MURDER

[Chesslike]

GOT YA!........IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

Saw a "murder" of crows, numbering maybe 40 or 50 up at Lightening Ridge. Is that a regular roost for them? Oops, those were ravens so it should have been an "unkindness" of ravens (when their droppings hit your car you know where they got that name from), but murder in the subject line is more of an attention getter and we shall see if this gets more hits.

[zelicaon]

Oh, Chesslike, I'm so glad you saw them and posted your observations.

I saw them surfing the air waves on Table Mountain last week. In past years, I've seen them coming in low and silent over Pinyon Ridge like stealth bombers. I counted 88 once from Lightning Ridge.

I wrote to a birding list server asking if this was unusual for ravens and received no replies except that ravens don't do this, that ravens are loners. But you and I know that's not true. Do you think we've discovered something special about the ravens of Wrightwood?

[Nolena]

The kid & I saw them while hiking on the Lightning Ridge Trail. I guess they don't know that they don't do that.  

[StewABunny]

How big are the Ravens in S. CA?  I saw two in Canada once and they were at least 3 feet tall.  They were sitting on a tree branch right next to each other so I guess Canadian Ravens don't know they are loners either.  Beautiful birds!  Hope I see them.

[zelicaon]

Common Raven is called the largest species of songbird. Songbird? I guess maybe so. I love that sound they make like clattering bones.

Length from head to tail is given as about 24 inches and wingspan is about 53.
See Raven Vital Statistics here: http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/oct/papr/raven.html

Aha! I found out that ravens do roost together...in Alaska anyway...as many as 800! Wow!
http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/notebook/bird/raven.htm

So where do all these ravens roost at night that we see flying around in the daytime? Anyone know?

[Nolena]

Elmer's house?  

[Chesslike]

Thanks for the good links Zelicaon. The ravens are indeed very entertaining to watch and the benches at Lightning Ridge are a perfect place to rest and to observe and listen to all that the ravens have to offer.

[rmekemson]

I'm sorry, ravens don't spend the night here at Fudd Manor - just old buzzards like the lovely Mrs. Fudd and me (or is it I?)  Who really cares?

[Horse Apples]

If you want to see about 30 of these guys together, stop by my home between 3:30 and 5:00 each evening.  That's where they are.

Recently, they've started using my horse water barrels as a public fountain and the droppings in the round pen as a buffet line.  

They fly in, eat and drink for about an hour, then leave.  The first time this happened, I had pictures of "The Birds" running in my head.  Somewhat disconcerting at times, but they have not caused any real problems so far, in fact I've come to enjoy watching them.

They've become so regular that I've set out a special "raven bird bath" to keep them out of my horses' water.   Admittedly, I didn't do this until I found one who had met with a tragic accident .... I'm not sure if I should leave things as they are or try and discourage them.  Any thoughts?

[zelicaon]

This is fascinating! Thanks for responding to the question about where the local ravens roost.

Have the ravens been coming all the time or just in the past few weeks when we've been seeing them in such large groups at Lightning Ridge?

You say that you found "one who had met with a tragic accident" and that you are not sure if you "should leave things as they are or try and discourage them."

This is probably something you don't want to hear but considering you have valuable horses, it's something you need to be aware of if you aren't already.

Last week in Arcadia in Los Angeles County, a crow was found dead of West Nile Virus. Horses are also at risk from this disease.

"The first clue ...  is  dead birds. Birds, especially the corvid family of crows, jays, magpies and blackbirds, are vulnerable to the virus. Horses are the next most susceptible animal."
http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame/incredid/may03/wnv.htm

This is the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services page about West Nile Virus
http://lapublichealth.org/acd/VectorWestNile.htm

and the number of the Information Line is  800-975-4448 or 213-240-7786

I'm sorry to bring up such a bad thought, but it may protect your animals.

[Horse Apples]

Zelicoan, your comments are well received, thank you.
Actually, the "one who had met with a tragic accident", fell into the water barrel and could not get out again.  This was the reason I put a shallow source of water, so they stay out of the horses water.  

West Nile was a worry before the birds showed up and I have had them vaccinated.

The birds have been showing up for the last 6 to 7 weeks now.
They all appear very healthy and alert and it really is  wonderful to watch their interactions.   I know they have the potential to be a pest but they have actually been quite helpful in breaking up "horse stuff" in the round pen and going after insects (I assume it is insects they are looking for) on the property.  I don't leave food out to encourage them and they generally bed down for the night lower in the valley (I am one of the first houses on Desert Front).   I have no idea if they will stick around through the winter or will leave.  I will enjoy them while I can though!

[Hill]

Common Raven is called the largest species of songbird. Songbird? I guess maybe so. I love that sound they make like clattering bones.

Length from head to tail is given as about 24 inches and wingspan is about 53.
See Raven Vital Statistics here: http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/oct/papr/raven.html

Aha! I found out that ravens do roost together...in Alaska anyway...as many as 800! Wow!
http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/notebook/bird/raven.htm

So where do all these ravens roost at night that we see flying around in the daytime? Anyone know?

The thread is only 10 years old but I'm fairly sure Zelicoan still is active in this forum. The best books I've found on ravens are Ravens in Winter and The Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich. He describes how mature pairs claim territories which other Ravens usually respect. So you will see pairs and later flights of four as parents and fledgings move around their territory. The huge flocks of ravens seen during migration are young unpaired birds. Ravens often find mates at this time.

[Jim Wilkins]

I have a pair that raised a family and sent them on their way in the fall for the past 8 years or so.  The full feathered fledglings follow Mom and Dad around squawking and hollering for something to eat which the parents just ignore.  They do have a robust repertoire of sounds that they make with regularity.  Watching them soar on the hill behind us is a thing of beauty to watch.

[Nanette]

Saw an unkindness of ravens, at least 50, soaring above the hill east of Desert Front Road as I was driving up Highway 2 to WW at about 4 this afternoon. My granddaughter and I marveled at how many there were, and that they looked like they were having fun, soaring up, and around and down, in circles. A wonderful sight!

[SoCalGal]

For this season at least, I think I can shed a little light on where the ravens hang out at night.....my yard!

I never noticed more than one or two ravens at a time in our part of West Cajon Valley (west of 138) in the eight or so years we've been here.  But, this year, after the terrific Joshua Tree bloom we had this summer, we evidently have a bumper crop of seed pods on all the Joshuas.  Since I also have an energetic young dog, we probably have less chipmunks and ground squirrels than usual this year.  That meant that a lot of the seed pods weren't being eaten right away - they just hung on the trees.

Enter the ravens.  First I noticed lots on them in our valley in general.  Then they seem to hang around our Joshuas, eating up those seed pods.  Now, as of this week, I keep seeing them on the treetops at night, and startling them into flight (rustling black wings in the dark!) as I walk the dogs slowly round with a small flashlight.  Last night, for some reason, they were talkative, and kept cawing for an hour or two.  From the talk, I'd guess that this may be the unkindness mentioned earlier, of about 50 birds or so!  The Joshuas are about 20-25 feet tall, so the birds are in no danger from the dog or any stray coyotes, and breakfast is handy when they wake up, so I think that's why they seem to like it here.

The rattling/knocking noise they make is called "cronking", if I remember correctly!

[gus]

SoCal,
"Unkindness" is what a group of ravens is called.