I Heard a Raven

It's not that unusual around here because we have a number of Western ravens (Corvus coronoides perplexus) living in the area. They nest in the big trees in the park behind us and in the taller garden trees and while I tried to find a photo most of those I found were of the Easten raven which, although similar, is not the exactly the same. You can see the only photos I could find here. Sadly they're not available under a Creative Commons licence so I can't use them and the local birds are not obliging enough to let me take a photo. While they are handsome birds, ravens tend to be unpopular because of the mess they make as they haunt places like shopping centre car parks and school yards and anywhere really where people congregate so they can raid bins and pick up scraps. Their loud, harsh calls don't endear them either.

Personally, although I don't like them attacking the small denizens of my garden - they are largely carnivorous - I do admire them for their intelligence. They come into the garden to drink and bathe in the birdbath and to dunk and sometimes leave to soak hard crusts and other such things they steal from rubbish bins. I could do without the soaking because the birdbath turns to a messy sludge which has to be emptied and cleaned frequently but you have to admit it's clever. People also dislike their bin raiding. If someone is foolish enough to overfill their bin and leave even a tiny gap the ravens will flip it open to scavenge and they are messy creatures. Because of this we find bones they've collected scattered around the garden from time to time along with all sorts of scraps they drop when finished with. 

My little dog hated them. They would sit on top of the internal fences and stare at her until she could stand it no longer and had to rush at them determined to get them out of her space. Knowing they were out of reach they would just gaze at her as she barked frantically. Then they would flap lazily onto the clothesline and stare some more. They are large birds and can be quite intimidating so I didn't blame her for her dislike. 

But back to the raven that started me on this track. What was unusual was that it was on the paving outside the family room door, calling loudly, not something that often happens as they usually keep their distance, preferring to look down on from a height. I looked but it was raining and I couldn't see much. Then I noticed it was pulling apart a handful of coir lining from a hanging basket that had fallen down in the gales we had just had and that with the rain, which had been pretty continuous since, I hadn't been able to clean up . Interesting, I thought. Then off it went with some coir in its beak leaving bunches of fibre all over the paving. Next thing I knew it was back with its mate - ravens usually pair for life so I can be pretty sure they were a couple - who inspected the area and what he was collecting presumably to give her approval for it as a nest lining before leaving him to his gathering. By the time the rain stopped and I could go outside he had been back multiple times, leaving nothing for me to clean up.

Someone commented on a blog I follow that the raven's call is like a small child's cry. I can't say I agree with that. I hear it more as loud and raucous although they do sometimes murmur quietly to one another. Listen here and see what you think.