I’ve mentioned before that we have two Ravens on the croft. Ravens are solitary birds, but they are said to pair-bond and mate for life.
*photo credit the Raven Master, Tower of London
As mating season approached this Spring, we noticed the morning calls from the old pine tree start to change.
In addition to the rough croaking song of the male raven each morning, there’s a more softly pitched, warbling call that comes a few seconds afterwards in response from the female. This is repeated many times over the course of the day. We think that they have nested somewhere in the large trees on the western boundary.
We often see the two birds flying over the croft together throughout the day, hovering and wheeling through the skies before disappearing over the hills to the north of us. They are skillful flyers.
I personally think it’s fabulous to have such birds on the croft, but many of the crofter locals think otherwise. I’ve had darkly muttered comments about Ravens taking newborn lambs, and whether or not this is true, or how infrequently it happens, there’s no allowance given for the fact that even Ravens have to eat, and that this is sadly Nature’s way.
I appreciate that there has to be a balance. But to demonise an intelligent bird that is doing no more than trying to survive can’t be the way.
We’ll continue to enjoy our Ravens.
Ravencroft Skye 
Tower of London lost two or three of theirs.. Perhaps they flew North away from the craziness.
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Ha ha! Now there’s intelligence for you… 😉.
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I totally agree. They can’t pop to the local supermarket…..
However, I suppose if your living inadvertently involves also feeding the local wildlife I can understand how frustrating that might be.
Hopefully your ravens will sustain themselves from other sources and won’t fall victim to a vengeful lamb owner.
It must be wonderful to have them in your ‘garden’ though. I’m jealous 🙂
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I have an image in my mind of them lurking around the meat section in our local Coop.. 😊
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I agree; everything is just trying to survive (including us). The ravens (and crows) in Australia will ‘attack’ lambs and calves when thay are newborns, sadly they usually start by eating their eyes. More commonly, it is foxes that have killed the lamb and the ravens are just on clean up of the body. They are carrion eaters, meaning they prefer their meat to be aged a bit. In Australia they clean up the road kill of wallabies and pigs.
I do admire ravens and crows for their intelligence and solemn beauty. We have made a deal with our resident family (5 strong; Mother, Father and three young), we put out our excess eggs for the crows and goannas and they have left our chooks and sheep alone. Maybe you could make a deal with your pair?
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Ravens are beautiful and so are lambs. The cycle of nature is brutal and heartbreaking so I don’t fault anyone for having strong feelings about it.
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Ravens feature strongly in the mythology and magic of the northern lands where they have a mixed reputation. You are wise to treat them with respect. Watch the ravens on the croft is always a great joy and I’m also heartened when I hear the cronk of a raven and look up to see an astonishing display of acrobatic aerial tumbling.
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They do indeed. We were intrigued to find out that the coat of arms of Clan MacDonald (whose lands the croft is on) is a Raven, and that many of the local legends feature them.when we called the house Taigh an Fhithich it was because the first time we visited the land I saw a raven in one of the trees here, so it feels right that we acknowledge them. 👍
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Handsome guys.
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