A week or so
passed before I ventured far enough down-slope to see the spot where a family
was started.
The flat
rock, protected from weather by a rock/earth overhang, had been used not too
many years previous by a nesting pair of Common Ravens. A collection of sturdy,
weathered sticks – likely pulled from snags and live trees – marked the nesting
site. I photographed it at least a dozen times, but those pix were taken with
slide film and I just can’t fathom the notion of loading tray after tray of slides
onto my aged projector to find the Raven nest pix. (The slides are priceless as
slide film and slide projectors aren’t freely available anymore.)
Ravens,
known by the scientific name Corvus corax,
haven’t nested now for at least two decades on that ledge that’s part of the
Council Cup promontory overlooking the Susquehanna River valley. But Peregrine
Falcons returned as nesters a few years into the new century, a sign that a bit
of avian wildness had returned to the river valley.
Ravens,
though, remain a favorite of mine because even to hear one croak as it flies
over, oftentimes too distant to see with naked eyes, is a positive sign of Wild
Nature.
The Cornell
Lab of Ornithology’s allaboutbirds.org Web site says this about the calls of
ravens: “Common Ravens make many different kinds of calls varying from a low,
gurgling croak to harsh grating sounds and shrill alarm calls. Scientists have
placed their vocalizations into as many as 33 different categories based on
sound and context.
“The most
commonly heard is the classic gurgling croak, rising in pitch and seeming to
come from the back of the throat. It’s much deeper and more musical than a
crow’s simple, scratchy caw. Ravens make this call often. It’s audible for more
than a mile, and ravens often give it in response to other ravens they hear in
the distance. Among their other calls, ravens make short, repeated, shrill
calls when chasing predators or trespassers, and deep, rasping calls when their
nests are disturbed.
“Dominant
females sometimes make a rapid series of 12 or so loud knocking sounds that
lasts about a second. Common Ravens can mimic other birds, and when raised in
captivity can even be taught words.”
You can
listen to the classic cr-r-ruck call and other sounds ravens make at www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/sounds
In
Pennsylvania, ravens like forested mountainous areas. Many times, though, while
observing and tallying birds for the Southern Bradford County Christmas Bird
Count, ravens voiced their thoughts, their rasping notes carrying for long
distances across the otherwise quiet early-winter landscape. But the species
sometimes shows up in spots closer to humans. On overnight visits to a friend’s
home at Boalsburg, Centre County, it was commonplace to both see and hear
ravens nearby.
How do tell a raven apart from
the more common American Crow? The principle field mark is size: Ravens are
much larger. Allaboutbirds.org offers these clues: “Not just large but massive,
with a thick neck, shaggy throat feathers, and a Bowie knife of a beak. In
flight, ravens have long, wedge-shaped tails. They're more slender than crows,
with longer, narrower wings, and longer, thinner ‘fingers’ at the wingtips.
“Common Ravens are entirely black,
right down to the legs, eyes, and beak. Common Ravens aren’t as social as
crows; you tend to see them alone or in pairs except at food sources like
landfills. Ravens are confident, inquisitive birds that strut around or
occasionally bound forward with light, two-footed hops. In flight they are
buoyant and graceful, interspersing soaring, gliding, and slow flaps.”
A raven that was rehabilitated from an
injury is now among the educators at The Wild Center, the natural history
museum of the Adirondacks, Tupper Lake, N.Y.
Nieces and I watched studiously as a
museum docent – raven perched on his gloved hand – told museum visitors the
bird’s life history. For me, it sparked memories of “Ravens in Winter” author
Bernd Heinrich’s visit to Penn State Hazleton for an early 90s’ public lecture.
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