Ravens

Raven coming in for a landing

This week I am seeing the local Ravens quite often. They seem to be everywhere and are very vocal.  I know that they are already nesting and done with their mating flight, which takes place early in the new year.  So I do expect to see them around a lot. However, for me to see one of them more than just several times a day is unusual.  It doesn't seem to matter whether I'm at work or in my own neighborhood, they seem to be always around lately.




They are even with me on bird watch, usually when I begin or when I am about to head home.  Today was no exception.  However, today the Raven was behaving rather oddly.  It circled above my head three or four times, calling out the whole time as if he was trying to tell me something.

Striving upwards

I was thinking maybe it was a territorial display.  But why would the Raven be concerned with my presence in this little forest, especially since  I know that they have their nest elsewhere and I didn't see anything more threatening than chickadees.  The last time I saw a Raven this upset, there was a  Golden Eagle riding  the thermals above. 






It's too early in the year for the Raven's to be concerned with other predatory birds, besides Merlin's and Prairie hawks.  I hadn't seen either once of these species in several days and they are not a threat  to  Ravens in any case. 

Raven in song

But then my brother went for a walk later in the day, and just mentioned in passing when he got back that he had just seen a large Snowy Owl.  Perhaps the Snowy was perched somewhere in the vicinity of the patch of forest I was visiting.  Now I  wish I would have done  more exploring  than I did after noticing the Raven's odd behavior.  I would have loved to see that Owl.  But then I'm jumping  to conclusions here.  I really don't know what that Raven was so out of sorts about, and I'm connecting two events that may have no connection whatsoever.

Raven above my head

Enjoy,
Guni

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