I have a love/hate relationship with our ravens. I love their personalities but hate that they raid other bird nests. Sometimes nature is so cruel. Give them a little food and they will be around forever!
You don't have raven poo all over everywhere? We have them in our back yard & they mess the place up & chase other birds out & invite their whole extended families to share the largess & they drive me batty! You are obviously a lot more hospitable than I am. JCC, Lucy, Alan, & George put me to shame!
I would love to be selected by ravens. Here in NC, we only see them when hiking in the mountains, or on their migrations. I'm envious, as they are by birth totem animals.
The horse ranch where I board my horses (up in our local San Jacinto mountains) has a family of ravens. They used to have a nest in the oak tree by the house, but an owl moved in and they moved it this year. Then a hawk chased off the owl...sigh...anyway they moved their nest. It is fun to watch the young ones learn to fly. Yes, they are VERY noisy! They eat the dead mice that the ranch owner "removes" from her aviary!
I love ravens. They are so smart and beautiful and graceful and fun and playful and naughty at times. When I come back, I want to be a raven. They look like they are having so much fun when they are flying and their feathers are so dark and iredescent. Did you know know you can teach ravens to talk? Pretty soon your ravens will start sounding like donkeys and chickens. I knew one raven that used to say "Whatcha doin'" and "Did you have a bath?". One other raven started sounding like a horse and would say "Hi" when the caregivers at the rehab unit would go out to clean up his cage and to feed him. He even starting sounding like a Harris's Hawk that liked to warn us of all vehicles entering the premises and any people walking around. Wait, that was almost all the time! : ) We would play catch, although it was more a case of me tossing a grape or other piece of food for him to catch and then him setting it down and waiting for me to toss him another piece of food. When I had had tossed all the food I had, he would get mad and ignore me. He used to like to hide his food, too. Did I mention how much I like ravens? Linda D
Three of them now?! I remember when I waved at the one after he flew on the telephone pole and he squawked at me...I still think it means something, them being there.
Cool! You are so hospitable! I wonder if there is a big difference between ravens and crows? The crows here are HUGE and sometimes attack people, so I am scared of them!!
After my Grandmother started dealing with dementia, she decided to start feeding the crows that visited her house in Albuquerque's South Valley. She was a small woman who was frail in her later years. She would buy a 40lb bag of dog food and have the store clerk put it in her car trunk where she would leave it. Each morning at dawn, she would get up and take a sauce pan out to the car trunk where she would fill it with kibble. The kibble would then be scattered on the ground for the crows to eat. It started with just a few crows. Before the end, it was hundreds. They would blacken the trees and start screaming for her before the sun was up. Once she scattered the kibble, black clouds would descend from the trees and you could hear them chattering as they ate. When the food was gone for the morning, they would scatter and the cycle would repeat the next day. The neighbors were not pleased. Mom put an end to it when Grandma couldn't get out to the car on her own.
I love ravens and crows! Nicely composed, Linda :)
ReplyDeleteI love to watch them hover over the landscape. They flow with the wind looking for tidbits on the ground. Wish I had eyes like these guys.
ReplyDeleteAdult Ravens are usually in pairs. If they hang around, they will clear out the snake populations. They also steal, that which they fancy.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if they might not be good watch-birds. Aunt Jean
DeleteI have a love/hate relationship with our ravens. I love their personalities but hate that they raid other bird nests. Sometimes nature is so cruel. Give them a little food and they will be around forever!
ReplyDeleteI guess you need to give them their own water supply. I can't believe they don't steal eggs.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have raven poo all over everywhere? We have them in our back yard & they mess the place up & chase other birds out & invite their whole extended families to share the largess & they drive me batty! You are obviously a lot more hospitable than I am. JCC, Lucy, Alan, & George put me to shame!
ReplyDeleteToo bad the pigeon didn't come back. Do these make a real shrill sound that sounds like you're in a horror movie?
ReplyDeleteWhen asked if they would look anywhere else to live? Thus sayeth the Raven, Nevermore! (Sorry.... Couldn't resist)
ReplyDeleteI would love to be selected by ravens. Here in NC, we only see them when hiking in the mountains, or on their migrations. I'm envious, as they are by birth totem animals.
ReplyDeleteEmily in NC
well, good for the snakes! and I guess they wont dive into the cholla
ReplyDeleteThe horse ranch where I board my horses (up in our local San Jacinto mountains) has a family of ravens. They used to have a nest in the oak tree by the house, but an owl moved in and they moved it this year. Then a hawk chased off the owl...sigh...anyway they moved their nest. It is fun to watch the young ones learn to fly. Yes, they are VERY noisy! They eat the dead mice that the ranch owner "removes" from her aviary!
ReplyDeleteI love ravens. They are so smart and beautiful and graceful and fun and playful and naughty at times. When I come back, I want to be a raven. They look like they are having so much fun when they are flying and their feathers are so dark and iredescent. Did you know know you can teach ravens to talk? Pretty soon your ravens will start sounding like donkeys and chickens. I knew one raven that used to say "Whatcha doin'" and "Did you have a bath?". One other raven started sounding like a horse and would say "Hi" when the caregivers at the rehab unit would go out to clean up his cage and to feed him. He even starting sounding like a Harris's Hawk that liked to warn us of all vehicles entering the premises and any people walking around. Wait, that was almost all the time! : ) We would play catch, although it was more a case of me tossing a grape or other piece of food for him to catch and then him setting it down and waiting for me to toss him another piece of food. When I had had tossed all the food I had, he would get mad and ignore me. He used to like to hide his food, too. Did I mention how much I like ravens?
ReplyDeleteLinda D
Three of them now?! I remember when I waved at the one after he flew on the telephone pole and he squawked at me...I still think it means something, them being there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ethel. Ravens, if they favor your property are good luck in pairs. Hurray for you 7MSN.
ReplyDeleteCool! You are so hospitable!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is a big difference between ravens and crows? The crows here are HUGE and sometimes attack people, so I am scared of them!!
I love ravens! In fact, I have three in my backyard as I sit here typing this! So smart, they are. I love there 'voices'.
ReplyDeleteAfter my Grandmother started dealing with dementia, she decided to start feeding the crows that visited her house in Albuquerque's South Valley. She was a small woman who was frail in her later years. She would buy a 40lb bag of dog food and have the store clerk put it in her car trunk where she would leave it. Each morning at dawn, she would get up and take a sauce pan out to the car trunk where she would fill it with kibble. The kibble would then be scattered on the ground for the crows to eat. It started with just a few crows. Before the end, it was hundreds. They would blacken the trees and start screaming for her before the sun was up. Once she scattered the kibble, black clouds would descend from the trees and you could hear them chattering as they ate. When the food was gone for the morning, they would scatter and the cycle would repeat the next day. The neighbors were not pleased. Mom put an end to it when Grandma couldn't get out to the car on her own.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's their habit to watch out for snakes.
ReplyDelete