Our interaction with the local ravens has increased recently, for better and worse.
Unlike the ravens that frequent towns, our ravens are relatively mild mannered: quiet (mostly) reserved, perhaps even contemplative. They generally sit quietly in the trees or on the Power Point, watching us work. They patrol our beach a couple times daily, looking for dead voles from our traps, fish waste, or chicken bones, which we generally toss out for them when available. They nest nearby, which I understand explains their reserve.
Lately, though, they’ve ramped up their presence. I mentioned the squirrel hunting incident before. They’ve been very pleased with the number of voles we’ve tossed on the beach, but not satisfied. One raven has started checking the traps for us, removing any dead voles it can find. That may have led them to start hunting live voles in the garden. This is where the problem started. Continue reading
