A common species in both name and occurrence but around here at least ravens are uncommonly difficult to photograph well.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
In an effort to cure my cabin fever during this extended period of cloudy weather we’re enduring I made a quick trip to Farmington Bay WMA two days ago to see if I could find some light and some birds. I found very few birds and almost no light. This is the only interesting shot I got where a bird in my viewfinder converged with decent light.
But I’m glad to have it, in part because I have so few interesting photos of ravens. In some areas (National Parks for example) ravens have become so acclimated to humans you can almost pet them but elsewhere in the west they tend to be spooky and unapproachable to the extreme. They’re smart and they’ve been harassed and shot as vermin for so many generations they simply don’t trust us, for good reason. Typically they allow a vehicle to approach them fairly closely but if you begin to slow down they get very nervous and as soon as the vehicle rocks backward to a full stop they’re gone. Reliably so.
Aiming a long lens at them has the same result – they’ve had too many rifles pointed their way for too many decades (magpies, their close relatives, tend to react the same way to long lenses for the same reason).
I wasn’t particularly close to this raven and “he” was partially hidden by vegetation but when I began to stop my pickup he was instantly nervous anyway. As soon as I pointed my lens his way I fired a quick burst and this is only the second shot in the sequence. I wish we could see more of his legs but I’m pleased with the light angle that allowed good detail in those dense blacks and a catch light in the eye and I like the “wing-fling” takeoff posture. I also think his shadow on the ground adds something positive.
I’ll close with an interesting tidbit about ravens. One of the collective nouns for a group of ravens is a “conspiracy” – presumably because their intelligence allows them to accomplish the devious deeds they’re well known for such as stealing food from closed containers.
Ron
Gorgeous shot — my favorite pose too! I’m amazed at the feather detail you were able to get in that sinkhole of black.
I keep trying to talk to the ravens when I go for my walks, but all they every say back is, “Nevermore.” I wonder what that’s all about. 😉
Thanks, Marty. Maybe your raven thinks you’re Lenore… 🙂
Ron, I love all of the stories you and your readers share about Ravens [and Crows too]. Somehow National Parks in Southern Utah attract [I think] Ravens [hungry ones]. Their shiny black coats are quite attractive. Their diet must contribute to that, but not sure. Thanks for a good read and great photo.
Yes, there tends to be a lot of ravens in our parks out here in the west and in that situation they tend to become quite tame. Thank you.
You are so great at taking photos of birds that reveal movements and behaviors that are too fast for seeing in real-time or unusual or seemingly commonplace until you explain their behavior behind them. Who knew a Raven’s wings could be so resplendent?
Thanks very much, Lyle.
I’m glad to see everybody loves ravens as much as I do. It’s only by watching one of our local pairs in action that I have learned, over 5 years, how to distinguish the male from the female. You have a very good raven photo here, with the wings extended vertically. That’s not a common sight. Good one!
Thanks, Martha. I think I caught the wings in just about the best position possible for this shot.
I like the lift off, and his feathers. I love watching Ravens. They are stink pots though lol.
Jean, I call them worse than stink pots when they almost invariably take off a split second before I get my lens on them.
Here’s a curious story about bird intelligence. Three years ago I (licensed rehabber and falconer) received from an avian vet a young Red-tailed Hawk who’d suffered from West Nile Virus. He had recovered, but was naive about life, so I worked with him, kept him under observation (WNV can recur), and for about six months, hunted with him, throwing in some life lessons (e.g.,cars are bad) as we went along. I released him in spring and the next year watched him raise a family. We would visit from time to time to renew our acquaintance and I’d toss an occasional tidbit. This last summer, he began coming to my house, which he hadn’t done in the years he’s been living in the neighborhood. I noticed that he was often harassed by crows. He’d come to one of several pines, and his tormentors would dive right in on him. When we’d hunted together, he’d learned hand signals, so – hoping he remembered them – I gestured to a tree right over the house. Sure enough he flew there. And sure enough, the human was just too dratted close for the crows’ comfort. They flew away. Now when the hawk comes and lights on that tree, the corvid problem goes away! I hear the racket, step into the yard, the bullies melt away, and the hawk then gets a nice quiet rest in the sun. Everybody, I think, has learned something in this event!
What an amazing experience. Thank you so much for sharing this gem Sallie – and I do hope he keeps coming back to visit. A big, big hooray for rehabbers – and the spectacular rewards they sometimes receive.
A truly fascinating story, Sallie. Damn, birds are interesting!
Thank you. I adore ravens. Yes it is a strong word, but I do. We have a family of bearded ravems that visits. The male scopes out the area and when he is satisfied that it is safe he calls the family down. I feel very privileged that I can sit on the front steps and watch them. And will admit to cawing at them too. I get replies as well here are some photos of the beauties .
Your Aussie ravens are interesting looking corvids, EC – especially with that eye color. So different from ours.
I love the beard too.
Corvus Corax. My favorite! There are many more names for a group too. Like an “unkindness” of Ravens.
Yup, there’s a bunch of them. Everett mentioned “unkindness” below.
Sensational shot Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
We don’t have ravens here in south Florida, but in New Mexico had both Chihuahuan (had to look up the spelling!) and Common Ravens, which were larger and had a more throaty call. Our substitute black Corvid is the Fish Crow, and it is so difficult to get a good photo. For me it has been just dumb luck when the light decides to reflect off the feathers rather than just sinking into the darkness.
Ha, I’d have had to look that spelling too!
Yup, “dumb luck” usually plays a role when we get good detail in the blacks of ravens. But there are ways to improve our odds.
Ron, how do you know its a Raven vs. a Crow? Any quick and easy tips?
Bradley, this BirdNote explains it well. Click to listen to the sound clip.
https://www.birdnote.org/show/ravens-and-crows-whos-who
Interesting! May have more Raven’s than I thought! 🙂 The pairs you mentioned as well as the link above and the sounds….. Thx!
Aside from size shape and sound, I think the flight habits are different– Crows seem to “row” or push their wings from front to back across the sky almost continually, while Ravens seem to have deeper wing beats and also soar more often, almost like hawks and vultures. Just an impression and maybe not valid in all situations.
The whole corvid family holds a permanent place on my Top Ten list and what a glorious image! I love the “conspiracy” because it fits perfectly. And like you said, they’re incredibly intelligent, even in our human measurements (judgments), which is patently unfair. I’m also delighted to see them since when I was living in Dallas, the population was decimated by West Nile virus. It was a case of “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” to quote Joni Mitchell. They were always very helpful in locating Mariah (F RTHA) when she didn’t want to be located! LOL!
We don’t have many here–they prefer hanging out in Kingman to here in the wild desert. However, they make my heart sing when I see them. The small local raven family will often visit for a bit when I’m out with Jack, but they neither mess with Jack nor do they stay long. They are very vocal when they visit, though. I think they might be flummoxed that Jack is hanging out with a human since we’re (overall) so untrustworthy! Maybe they’re asking him what he’s thinking? Occasionally, he’ll answer back, but he’s generally far more focused on hunting. And he never knows when this blind pig might stumble over a bunny 😉
I loved your Christmas memories yesterday. Like you, I don’t have many religious connections. I don’t have many good Christmas memories, either so I’ll just leave it at that. But thank you for sharing yours!
Laura, thankfully ravens are very common here. I often see dozens and dozens of them out west on my way to one of my favorite shooting locations. Getting one to stay put for a photo is another matter though.
I am a HUGE fan of corvids. We have both crows and ravens here. One of the reasons I fell in love with our home here in Rio Rancho was an old cottonwood full of crows when we drove up. The crows here are less spooky and I see more of them. They head down to the bosque (bahs kee) when the water is up but back here when it is low. I talk to them when I see them. 😀 I want to be the crazy old cat AND crow lady someday. I got to see a Chihuahuan Raven with a local rescue group. So glossy!
“I talk to them when I see them”
And they “talk” to each other, Arwen. On those rare occasions when I’ve been close to two of them, often while they’re huddling together, their soft vocalizations directed at each other are fascinating to listen to.
Arwen, I’m with you! I want to be the crazy crow/raven lady (although I’ll substitute dogs for cats). When I lived in Binghamton, NY, I got to meet and talk with the professor at Binghamton University who studies crows. They’re fascinating critters, and if I could have afforded it or have been accepted, I’d have loved to study with her!!!
Oh and Ron, birds are often discussing things, but you know that 😉 As Gilbert White noted in “The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne” in 1778, “The language of birds is very ancient, and like other ancient modes of speech, very elliptical; little is said but much is meant and understood.”
Crazy ladies unite!
I really like Ravens Ron and often take shots of them here. Definitely an unappreciated bird. My wife has a beautiful wooden raven model perched on the mantle. I think another name for a group is an “unkindness.” Not sure if they deserve that name, but I do like the “conspiracy” better. Since I most often am photographing eagles here I often see ravens sitting in snag trees with them, and or harassing them. I saw a male eagle once get so fed up with them harassing him that he went after them like he was shot out of a canon and came real close to grabbing one of them. I think they are regarded by many as the most intelligent of our birds. Was interesting yesterday reading all the Christmas comments as to whether readers regard the holiday as a significant religious day or not etc. And since this is Feathered Photography I got to thinking how many times are birds mentioned in the Bible. The answer I found was that there are 55 verses in the Bible that mention birds of one kind or another. Ravens are mentioned 12 times and once in the Quran.
Everett, I’ve heard of “unkindness” being used for a group of ravens too.
I’m glad that yesterday’s post sent you one a quest for mentions of ravens in the bible. I go on similar quests often when something that piques my curiosity is mentioned by those who comment or when I’m researching prior to publishing my post.
Interesting photo…really like the pose you caught. Your comments are right on about their suspicions of humans…extremely skittish. While out driving this past spring I came across interesting behavior between a raven and probably a first or second year Bald Eagle. They were ‘playing’ some sort of game with each other…walking up to each other, take turns bowing, turn around and then approach each other again. Occasionally
they would leap straight up into the air and just stand still looking at each other and walk away and then start the ‘dance’ over again. I sat in my car for a good 15 minutes watching as they repeated this ‘dance’ several times. Once the eagle flew to a near by tree but after a few minutes flew back down to repeat the encounter. Of course it was bad light, light snow falling so my pictures were not good but what an experience to have been able to watch. Sure have not idea the ‘whats and whys’ but great to observe.
Wow, that would have been fascinating to observe, good photos or not!
My most frustrating experience with birds (ever) was with a Golden Eagle fighting with two ravens at a carcass alongside a road. They were close and in good light but I was pulling my trailer and couldn’t stop safely to take photos. I become re-frustrated every time I think of it!
Beautiful shot of the Raven, Ron… 🙂 Nice shiny feather and the wing position is great. Have more crows than ravens in the immediate vicinity and the number is increasing in recent years. Fortunately, they are rarely “down at the house”…. 😉 Leaving the Magpies to “their” turf perhaps? We did have one recently that was harassing a mature Bald Eagle tho – totally caught me by surprise as I hadn’t seen either bird until they came close by me!
Judy, there were gobs of crows at Farmington that morning so at first I thought this bird was also a crow. But most of the crows were in large groups and this bird was paired off with just one other bird which is so typical of ravens so I took another look. Sure enough, ravens…