Last Sunday morning one of the adult Ravens in the Arboretum was calling loudly and circling the nest tree in Rhododendron Glen. I had been away for a few days, so I was curious whether their young had left the nest.
Earlier in the week, while at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, I encountered a different Raven family. On Wednesday morning, as soon as I stepped outside, I heard the adults. This adult had a covert missing from its left wing. The blue sky peaking through, reinforced the idea that this was a hardworking adult and inspired me to believe I might be able to identify this particular bird if I saw it again.
I followed the Raven and the sounds that it made into the nearby forest. Soon, I started hearing softer sounds mixed in between the adult's calls.
In this video, the young bird is making a grunting sound. My best guess is, that this might be an example of some of the "Vocal Play" of young Ravens as described by Birds of the World (BOTW). At the end of the video clip, you can also hear the standard "grawk" of the adult.
BOTW mentions that there are 15 to 33 categories of vocalizations among Common Ravens. It goes on to say, "The variance in number of categories is indicative of the complexity of vocalizations." I suspect their variety of vocalizations correlates strongly with the breadth and depth of their intelligence.
After a while, I found a second young Raven. In addition to their sounds, another indication of their youth was the pink color of their gapes i.e. the inner hinge of their bills. I suspect the downy feathers that appear to be falling off the left Raven's chest are also a sign of youth.
These young were out of the nest and occasionally flying about. Although, they never seemed to fly very far and they were consistently in a rather small area. I began to think of this acre of forest as a nursery for the young birds. Notice the brown feathering on the body of the young bird.
On Friday morning, while still at Fort Worden, I saw one of the adults with an apparent food delivery. It headed directly toward the nursery. A very irate Crow was chasing, diving, calling and harassing the Raven. I was not quick enough to document the process with a photo, but the intensity of the Crow's ire convinced me that the Raven had raided the Crow's nest.
Afterwards, I found the two young Ravens sitting side by side while preening and grooming themselves.
Occasionally, they would jump to a nearby branch.
Then turn and nip at each other. Notice how the inner mouth of this first-year bird is reddish pink on the inside. I believe this helps make a great target for the parents during food delivery.
These sounds reminded me of the babbling of human babies when they are fed, rested, and happy. The murmuring seemed to fit with the "Comfort Sounds" mentioned in Birds of the World. Which are described as, "A variety of soft quiet calls given by nestlings after they have been fed, and in pairs when they are next to each other, especially during allopreening." Allopreening is when a bird straightens or cleans the feathers of another.
As close, attentive, and communicative as these young Ravens were with each other, it would not have surprised me to see them allopreening.
In this photo, the sunlight happened to catch the closer bird at a good angle. It makes it easy to see the dark brown nestling feathers which are softer and older, compared to the newer black flight feathers, which are folded on the back. Soft downy feathers are good for warmth especially when a bird is young and sitting in a nest all day. However, once they are large enough to fly they need more durable and aerodynamic feathering.
Not only are black feathers optimal for hiding among the shadows in the forest, they also contain more melanin than lighter colors. The melanin is what strengthens the feathers and makes them durable. Nonetheless feathers wear and must be replaced. Did you notice the worn tail feathers on the Raven from the Arboretum in the first photo of this post?
It was hard to stop watching the young Ravens when it came time to leave Fort Worden.
It makes sense to me that the young Ravens in the Arboretum have not yet left the nest. Earlier this year, I watched the adults work on this new nest site, then leave it and work on a another site further to the north, later still, they left that site returned to this one in Rhododendron Glen.
I suspect their indecision pushed back their egg-laying which may explain why their young are not as advanced as the ones at Fort Worden. The good news is we should still have the opportunity to watch their young when they branch out and begin practicing their wingbeats before they fledge.
On Monday, I had another encounter with the Ravens in Rhododendron Glen. Just as I arrived, an adult with food in its mouth came flying through the Glen. It was moving at high speed, only 20 or 30 feet off the ground. Immediately behind it was a smaller Raven. The small one was "grawking" loudly, but it sounded strained and higher pitched than normal. The two birds circled in the area around the nest tree and they occasionally landed, but only briefly at each spot. It seemed the larger bird was trying to escape from the smaller one. All the while, I was running up and down the trail trying to find a clear view of their latest momentary perch.
Finally, they stopped long enough for me to catch a couple of shots. The smaller Raven was still crying for food and the larger one, half hidden behind the branch, seemed to be eating or manipulating whatever it had caught.
Luckily, I continued to watch the larger one of the two Ravens. It turned and flew to the nest tree. Once again, it landed on a lower branch and worked its way up through the branches. As it neared the nest site, I once again heard the sound of excited young Ravens in the nest.
Finally, it dawned on me, the smaller Raven, that escaped with the food, was probably one of their young from 2023. It is apparently hanging around and still taking advantage of parental handouts. I suspect the adult was trying to bring food to this year's nestlings, but finally gave up some of its catch to satisfy its prior offspring. This link, from Alaska, says it takes young Ravens three to four years to mature. I don't know how long they will hang around their parents, but it appears to me it can be for at least a year.
It appears shorter than the tree on its right (last year's nest tree) and more distant than the trees in the foreground. I cannot actually see the nest as it is hidden near the top of the tree. I expect in not too long the young will exit the nest on the uppermost, horizontal branch that points to the north. I am hoping they will spend a week or two on that branch flexing their wings and developing strength before they learn to fly. If you want to watch, I would recommend binoculars and, as with most bird nests, I suspect they will be most active in the early morning. Good Luck!
Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome!
Sincerely,
Larry
PS: For your comparison, here is a photo of a Common Raven and an American Crow. Often it is difficult to notice the size difference. Crows weigh around one pound (plus or minus about 5 ounces) while Ravens can vary from just slightly larger than a Crow to over three pounds. A Raven's wingspan is nearly four feet across while Crow's wings are around three feet across.
However, I find the shape and use of the wings to be the most distinctive differences. Crow's wings are noticeably rounded and shorter relative to their body length, plus they are more likely to be flapping their wings. I have heard it said, "That if they are rowing, they're crowing." Ravens do flap their wings, however, they are much more likely to be seen circling on long, widespread wings while taking advantage of thermals.
Finally, Raven's tails are more likely to be diamond shaped than a Crows. However, if you look back at the very first photo in this post you will notice that the Raven is holding its tail in a fan shape - similar to how Crows often hold their tails. Tail shape can be helpful but is not always reliable.
Raven:
Crow:
Recommended Citation:
Boarman, W. I. and B. Heinrich (2020). Common Raven (Corvus corax), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.comrav.01
Going Native:
Each of us, who breathes the air, drinks water, and eats food should be helping to protect our environment. Local efforts are most effective and sustainable. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with our local environment and the local native creatures. Even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape.
I hope we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors, and local businesses to respect native flora and support native wildlife at every opportunity. I have learned that our most logical approach to native trees and plants (in order of priority) should be to:
1) Learn and leave established native flora undisturbed.2) Remove invasive species and then wait to see if native plants begin to grow without assistance. (When native plants start on their own, then these plants or trees are likely the most appropriate flora for the habitat.)3) Scatter seeds from nearby native plants in a similar habitat.4) If you feel you must add a new plant then select a native plant while considering how the plant fits with the specific habitat and understanding the plant's logical place in the normal succession of native plants.
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Keystone native plants are an important new idea. Douglas Tallamy, in the book "Nature's Best Hope ", explains that caterpillars supply more energy to birds, particularly young birds in their nests, than any other plant eater. He also mentions that 14% of our native plants, i.e. Keystone Plants, provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. This unique subset of native plants and trees enables critical moths, butterflies, and caterpillars that in turn provide food for the great majority of birds, especially during the breeding season.
Note: Flowering plants and trees, i.e. those pollinated by bees, are also included as Keystone Plants.
This video explains the native keystone plants very nicely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030
The Top Keystone Genera in our ecoregion i.e. Plants and trees you might want in your yard:
Additional content available here:
https://wos.org/wos-wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Native-Plant-Resources-10-7-22.pdf
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In the area below, I am displaying at least one photo with each post to help challenge us to know the difference between native and non-native lifeforms.
Is this a native flower? If so, which one is it?
Scroll down for the answer.
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Fringe Cup: Yes, it is a native plant. I finally noticed how it may have gotten its name.
If you turn one of the blossoms upside down and look very closely, it looks like a tiny cup with a fringe around the edge.
These are currently blossoming in wooded areas like the Arboretum and parts of Fort Worden.
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The Email Challenge:
In response, I have set up my own email list. With each post, I will manually send out an announcement. If you would like to be added to my personal email list please send me an email requesting to be added. Something like:
Larry, Please add me to your personal email list.
My email address is:
LDHubbell@comcast.net
Thank you!
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The Comment Challenge:
Bottom Line:
If you write a long comment, please, copy it before hitting enter. Then, if the comment function fails to record your information, you can send the comment directly to me using email.
My email address is:
LDHubbell@comcast.net
Larry