Your Birding Month
Why Raven is our Bird of the Month. Plus, birds to find this month include Black Grouse and Treecreeper
In the last couple of decades, the Buzzard has worked its way inexorably eastwards and southwards, to become the commonest bird of prey in the UK, and a familiar sight just about everywhere. Hot on its heels, the Buzzard-sized Raven has gone from an ultra-shy bird of hidden crags, in north-western uplands shunned by man, to a bird with a breeding foothold in the flat lands of East Anglia, and even down in Kent.
The Raven seems to have overcome some of its perceived shyness and snuck into the ‘rocky gorges’ of cities, and also makes use of nearby TV masts and so on. But they have not entirely abandoned their sneaky ways. Ravens are still pretty shy birds, but they have expanded their range partly by hiding in plain sight. You see, Ravens, despite being huge (with a foot more wingspan than a Carrion Crow) and (like most corvids) very vocal, are often inconspicuous birds, easily ignored by the unwary as just another crow.
Those in the know, however, pick up those beautiful, almost purring ‘cronk cronk’ calls even at a considerable distance, raise their binoculars and see something truly wonderful. Ravens in flight, are not shaped like Carrion Crows, having long, wedgeshaped tails, long, thick necks and huge bills and long wings which are somewhat surprisingly tapered, unlike the much broader wings of the smaller crow species).
But they are also masters of aerobatics, with flying skills only rivalled among our crows by the crazy Chough. Ravens are often in pairs, and they love a bit of courtship display, showing off with wonderful mid-air rolls, where they fly upside down for a short while.
Ravens will be nesting this month, so see if you can see a pair near you, preferably displaying like giant fools!