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August 1, 2015 at 4:30 pm #818081
lajwestseattleParticipantThree mornings this week I have seen (and heard!) a pair of ravens at Riverview Park near the playground. This morning they were being harassed by crows. I haven’t managed a photo yet but thought some people would be interested. I’ve lived in Seattle all my life and have never seen ravens in the city!
August 1, 2015 at 8:28 pm #826552
anonymeParticipantThey moved in a couple of years ago, there have been several posts about them – including mine, where I reported seeing a pair in Arbor Heights on a regular basis within the last year. I contacted the UW corvid team, and they informed me that they’d been getting reports for a while, including sightings at Riverview. When you hear one, you know it ain’t no crow!
Ravens are beyond awesome; may they live long and prosper…
August 2, 2015 at 2:46 pm #826553
bluhorizonParticipantThanks for this update- wonderful you are attentive enough to notice the difference! It’s really valuable to know what is happening with wildlife on the peninsula. Especially birds, they are always the harbingers of natural changes that will eventually affect human health and welfare.
Ravens need a great deal more territory and natural space (food supply) than crows so generally stick to wilder areas. As were cougars and bears (!) they were regular residents in W. Sea until about 100 years ago when it got clear-cut and then cemented to death.
It may be that all the hard work led by the Nature Conservancy and others to restore habitat balance in the WS Green Space near you is paying off and now supporting a wider variety of species, an indicator of better overall health of the area. Better health for wildlife obviously translates to better human health as we are dependent as they are on the food chain. They also eat a ton of insects and rodents. Let’s hear it for the return of the Ravens!
August 3, 2015 at 3:02 pm #826554
bluhorizonParticipantCorrection: I meant to say Nature Consortium, a West Seattle-based org.
August 3, 2015 at 5:46 pm #826555
anonymeParticipantI hope you’re correct that they are being attracted to an improved environment, rather than being driven from a deteriorating one.
Interestingly (I think so, anyway) ravens of the southwestern U.S. are common in towns and cities, unlike our ravens that prefer some privacy. In New Mexico it’s usually ravens you see raiding dumpsters rather than crows – although I did see a raven in a dumpster in West Seattle a few months ago.
August 3, 2015 at 10:37 pm #826556
bluhorizonParticipantAnonyme,
Very good point. There’s no doubt it’s both. Perhaps some wishful thinking, but very large birds like ravens need a substantial and dependable food source and some “elbow” room. In addition, there are historical reports of area ravens that then disappeared.
Yes, there is often some habitat overlap between the two, but as a generality: ravens prefer wilder, higher, contoured elevations with scattered woodlands -or larger areas of open space than cities offer (like rural areas). NW coast ravens are better adapted for native wooded habitat and SW to open desert areas. Notice that the most common raven sightings in WS are near wooded areas -Duwamish Greenbelt and Lincoln Park.
Generally: Crows prefer open, broken habitats with scattered trees, so ‘burbs with open lawns and dotted with trees are fairly familiar and comfortable habitat for them. As you pointed out, the more we develop wooded areas the more we create workable habitat for crows and less for ravens.
As to ravens being common in some cities and dumpster diving: Humans share the preference for a more crow-style habitat and especially with a water view, easy access to food and fun. However, like crows, we can’t all live where we thrive and prefer, so have to adapt to the real estate available with resources we have. Corvids, as most animals, have to fight for productive, healthy and safer real estate. So the toughest and smartest birds get the best “lots” (territories). Perhaps the weaker “poorer” or the most resourceful ravens end up city dwellers.
I don’t know about the frequency of ravens vs. crows in the dumpster arena, but corvids are huge opportunists (like humans) and dumpsters, as well as dumps, are simply easy chow – a McRaven’s if you will. Bald eagles do the same near fish processing in Alaska. Why go out and spend a bazillion calories hunting when you can hang around and eat fast food? Nonetheless, a fast food diet is not the healthiest and any food source like an open dumpster will still be subject to domination by rank and territory,(usually ravens over crows). It will be interesting to see what happens as the raven and crow “Dumpster Clans” are forced to continue to adapt (reverse course?) as cities develop far better closed containers /systems for food waste.
August 3, 2015 at 11:52 pm #826557
anonymeParticipantblu, you’re obviously an expert! Thanks for all the information. Your initials aren’t ‘J.M.’ by any chance, are they?
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