Ravens

[Chaselady]

Anyone near the lake having problems with ravens? We have a bunch on our island that have built a nest behind our house in the tall pines. They have been
Squawking endlessly day and night all week. These birds are huge, with wingspans of 4-5 feet. Occasionally they even prance around on our roof.
Unbelievably annoying!

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

Sounds very familiar....

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Chaselady

Anyone near the lake having problems with ravens? We have a bunch on our island that have built a nest behind our house in the tall pines. They have been Squawking endlessly day and night all week. These birds are huge, with wingspans of 4-5 feet. Occasionally they even prance around on our roof. Unbelievably annoying!

Here, there does seem to be an increase in Ravens in the past decade. They like human habitats, and are larger than our Common Crows. They fly more gracefully—even "elegantly". Crows kinda "row" their wings forward.

Normally, Ravens seek high peaks to soar, but they rob other birds' nests, which might explain their appearance at lower elevations.

Although Raven calls can be traced to least 33 "reasons to call", follow this site to play their various vocalizations:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/sounds

Good recordings—you won't want to raise the volume any!

[Sandy Island fan]

We have at least one nest with babies, not far from our craft shop, high in a tree. We thought crows at first, but they did seem bigger - and louder - than we've had in the past. One of our guests mentioned that they might be ravens, but I didn't quite get the specifics of how to tell the difference.
As for the noise, well, we're a 66 acre island, their nest is roughly in the center of the island, and I have heard them from the boathouse dock - about 1/4 mile away. I"m glad I don't work at the craft shop this summer!