Lancaster ravens

[Alasdair]

#2571

2 ravens calling over Haverbreaks 11am.
(I’ve only ever seen two ravens here. Never more.)

[Dan Haywood]

#2572

Poe – try in motion.

[eddybayton]

#2582

….there have been a couple over Freehold and Torrisholme quite regularly in the last month.

This thread reminds me of something many many years ago in a summer with a plague of rabbits, perhaps 1981 or 1982? I had to drive my brother from Cardigan to Manchester for an exam and it entailed a very early start. On that desolate part of the road between Corris and Dolgellau, every mile or so in the dawn half light, a pair of ravens were picking at the night’s road kill. As we approached, they’d lift to a fence or gate then swoop down again when we passed. My brother, who has always been well-read and something of a wit remarked “Why do corbies always come in twas?”

[Dan Haywood]

#2591

I made the mistake of mentioning seeing this Raven (pictured over Lancaster this morning) to my dentist today. 'Ravens?! I thought they were fantasy birds!'… by which he meant mythical. I assured him they were quite real, but I don't think he believed me. Kronk! pic.twitter.com/biFTxLqrOR

— Lancaster & District Birdwatching (@LDBWSnews) March 15, 2021

[Alasdair]

#2593

I’ve heard ravens around Greaves and Haverbreaks a few times.

Eddy’s brother’s knowledge of medieval Scottish literature is impressive. It reminded me of the Scots nonsense songs we would sing as bairns of Three Craws sittin’ on a wa’.
The first craw fell and broke his jaw
The second craw was greetin’ for his maw
The third craw went and flew awa’
– and this is where it enters the realm of abstract philosophy and ontology –
The fourth craw wasnae there at a’.

I appreciate the literary and cultural history of corvids might be better discussed elsewhere, but hey, lockdown. Take it where you find it.

[eddybayton]

#2598

Excellent ….absolutely typical film there, looking for a thermal??

Nothing wrong with discussing ravens. Seen again over Newton yesterday, one in front of the other by a few hundred yards going North like bats out of hell. Very fast fliers when they have a mind.

I spent about six months in a house near Carmarthen in a village called Cwmdwyfran which translates directly as ‘the valley of the two crows/ravens’

I have to admit to having a ‘pet’ raven in the mid 1970s (different times) and taught it to fly from a flat roof. It lived on offal and any roadkill available. It was a murderously dangerous beast and you couldn’t put your head too close for fear of losing an eye. It would land on my grandmother’s head demanding food. We took it to a local forest about 15 miles away and released it, but was home before us. Eventually we took it to North Wales after other failed attempts from up to 50 miles away. It was a magnificent creature, very intelligent, but utterly untrustworthy.

[Dan Haywood]

#2615

What did you name your Raven, Eddy?

[eddybayton]

#2628

To be honest Dan I don’t remember but my sister might have called it Mortimer. The gun dog we had might have called it something else though. If it was asleep in the sun the raven would drop down silently, hop up to the dog and give it the most fearsome pull of its tail and fly off.

[Alasdair]

#2631

Wonderful stories, Eddy. Thanks for sharing them. And interesting to learn that you were the first to use social distancing to reduce the risks of corvid.

My favourite raven tale was of a pair seen in the Welsh mountains hopping up to the top of a frozen slope then flipping onto their backs and sliding down head first before repeating the process. Sheer playfulness, like their victory rolls in the air.

[Author]

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