. The cross on top of the local church is a favoured perch for ravens and eagles, being the highest object on the highest ground, so I looked there first and …

The distance between the church raven and the treetop raven is, according to Google Maps, just under half a kilometre. That seems quite a distance, but only a couple of wing flaps for a raven. There were no crows bothering the church raven either.

In their own time both ravens took off and disappeared together into the distance.

Norman and Nancy did do some performative pursuing of the raven who’d been in “their” tree which, if nothing else, offered a good opportunity for crow/raven size comparison and flying symmetry.

I’m not sure why the crows have been so relaxed about the ravens lately. I HAVE seen big crow protest committees flying off together but it seems that their number one concern at the moment is the bald eagles’ nest — which I can also see in the distance from the top of our house.

I always hope that at least one pair of ravens might manage to fit themselves into the ecology of our neighbourhood, so I’m secretly hoping that the crows might give them a break long enough to get established.

Norman and Nancy, I think it’s safe to say, do not share my dreams.

P.S. See what happened almost a year ago when an eagle, a bunch of crows and a raven came together  for a few dramatic moments … Crow Vs Eagle Vs Raven

You might also enjoy:

• Telling Crows and Ravens Apart

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